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Geometry Difficulty 8.3 Shortlist Prove it Romania

The incircle of a triangle ABCABC touches the sides BCBC, CACA, ABAB at points DD, EE, FF, respectively. Let XX be a point on the incircle, different from the points DD, EE, FF. The lines XDXD and EFEF, XEXE and FDFD, XFXF and DEDE meet at points JJ, KK, LL, respectively. Let further MM, NN, PP be points on the sides BCBC, CACA, ABAB, respectively, such that the lines AMAM, BNBN, CPCP be concurrent. Prove that the lines JMJM, KNKN and LPLP are concurrent.

Solution

Let the lines KLKL and NPNP, LJLJ and PMPM, JKJK and MNMN meet at points QQ, RR, SS, respectively. By Desargues' theorem on perspective triangles, the lines JMJM, KNKN and LPLP are concurrent if and only if the points QQ, RR and SS are collinear.

Figure 1

Without loss of generality, we may assume that XX lies on the arc FDFD of the incircle that does not contain EE. Consequently, KK lies on the side FDFD, while LL and JJ lie on the respective extensions of the sides DEDE and EFEF.

Consider the cyclic quadrangle DEFXDEFX: The diagonals meet at KK, and the extensions of the opposite sides meet at LL and JJ, respectively, so the line LJLJ is the polar of KK with respect to the incircle – in what follows, all polar lines are considered with respect to the incircle. Since the line FDFD is the polar of BB, and KK lies on the line FDFD, it follows that BB lies on the line LJLJ. Similarly, CC lies on the line JKJK, and AA lies on the line KLKL. Consequently, the lines AQAQ and CSCS meet at KK.

Projectively, the lines FDFD and LJLJ meet at some point TT. Notice that TT lies on the polar lines of BB and KK to deduce that the line BKBK is the polar of TT, so the cross-ratio (TFKD)(TFKD) is harmonic. Let further the lines BKBK and PMPM meet at UU. Read from BB, the cross-ratio (RPUM)(RPUM) equals (TFKD)(TFKD), so it is harmonic; that is, UU is the harmonic conjugate of RR relative to MM and NN. Consequently, the points QQ, RR and SS are collinear if and only if the lines MQMQ, NUNU and PSPS are concurrent.

To prove the lines MQMQ, NUNU and PSPS concurrent, simply check that
QNQPUPUMSMSN=1. \frac{QN}{QP} \cdot \frac{UP}{UM} \cdot \frac{SM}{SN} = 1.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.