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China Mathematical Olympiad

Geometry Difficulty 7.0 National Olympiad Prove it China

Let △ABC\triangle ABC be a non-isosceles acute triangle, and point OO is the circumcenter. Let A′A' be a point on the line AOAO such that ∠BA′A=∠CA′A\angle BA'A = \angle CA'A. Construct A′A1⊥ACA'A_1 \perp AC, A′A2⊥ABA'A_2 \perp AB with A1A_1 on ACAC, A2A_2 on ABAB respectively. AHAAH_A is perpendicular to BCBC at HAH_A. Write RAR_A as the circumradius of △HAA1A2\triangle H_AA_1A_2. Similarly we have RB,RCR_B, R_C. Prove that
1RA+1RB+1RC=2R, \frac{1}{R_A} + \frac{1}{R_B} + \frac{1}{R_C} = \frac{2}{R},
where RR is the circumradius of △ABC\triangle ABC.

Solution

Firstly we claim that A′,B,O,CA', B, O, C are concyclic points. Otherwise, extend AOAO to intersect the circumcircle of △BOC\triangle BOC at point PP which is different from A′A'. We get
∠BPA=∠BCO=∠CBO=∠CPA. \angle BPA = \angle BCO = \angle CBO = \angle CPA.
Then △PA′C≅△PA′B\triangle PA'C \cong \triangle PA'B, and A′B=A′CA'B = A'C. So AB=ACAB = AC and that is a contradiction since △ABC\triangle ABC is not isosceles. So
∠BCA′=∠BOA′=180∘−2∠C, \angle BCA' = \angle BOA' = 180^\circ - 2\angle C,
and ∠A′CA1=∠C\angle A'CA_1 = \angle C.
Further, we have
HAA1AC=sin⁡∠C=cos⁡∠A2AA′=AA2AA′ \frac{H_AA_1}{AC} = \sin \angle C = \cos \angle A_2AA' = \frac{AA_2}{AA'}
and
∠A′AC=∠A2AHA=π2−∠B. \angle A'AC = \angle A_2AH_A = \frac{\pi}{2} - \angle B.
So △A2AHA∼△A′AC\triangle A_2AH_A \sim \triangle A'AC. In the same way, △A1HAA∼△A′BA\triangle A_1H_A A \sim \triangle A'BA. Then ∠A2HAA=∠ACA′\angle A_2H_A A = \angle ACA' and ∠A1HAA=∠ABA′\angle A_1H_A A = \angle ABA'. Consequently,
∠A1HAA2=2π−∠A2HAA−∠A1HAA=2π−∠ACA′−∠ABA′=∠A+2(π2−∠A)=π−∠A. \begin{align*} \angle A_1 H_A A_2 &= 2\pi - \angle A_2 H_A A - \angle A_1 H_A A \\ &= 2\pi - \angle ACA' - \angle ABA' \\ &= \angle A + 2\left(\frac{\pi}{2} - \angle A\right) \\ &= \pi - \angle A. \end{align*}
We get
RRA=RA1A22sin⁡∠A1HAA2sin⁡∠A=2RA1A2=2RAA′;1◯ \frac{R}{R_A} = \frac{\frac{R}{A_1 A_2}}{\frac{2 \sin \angle A_1 H_A A_2}{\sin \angle A}} = \frac{2R}{A_1 A_2} = \frac{2R}{AA'}; \quad \textcircled{1}
The last equality holds since A,A2,A′,A1A, A_2, A', A_1 lie on the same circle with AA′AA' as the diameter.
Now, draw AA′′⊥A′CAA'' \perp A'C with point A′′A'' on line A′CA'C. Since ∠ACA′′=∠A′CA1=∠C\angle ACA'' = \angle A'CA_1 = \angle C, we have AA′′=AHAAA'' = AH_A. Then
AA′=AA′′sin⁡∠AA′C=AHAsin⁡(90∘−∠A)=AHAcos⁡∠A=2S△ABCBCcos⁡∠A.2◯ \begin{align*} AA' &= \frac{AA''}{\sin \angle AA'C} = \frac{AH_A}{\sin(90^\circ - \angle A)} \\ &= \frac{AH_A}{\cos \angle A} = \frac{2S_{\triangle ABC}}{BC \cos \angle A}. \quad \textcircled{2} \end{align*}
From ①, ② we get
1RA=BCcos⁡∠AS△ABC=cos⁡∠ARsin⁡∠Bsin⁡∠C=1R(1−cot⁡∠Bcot⁡∠C). \begin{align*} \frac{1}{R_A} &= \frac{BC \cos \angle A}{S_{\triangle ABC}} = \frac{\cos \angle A}{R \sin \angle B \sin \angle C} \\ &= \frac{1}{R} (1 - \cot \angle B \cot \angle C). \end{align*}
In the same way
1RB=1R(1−cot⁡∠Ccot⁡∠A) \frac{1}{R_B} = \frac{1}{R}(1 - \cot \angle C \cot \angle A)
and
1RC=1R(1−cot⁡∠Acot⁡∠B). \frac{1}{R_C} = \frac{1}{R}(1 - \cot \angle A \cot \angle B).
Notice that
cot⁡∠Acot⁡∠B+cot⁡∠Bcot⁡∠C+cot⁡∠Ccot⁡∠A=1. \cot \angle A \cot \angle B + \cot \angle B \cot \angle C + \cot \angle C \cot \angle A = 1.
We then have
1RA+1RB+1RC=2R. \frac{1}{R_A} + \frac{1}{R_B} + \frac{1}{R_C} = \frac{2}{R}.

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