A set S of real numbers is such that 1+x1∈S for each x∈S. Is it possible that S contains exactly 2025 elements?
Solution
Answer. The answer is no.
Let f(x)=1+x1 and f(n)(x)=f(f(…f(x))) (where f is applied n times). For each x∈S the set S contains all numbers of the form f(n)(x). If S is finite, then f(k)(x)=f(ℓ)(x) for some k>ℓ. Since f(a)=f(b) implies a=b, f(k−ℓ)(x)=x. Thus each x∈S is a root of equation f(n)(x)=x for some positive integer n.
The functions f(n)(x) obviously are of the form rx+spx+q with some p,q,r,s (it is immediate for n=1, and f transforms every such function into a function of this form). Therefore, the equation f(n)(x)=rx+spx+q=x is reduced to an equation of the form rx2+(s−p)x−q=0 which is an equation of degree at most 2. This equation is not identical (since, for example, f(−2)=21 and therefore f(n)(−2) is positive for all positive integers n), hence it cannot have more than two real roots. However, the roots 21+5 and 21−5 of f(x)=x are also roots of f(n)(x)=x and therefore its only roots.
We see now that if S is finite, it can contain at most two elements.
Second solution. There is an alternative way to prove that for every x except φ=21+5 and φˉ=21−5, f(n)(x) and x would not coincide.
If x<−1, then f(x)>0 and therefore all f(n)(x) are positive.
If 0<x≤1, then f(x)>1, and all of f(n)(x) are greater than 1.
If x>1, then ∣f(x)−φ∣=∣1+x1−1−φ1∣=xφ∣x−φ∣<∣x−φ∣, that is, the distance from f(n)(x) to φ decreases as n increases.
Finally, if −1<x<0, while the terms of the sequence x,f(x),f(f(x)),… remain in the interval (−1,0), their distances between each term of the sequence and φˉ would increase (indeed, ∣f(t)−φˉ∣=∣1+t1−1−φˉ1∣=tφˉ∣t−φˉ∣>∣t−φˉ∣), and when a term appears outside this interval, all the proceeding terms would also be outside of this interval.
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