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Algebra Difficulty 8.7 Shortlist Prove it Romania

Let F\mathcal{F} be the set of all functions f:RRf: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R} satisfying f(x+f(y))=f(x)+f(y)f(x + f(y)) = f(x) + f(y) for all real numbers xx and yy. Determine all real numbers rr satisfying the following condition: For every function ff in F\mathcal{F}, there exists some real number zz such that f(z)=rzf(z) = rz.

Solution

We first prove that SS is a subset of RR. Let ff be a member of F\mathcal{F} and write P(x,y)P(x, y) for f(x+f(y))=f(x)+f(y)f(x + f(y)) = f(x) + f(y).
Begin by showing that 1+1/n1 + 1/n belongs to RR for all positive integers nn. To this end, induct on nn to prove that f(nf(0))=(n+1)f(0)f(nf(0)) = (n + 1)f(0); letting z=nf(0)z = nf(0), then f(z)=(1+1/n)zf(z) = (1 + 1/n)z, so 1+1/n1 + 1/n is a member of RR. The base case, n=1n = 1, is provided by P(0,0)P(0, 0).

For the induction step, assume f(nf(0))=(n+1)f(0)f(nf(0)) = (n+1)f(0) and consider P(0,nf(0))P(0, nf(0)) to write
f((n+1)f(0))=f(f(nf(0)))=f(0+f(nf(0)))=f(0)+f(nf(0))=f(0)+(n+1)f(0)=(n+2)f(0), \begin{aligned} f((n+1)f(0)) &= f(f(nf(0))) = f(0 + f(nf(0))) = f(0) + f(nf(0)) \\ &= f(0) + (n+1)f(0) = (n+2)f(0), \end{aligned}
as desired. This completes the induction.

To prove that 11/n1-1/n belongs to RR for all positive integers nn, notice that P(f(0),0)P(-f(0), 0) yields f(f(0))=0f(-f(0)) = 0, and an inductive argument along the lines above then shows that f(nf(0))=(n+1)f(0)f(-nf(0)) = (-n+1)f(0). Letting z=nf(0)z = -nf(0), then f(z)=(11/n)zf(z) = (1 - 1/n)z, so 11/n1 - 1/n is a member of RR. Consequently, SS is a subset of RR.

Let r1r \neq 1 and consider the function g:[0,1)Rg: [0, 1) \to \mathbb{R},
g(x)={1if rx/(1r) is an integer0otherwise. g(x) = \begin{cases} 1 & \text{if } rx/(1-r) \text{ is an integer} \\ 0 & \text{otherwise.} \end{cases}

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