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IMO China National Team Selection Test

Number theory Difficulty 9.1 IMO level Prove it China

Let m>1m > 1 be an integer. It is known that there exists a prime number in the interval [2m−m+1,2m][2m - \sqrt{m} + 1, 2m]. Prove that among any mm pairwise distinct positive integers a1,a2,…,ama_1, a_2, \dots, a_m, there exist two numbers aia_i and aja_j (1≤i,j≤m1 \le i, j \le m) such that
ai(ai,aj)≥m, \frac{a_i}{(a_i, a_j)} \ge m,
where (ai,aj)(a_i, a_j) denotes the greatest common divisor of the positive integers aia_i and aja_j.

Solution

Proof. Without loss of generality, assume that the greatest common divisor of a1,a2,…,ama_1, a_2, \dots, a_m is 11, otherwise divide all a1,a2,…,ama_1, a_2, \dots, a_m by their greatest common divisor, which does not change the conclusion.
Let pp be a prime number in the interval [2m−m+1,2m][2m - \sqrt{m} + 1, 2m]. If pp divides any aia_i, since the greatest common divisor of a1,…,ama_1, \dots, a_m is 11, there exists some aja_j not divisible by pp, then
ai(ai,aj)≥p>m. \frac{a_i}{(a_i, a_j)} \ge p > m.
So, we can assume that a1,a2,…,ama_1, a_2, \dots, a_m are not divisible by pp.
If there exists ai≡aj(modp)a_i \equiv a_j \pmod{p}, assume ai>aja_i > a_j, then
ai(ai,aj)=ai−aj(ai,aj)+aj(ai,aj)≥p+1>m. \frac{a_i}{(a_i, a_j)} = \frac{a_i - a_j}{(a_i, a_j)} + \frac{a_j}{(a_i, a_j)} \ge p + 1 > m.
Therefore, we can assume that a1,a2,…,ama_1, a_2, \dots, a_m have pairwise distinct remainders modulo pp.
Let m=p−12+rm = \frac{p-1}{2} + r, then the condition 2m−m+1≤p≤2m2m - \sqrt{m} + 1 \le p \le 2m is equivalent to r∈[1,m2]r \in [1, \frac{\sqrt{m}}{2}]. Divide all non-zero residues modulo pp into p−12\frac{p-1}{2} groups, each group containing the residues ii and p−ip-i. By the pigeonhole principle, there are rr groups, each containing two elements from a1,a2,…,ama_1, a_2, \dots, a_m. Therefore, we can assume
a2i−1≡−a2i(modp),a2i−1<a2i,i=1,2,…,r. a_{2i-1} \equiv -a_{2i} \pmod{p}, \quad a_{2i-1} < a_{2i}, \quad i = 1, 2, \dots, r.
Notice that for i=1,2,…,ri = 1, 2, \dots, r, we have p∣a2i−1+a2i(a2i−1,a2i)p \mid \frac{a_{2i-1}+a_{2i}}{(a_{2i-1}, a_{2i})}. If a2i−1+a2i(a2i−1,a2i)≥2p\frac{a_{2i-1}+a_{2i}}{(a_{2i-1}, a_{2i})} \ge 2p, then
max⁡(a2i−1(a2i−1,a2i),a2i(a2i−1,a2i))≥p>m. \max \left( \frac{a_{2i-1}}{(a_{2i-1}, a_{2i})}, \frac{a_{2i}}{(a_{2i-1}, a_{2i})} \right) \ge p > m.
Therefore, we can assume that for i=1,2,…,ri = 1, 2, \dots, r, we have a2i−1+a2i(a2i−1,a2i)=p\frac{a_{2i-1}+a_{2i}}{(a_{2i-1}, a_{2i})} = p. Let
di=(a2i−1,a2i),a2i−1=uidi,a2i=vidi. d_i = (a_{2i-1}, a_{2i}), \quad a_{2i-1} = u_i d_i, \quad a_{2i} = v_i d_i.
