Problem:
Let be a nonconstant complex-valued function on the real interval . Prove that there exists (possibly depending on ) such that for any polynomial with complex coefficients, there exists a complex number with such that .
, 2015
Solution
Solution:
We claim we can choose . Fix and suppose for the sake of contradiction that for all with it is the case that . We can write so that
Let be a prime larger than and set in the above. Averaging, and using triangle inequality,
The sum inside the absolute value is a roots of unity filter; since it is simply the constant term of - denote this value by . Thus for all ,
Setting and applying triangle inequality gives the desired contradiction.
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