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Algebra Difficulty 6.4 National olympiad Prove it Croatia

Let nn, kk, MM and a1,a2,,ana_1, a_2, \dots, a_n be positive integers such that
1a1+1a2++1an=kanda1a2an=M. \frac{1}{a_1} + \frac{1}{a_2} + \dots + \frac{1}{a_n} = k \quad \text{and} \quad a_1 a_2 \dots a_n = M.
If M>1M > 1, prove that there does not exist a positive real number xx such that
M(x+1)k=(x+a1)(x+a2)(x+an). M(x+1)^k = (x+a_1)(x+a_2)\dots(x+a_n).

Solution

Claim. For any positive integer aa and real number x>0x > 0 the following inequality holds:
a(x+1)1ax+a, a(x+1)^{\frac{1}{a}} \le x+a,
where the equality is satisfied if and only if a=1a=1.

Proof. If a=1a=1, we easily see that the equality holds for all real numbers x>0x > 0. Let us assume that a>1a > 1, and let us apply the inequality between arithmetic and geometric means for x+1x+1 and a1a-1 copies of 11:
(x+1)+1+1++1a1a(x+1)1a1a, \frac{(x+1)+\overbrace{1+1+\cdots+1}^{a-1}}{a} \ge \sqrt[a]{(x+1) \cdot 1^{a-1}},
or equivalently,
a(x+1)1ax+a. a(x+1)^{\frac{1}{a}} \le x+a.
Notice that the equality is attained only if the equation x+1=1x+1=1 is satisfied, which is impossible due to the assumption x>0x > 0. \square

Let us now prove the original problem, using the above claim. We have
M(x+1)k=a1(x+1)1a1a2(x+1)1a2an(x+1)1an(x+a1)(x+a2)(x+an), \begin{aligned} M(x+1)^k &= a_1(x+1)^{\frac{1}{a_1}} a_2(x+1)^{\frac{1}{a_2}} \cdots a_n(x+1)^{\frac{1}{a_n}} \\ &\le (x+a_1)(x+a_2)\cdots(x+a_n), \end{aligned}
where equality holds in case a1=a2==an=1a_1 = a_2 = \cdots = a_n = 1. However, a1a2an=M>1a_1 a_2 \cdots a_n = M > 1 so we conclude that this is not the case. Therefore, we conclude that the original equation has no solutions in positive real numbers.

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