Then ui<viu_i < v_i and ui+vi=pu_i + v_i = p. Notice that if any vi≥mv_i \ge m, the conclusion is already satisfied. Therefore, we can assume
vi∈{p−12+1,p−12+2,…,p−12+r−1=m−1}. v_i \in \left\{ \frac{p-1}{2} + 1, \frac{p-1}{2} + 2, \dots, \frac{p-1}{2} + r - 1 = m - 1 \right\}.
By the pigeonhole principle, there are two equal numbers among v1,…,vrv_1, \dots, v_r. Assume v1=v2=vv_1 = v_2 = v, hence u1=u2=p−vu_1 = u_2 = p - v, denoted as uu. Clearly, d1≠d2d_1 \ne d_2 (since a1≠a3a_1 \ne a_3).
Now consider a1,a2,a3,and a4a_1, a_2, a_3, \text{and } a_4, assuming d1d_1 and d2d_2 are coprime (otherwise divide them by their greatest common divisor). We have
a1(a1,a4)=d1u(d1,v)⋅(d2,u)≥(d1,u)(d2,u)⋅u;a3(a2,a3)=d2u(d1,u)⋅(d2,v)≥(d2,u)(d1,u)⋅u;(6) \frac{a_1}{(a_1, a_4)} = \frac{d_1 u}{(d_1, v) \cdot (d_2, u)} \ge \frac{(d_1, u)}{(d_2, u)} \cdot u; \quad \frac{a_3}{(a_2, a_3)} = \frac{d_2 u}{(d_1, u) \cdot (d_2, v)} \ge \frac{(d_2, u)}{(d_1, u)} \cdot u; \quad (6)
a2(a2,a3)=d1v(d1,u)⋅(d2,v)≥(d1,v)(d2,v)⋅v;a4(a1,a4)=d2v(d1,v)⋅(d2,u)≥(d2,v)(d1,v)⋅v.(7) \frac{a_2}{(a_2, a_3)} = \frac{d_1 v}{(d_1, u) \cdot (d_2, v)} \ge \frac{(d_1, v)}{(d_2, v)} \cdot v; \quad \frac{a_4}{(a_1, a_4)} = \frac{d_2 v}{(d_1, v) \cdot (d_2, u)} \ge \frac{(d_2, v)}{(d_1, v)} \cdot v. \quad (7)
Notice that the conditions r∈[1,m2]r \in [1, \frac{\sqrt{m}}{2}] and p−m+1≤u<v≤m−1p - m + 1 \le u < v \le m - 1 give the following inequality:
m−1v<m−1u≤m−1p−m+1≤m−1m−m+2<m−1m−m=m+1m. \frac{m-1}{v} < \frac{m-1}{u} \le \frac{m-1}{p-m+1} \le \frac{m-1}{m-\sqrt{m}+2} < \frac{m-1}{m-\sqrt{m}} = \frac{\sqrt{m}+1}{\sqrt{m}}.
If both ai(ai,aj)\frac{a_i}{(a_i, a_j)} in (6) are not greater than m−1m-1, then
m+1m≥(d1,u)(d2,u),m+1m≥(d1,u)(d2,u). \frac{\sqrt{m}+1}{\sqrt{m}} \ge \frac{(d_1, u)}{(d_2, u)}, \quad \frac{\sqrt{m}+1}{\sqrt{m}} \ge \frac{(d_1, u)}{(d_2, u)}.
Thus, either (d1,u)=(d2,u)(d_1, u) = (d_2, u) or (d1,u)>m(d_1, u) > \sqrt{m} and (d2,u)>m(d_2, u) > \sqrt{m} both hold simultaneously. But note that (d1,u)⋅(d2,u)≤u<m(d_1, u) \cdot (d_2, u) \le u < m, so it must be that (d1,u)=(d2,u)(d_1, u) = (d_2, u), and since d1d_1 and d2d_2 are coprime, they must both be equal to 11.
Similarly, if both ai(ai,aj)\frac{a_i}{(a_i, a_j)} in (7) are not greater than m−1m-1, then (d1,v)=(d2,v)=1(d_1, v) = (d_2, v) = 1, but then
a4(a1,a4)=d2v(d2,u)(d1,v)=d2v≥2v>m, \frac{a_4}{(a_1, a_4)} = \frac{d_2 v}{(d_2, u)(d_1, v)} = d_2 v \ge 2v > m,
which is a contradiction!
Therefore, there must exist aia_i and aja_j such that ai(ai,aj)≥m\frac{a_i}{(a_i, a_j)} \ge m. □\square

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