Number theoryDifficulty 6.8National OlympiadProve itCanada
Problem: Let (a,b,c) be a Pythagorean triple, i.e., a triplet of positive integers with a2+b2=c2.
a) Prove that (c/a+c/b)2>8.
b) Prove that there does not exist any integer n for which we can find a Pythagorean triple (a,b,c) satisfying (c/a+c/b)2=n.
Solution
Solution: Let (a,b,c) be a Pythagorean triple. View a,b as lengths of the legs of a right angled triangle with hypotenuse of length c; let θ be the angle determined by the sides with lengths a and c. Then (ac+bc)2=(cosθ1+sinθ1)2=(sinθcosθ)2sin2θ+cos2θ+2sinθcosθ=4(sin22θ1+sin2θ)=sin22θ4+sin2θ4 Note that because 0<θ<90∘, we have 0<sin2θ≤1, with equality only if θ=45∘. But then a=b and we obtain 2=c/a, contradicting a,c both being integers. Thus, 0<sin2θ<1 which gives (c/a+c/b)2>8.
Defining θ as in Solution 1, we have c/a+c/b=secθ+cscθ. By the AM-GM inequality, we have (secθ+cscθ)/2≥secθcscθ. So c/a+c/b≥sinθcosθ2=sin2θ22≥22 Since a,b,c are integers, we have c/a+c/b>22 which gives (c/a+c/b)2>8.
By simplifying and using the AM-GM inequality, (ac+bc)2=c2(aba+b)2=a2b2(a2+b2)(a+b)2≥a2b22a2b2(2ab)2=8 with equality only if a=b. By using the same argument as in Solution 1,a cannot equal b and the inequality is strict.
(ac+bc)2=a2c2+b2c2+ab2c2=1+a2b2+b2a2+1+ab2(a2+b2)=2+(ba−ab)2+2+ab2((a−b)2+2ab)=4+(ba−ab)2+ab2(a−b)2+4≥8, with equality only if a=b, which (as argued previously) cannot occur.
Since c/a+c/b is rational, (c/a+c/b)2 can only be an integer if c/a+c/b is an integer. Suppose c/a+c/b=m. We may assume that gcd(a,b)=1. (If not, divide the common factor from (a,b,c), leaving m unchanged.) Since c(a+b)=mab and gcd(a,a+b)=1, a must divide c, say c=ak. This gives a2+b2=a2k2 which implies b2=(k2−1)a2. But then a divides b contradicting the fact that gcd(a,b)=1. Therefore (c/a+c/b)2 is not equal to any integer n.
We begin as in Solution 1, supposing that c/a+c/b=m with gcd(a,b)=1. Hence a and b are not both even. It is also the case that a and b are not both odd, for then c2=a2+b2≡2(mod4), and perfect squares are congruent to either 0 or 1 modulo 4. So one of a,b is odd and the other is even. Therefore c must be odd. Now c/a+c/b=m implies c(a+b)=mab, which cannot be true because c(a+b) is odd and mab is even.
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