Let , , be positive real numbers such that . For positive integer , define . Furthermore, let and .
a. Find the smallest possible value of .
b. If , , are pairwise distinct, determine whether or is larger.
Let , , be positive real numbers such that . For positive integer , define . Furthermore, let and .
a. Find the smallest possible value of .
b. If , , are pairwise distinct, determine whether or is larger.
a. The smallest possible value of is .
By the power mean inequality, we have
for any positive integer . Therefore, we have
Equality holds when . Therefore, the minimum value of is .
b. is larger than .
Indeed, we have
This is true by Muirhead's theorem. Equality holds when . Since it is given that , , are pairwise distinct, the inequality is strict, and hence .