Let the function f:R→R satisfy the equality
f(f(x))=xf(x)+x−1(∗)
for all x∈R.
a) Set c=f(0). We have f(c)=f(f(0))=0⋅f(0)+0−1=−1. So
−1=f(c).(1)
Therefore, taking into account (∗) for x=c and (1), we obtain the required value
f(−1)=f(f(c))=c⋅f(c)+c−1=−c+c−1=−1.
b) Let a=f(1). Taking into account (∗) for x=1, we obtain
f(a)=f(f(1))=1⋅f(1)+1−1=a.
Since
a=f(a),(2)
it follows that
f(a)=f(f(a))=a⋅f(a)+a−1=a2+a−1.(3)
From (2) and (3) it follows that a2+a−1=a, i.e. either a=−1 or a=1.
Both the values are achieved. For example,
f(x)=−1andf(x)={−1,1,if x=1,if x=1.(3)
It is easy to verify that both the functions satisfy the initial equation (∗) for all real x.
Some more examples:
f(x)={x1,−1,if x=0,if x=0orf(x)={−1,α,if x=0,if x=0,
where α is any real number different from 0.
Another function: f(x)=x1, if x∈A, and f(x)=−1 for all other x, where A is an arbitrary subset of R∖{0}, such that A−1⊂A.