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Algebra Difficulty 5.4 AIME, harder Prove it Taiwan

求所有實係數多項式 PP, 使得:
P(x)P(x+1)=P(x2x+3)xR, P(x)P(x+1) = P(x^2 - x + 3) \quad \forall x \in \mathbb{R},
其中 R\mathbb{R} 表所有實數所成的集合。

Solution

All real coefficient polynomials PP satisfying the requirements of the problem are the zero polynomial and
P(x)=(x22x+3)nxR, P(x) = (x^2 - 2x + 3)^n \quad \forall x \in \mathbb{R},
where nn is any nonnegative integer.
Substituting into the original equation, it is easy to see that the above P(x)P(x) are all solutions of this functional equation; in what follows we consider the case where P(x)P(x) is not the zero polynomial.
First we prove that PP has no real roots. Using proof by contradiction, if PP has a real root α\alpha, substituting x=αx = \alpha into the original equation gives
P(α2α+3)=P(α)P(α+1)=0. P(\alpha^2 - \alpha + 3) = P(\alpha)P(\alpha + 1) = 0.
Let β=α2α+3\beta = \alpha^2 - \alpha + 3, then β\beta is also a real root of PP, and clearly β2\beta \ge 2. Consider the infinite sequence
β,f(β),f(f(β)),f(f(f(β))), \beta, f(\beta), f(f(\beta)), f(f(f(\beta))), \dots
where f(x)=x2x+3f(x) = x^2 - x + 3; by the same method as above, substituting β,f(β),f(f(β)),\beta, f(\beta), f(f(\beta)), \dots respectively into the original equation, we obtain that every term of this sequence is a real root of PP.
When x2x \ge 2 it is clear that f(x)>xf(x) > x, so this sequence is strictly increasing, that is, PP has infinitely many real roots, contradicting the fact that PP is a polynomial! Since PP has no real roots, its degree must be even. Consider the leading coefficient tt of PP; comparing the coefficients of the highest degree term in the original equation gives

t2=tt^2 = t, so t=1t = 1, that is, PP is a monic polynomial.
Let the degree of PP be 2n2n, and consider P(x)=Q(x)+(x22x+3)nP(x) = Q(x) + (x^2 - 2x + 3)^n; since PP is monic, deg(Q)<2ndeg(Q) < 2n. Substituting back into the original equation gives
(Q(x)+(x22x+3)n)(Q(x+1)+((x+1)22(x+1)+3)n)=Q(x2x+3)+((x2x+3)22(x2x+3)+3)n (Q(x) + (x^2 - 2x + 3)^n)(Q(x + 1) + ((x + 1)^2 - 2(x + 1) + 3)^n) = Q(x^2 - x + 3) + ((x^2 - x + 3)^2 - 2(x^2 - x + 3) + 3)^n
Expanding and simplifying gives
Q(x)Q(x+1)+Q(x)((x+1)22(x+1)+3)n+Q(x+1)(x22x+3)n=Q(x2x+3). \begin{aligned} & Q(x)Q(x+1) + Q(x)((x+1)^2 - 2(x+1) + 3)^n \\ & \quad + Q(x+1)(x^2 - 2x + 3)^n \\ & = Q(x^2 - x + 3). \end{aligned}
If QQ is not the zero polynomial, let deg(Q)=qdeg(Q) = q and let the leading coefficient of QQ be kk; since q<2nq < 2n, the highest degree of the left side is at most 2n+q2n + q, and the coefficient of the 2n+q2n + q degree term is 2k02k \neq 0, so the highest degree of the left side is 2n+q2n + q. But the highest degree of the right side is clearly 2q2q, so n=2qn = 2q, a contradiction!
Therefore QQ can only be the zero polynomial, that is, all the possibilities for PP are only the identically zero polynomial and
P(x)=(x22x+3)n. P(x) = (x^2 - 2x + 3)^n.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from the original; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.