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Algebra Difficulty 8.4 Shortlist Prove it Baltic Way

Required are all functions ff mapping non-negative reals to non-negative reals, fulfilling the identity
f(x12++xn2)=f(x1)2++f(xn)2 f(x_1^2 + \cdots + x_n^2) = f(x_1)^2 + \cdots + f(x_n)^2
for any choice of numbers x1,,xnx_1, \dots, x_n.

Solution

Answer: the functions f(x)=0f(x) = 0 and f(x)=xf(x) = x.
A first observation is that
f(1)=f(12)=f(1)2, f(1) = f(1^2) = f(1)^2,
so that f(1)f(1) is either 0 or 1.
Assume first that f(1)=0f(1) = 0. For each positive integer nn, we find
f(n)=f(n12)=nf(1)2=0. f(n) = f(n \cdot 1^2) = n f(1)^2 = 0.
Given an arbitrary xx, find yy so that x2+y2x^2 + y^2 becomes a positive integer nn. Then
f(x)2+f(y)2=f(x2+y2)=f(n)=0. f(x)^2 + f(y)^2 = f(x^2 + y^2) = f(n) = 0.
Consequently, f(x)=0f(x) = 0 for all xx.
Now assume f(0)=1f(0) = 1. We shall prove that f(x)=xf(x) = x for all xx. For each positive integer nn, we find
f(n)=f(n12)=nf(1)2=n. f(n) = f(n \cdot 1^2) = n f(1)^2 = n.
For a non-negative rational number pq\frac{p}{q}, we find
p2=f(p2)=f(q2(pq)2)=q2f(pq)2, p^2 = f(p^2) = f\left(q^2 \cdot \left(\frac{p}{q}\right)^2\right) = q^2 f\left(\frac{p}{q}\right)^2,
hence f(x)=xf(x) = x also for rational numbers.
Finally, let xx be an irrational number. Select a rational number pq>x\frac{p}{q} > x. Choosing yy so that x2+y2=p2q2x^2 + y^2 = \frac{p^2}{q^2}, we deduce
p2q2=f(p2q2)=f(x2+y2)=f(x)2+f(y)2f(x)2, \frac{p^2}{q^2} = f\left(\frac{p^2}{q^2}\right) = f(x^2 + y^2) = f(x)^2 + f(y)^2 \ge f(x)^2,
hence f(x)pqf(x) \le \frac{p}{q}. Next, select a (positive) rational number rs<x\frac{r}{s} < \sqrt{x}, i.e. r2s2<x\frac{r^2}{s^2} < x. Choosing zz so that r2s2+z2=x\frac{r^2}{s^2} + z^2 = x, we deduce
f(x)=f(r2s2+z2)=f(rs)2+f(z)2=r2s2+f(z)2r2s2, f(x) = f\left(\frac{r^2}{s^2} + z^2\right) = f\left(\frac{r}{s}\right)^2 + f(z)^2 = \frac{r^2}{s^2} + f(z)^2 \ge \frac{r^2}{s^2},
hence f(x)r2s2f(x) \ge \frac{r^2}{s^2}. Together, these two bounds for f(x)f(x) imply f(x)=xf(x) = x, and we are finished.

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