Number theoryDifficulty 7.7National Olympiad, round 2Prove itIndia
Let N≥3 be an integer, and a0,…,aN−1 be pairwise distinct reals so that ai≥a2i for all i (indices are taken mod N). Find all possible N for which this is possible.
Solution
The only such N are powers of 2.
If N is not a power of 2, let's say p∤N where p is an odd prime. Now, observe that p∤1 but p∣2k−1 for some k>1. Then, let α=pN. Now, aα>a2α≥a4α⋯≥a2kα⟹aα>a2kα But now, a2kα=aα as N∣(2k−1)α but then this is a contradiction! We have that aα>a2α since all reals in the circle are distinct and N∤α.
Now, if N=2m is a power of 2, let aj=−ν2(j)+2Nj. This is clearly okay if j=N and if j=N then ν2(2j)=ν2(j)+1 and thus aj≥a2j. □
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