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Algebra Difficulty 7.9 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it Romania

Find all polynomials PP, QQ with real coefficients, such that, for infinitely many positive integers nn, P(1)P(2)P(n)=Q(n!)P(1)P(2)\dots P(n) = Q(n!).

Solution

Let P(x)P(x) and Q(x)Q(x) be polynomials with real coefficients such that for infinitely many positive integers nn, P(1)P(2)P(n)=Q(n!)P(1)P(2)\dots P(n) = Q(n!).

Let dd be the degree of P(x)P(x) and ee the degree of Q(x)Q(x).

For large nn, P(1)P(2)P(n)P(1)P(2)\dots P(n) is a product of nn terms, each of degree dd, so the degree of P(1)P(2)P(n)P(1)P(2)\dots P(n) as a polynomial in nn is dnd n (since each P(k)P(k) is a degree dd polynomial in kk, and the product over k=1k = 1 to nn gives degree dnd n in nn).

On the other hand, Q(n!)Q(n!) is a polynomial evaluated at n!n!, so as nn grows, n!n! grows very rapidly. The degree of Q(n!)Q(n!) as a function of nn is ee times the degree of n!n! as a function of nn, but n!n! is not a polynomial in nn.

But for the equality to hold for infinitely many nn, the growth rates must match. Consider the leading behavior:

Let P(x)=adxd+P(x) = a_d x^d + \dots and Q(x)=bexe+Q(x) = b_e x^e + \dots.

Then for large nn:
P(1)P(2)P(n)adn(12n)d=adn(n!)d P(1)P(2)\dots P(n) \sim a_d^n (1 \cdot 2 \cdot \dots \cdot n)^d = a_d^n (n!)^d

So P(1)P(2)P(n)adn(n!)dP(1)P(2)\dots P(n) \sim a_d^n (n!)^d.

On the other hand,
Q(n!)be(n!)e Q(n!) \sim b_e (n!)^e

So for the equality to hold for infinitely many nn, we must have e=de = d and adn=bea_d^n = b_e for all nn large enough, which is only possible if ad=1a_d = 1 and be=1b_e = 1 (since adna_d^n is exponential in nn unless ad=1a_d = 1 or ad=0a_d = 0).

But if ad=1a_d = 1, then P(x)P(x) must be xdx^d (since otherwise the lower degree terms will affect the product for large nn), and Q(x)=xdQ(x) = x^d.

Let us check this:
If P(x)=xdP(x) = x^d, then P(1)P(2)P(n)=(1d)(2d)(nd)=(12n)d=(n!)dP(1)P(2)\dots P(n) = (1^d)(2^d)\dots(n^d) = (1 \cdot 2 \cdot \dots \cdot n)^d = (n!)^d.

If Q(x)=xdQ(x) = x^d, then Q(n!)=(n!)dQ(n!) = (n!)^d.

So P(1)P(2)P(n)=Q(n!)P(1)P(2)\dots P(n) = Q(n!) for all nn.

Now, suppose P(x)P(x) is not a monomial. Then for large nn, P(k)adkdP(k) \sim a_d k^d, so P(1)P(2)P(n)adn(n!)dP(1)P(2)\dots P(n) \sim a_d^n (n!)^d, but the lower degree terms will affect the product by a factor that is not a polynomial in n!n!, so the equality cannot hold for infinitely many nn.

Therefore, the only solutions are:
P(x)=xd,Q(x)=xd,for some integer d0. P(x) = x^d, \quad Q(x) = x^d, \quad \text{for some integer } d \ge 0.

Thus, all polynomials P(x)=xdP(x) = x^d and Q(x)=xdQ(x) = x^d for d0d \ge 0 are solutions.

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