Suppose is an equilateral triangle whose circumcircle has radius . Prove that if is within or on , then the product does not exceed . Also determine the points for which the product is equal to .
Solution
We will use complex numbers and suppose that is centred at the origin so that is the set of complex numbers such that . Moreover, w.l.o.g., we can suppose that , , , where is a cube root of unity and . Let the complex number stand for . Then
and so
if is within or on , in which case .
We will now show that equality occurs exactly when is one of the three points on that are obtained by a -rotation of . Equality occurs above when and , i.e. when is on and has distance from the complex number . This happens exactly when . This equation has three solutions: . These three complex numbers are diametrically opposite on and so can also be obtained by rotating by about the circumcentre of triangle .
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