Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 5.7 AIME, harder Prove it Spain

Find all pairs of integers (x,y)(x, y) such that
3423(x2+y2)=x3y3. 3^4 2^3 (x^2 + y^2) = x^3 y^3.

Solution

First note that if xy=0xy = 0, then x2+y2=0x^2 + y^2 = 0 and x=y=0x = y = 0 is a solution. Also note that if xy<0xy < 0, then x2+y2<0x^2 + y^2 < 0, impossible; thus x,yx, y are both positive or both negative. Changing simultaneously the sign of xx and yy does not change the equation, hence we may assume without loss of generality that x,yx, y are both positive.
Let m,nm, n (mnm \ge n) be non-negative integers, and let a,ba, b be coprimes integers, not divisible by 33. Consider x=3max = 3^m a and y=3nby = 3^n b. Then the given equation is
8((3mna)2+b2)=33m+n4a3b3. 8((3^{m-n}a)^2 + b^2) = 3^{3m+n-4}a^3b^3.
Because any perfect square has remainder 00 or 11 when divided by 33, the left hand side member is not divisible by 33, thus looking at the right hand side we get 3m+n4=03m + n - 4 = 0, and because mn0m \ge n \ge 0 it follows m=n=1m = n = 1. The equation takes the form
8(a2+b2)=a3b3. 8(a^2 + b^2) = a^3 b^3.
By symmetry we may assume aba \ge b. Then
16a2a3b316ab3 16a^2 \ge a^3 b^3 \Leftrightarrow 16 \ge ab^3
Hence we have either (1) b=2b=2 which implies a=2a=2, or (2) b=1b=1, but in this case the only possible values of aa are 1,2,4,81, 2, 4, 8 and none of them satisfies the equation a38a28=0a^3-8a^2-8=0. It is easy to see that (a,b)=(2,2)(a, b) = (2, 2) and (x,y)=(6,6)(x, y) = (6, 6). So, the only solutions are
(x,y)=(6,6),(x,y)=(0,0),(x,y)=(6,6). (x, y) = (-6, -6), \quad (x, y) = (0, 0), \quad (x, y) = (6, 6).

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