Maths Olympiad Prep

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, 2023

Number theory Difficulty 7.7 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it Saudi Arabia

Let a1,a2,,ana_1, a_2, \dots, a_n be non-zero integers such that
a1a2an(1a12+1a22++1an2) a_1 a_2 \dots a_n \left( \frac{1}{a_1^2} + \frac{1}{a_2^2} + \dots + \frac{1}{a_n^2} \right)
is an integer. Prove that ak2a1a2ana_k^2 \mid a_1 a_2 \dots a_n for all k=1,2,,nk = 1, 2, \dots, n.

Solution

For each k=1,2,,nk = 1, 2, \dots, n, denote bk=a1a2anak2b_k = \frac{a_1 a_2 \dots a_n}{a_k^2} and consider the following polynomial
P(x)=(xb1)(xb2)(xbn)=xn+cn1xn1++c1x+c0. P(x) = (x - b_1)(x - b_2) \dots (x - b_n) = x^n + c_{n-1} x^{n-1} + \dots + c_1 x + c_0.
Based on Vieta's theorem, one can see that cn1c_{n-1} is an integer, and for any kk integers i1,i2,,ik{1,2,,n}i_1, i_2, \dots, i_k \in \{1, 2, \dots, n\}, bi1bi2bikb_{i_1} b_{i_2} \dots b_{i_k} is also an integer, which implies that all coefficients ckc_k are integers. On the other hand, P(x)P(x) is a monic polynomial which implies that all of its roots b1,b2,,bnb_1, b_2, \dots, b_n are also integers. Hence,
a1a2ana12,a1a2ana22,,a1a2anan2Z. \frac{a_1 a_2 \dots a_n}{a_1^2}, \frac{a_1 a_2 \dots a_n}{a_2^2}, \dots, \frac{a_1 a_2 \dots a_n}{a_n^2} \in \mathbb{Z}.

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