Number theoryDifficulty 8.7ShortlistProve itRomania
a) There are infinitely many positive integer numbers n such that there exists a square equal to the sum of the squares of n consecutive positive integer numbers. (For instance, 2 and 11 are such: 52=32+42 and 772=182+192+⋯+282.)
b) If n is a positive integer number which is not a perfect square and if x0 is an integer number such that x02+(x0+1)2+⋯+(x0+n−1)2 is a perfect square, then there are infinitely many positive integer numbers x such that x2+(x+1)2+⋯+(x+n−1)2 is a perfect square.
Solution
a. We must show that there are infinitely many positive integer numbers n such that the equation y2=x2+(x+1)2+⋯+(x+n−1)2 has positive integral solutions. To this end, rewrite the equation in the form y2=n((x+2n−1)2+12(n2−1)).(1) We show that if n is a square greater than 25 not divisible by 2 or 3, then (1) has a positive but finite number of solutions in positive integers x and y. Since n is a perfect square, the expression in the outmost parentheses in (1) must be a perfect square z2, i.e., there is a positive integer z such that z2−(x+2n−1)2=12(n2−1).(2) Thus, z±(x+(n−1)/2) must be complementary even divisors of (n2−1)/12 differing by more than n−1; hence there are only finitely many solutions to (2) in positive integers. One such is obtained by taking z−(x+2n−1)=2andz+(x+2n−1)=24n2−1, i.e., by letting x and z have the positive integer values x=48(n−25)(n+1)andz=1+48(n2−1).
b. Rewrite the equation y2=x2+(x+1)2+⋯+(x+n−1)2 in the form (2y)2−n(2x+n−1)2=3(n−1)n(n+1)(3) and let Tn(x)=x2+(x+1)2+⋯+(x+n−1)2. We may assume n>1. Since Tn(x)=Tn(−x−n+1), we may further assume that x0≥−(n−1)/2. Suppose Tn(x0)=y02, i.e., (2y0)2−n(2x0+n−1)2=(n−1)n(n+1)/3, where we may assume y0>0 (and hence y0>(n−1)/2). By the theory of the Pell equation, there are infinitely many pairs of positive integers u,v such that u2−nv2=1.(4) Clearly, u is odd if n is even, so that (n−1)(u−1) is even. We now use the identity (2y0+(2x0+n−1)n)(u+vn)=2y+(2x+n−1)n,(5) where x=x0u+y0v+2(n−1)(u−1)andy=y0u+x0nv+2(n−1)nv.(6) Multiplying (5) by the identity obtained from (5) by replacing n by −n, we find that if x and y are given by (6) and u and v satisfy (4), then (2y)2−n(2x+n−1)2=((2y0)2−n(2x0+n−1)2)(u2−nv2)=(2y0)2−n(2x0+n−1)2=3(n−1)n(n+1). Thus, if x,y are given by (6), they satisfy (3), so that Tn(x) is a perfect square. Further, since x0≥−(n−1)/2 and y0>(n−1)/2, it follows that y≥y0u>0 and x≥y0v−u(n−1)/2+(n−1)(u−1)/2=y0v−(n−1)/2≥y0−(n−1)/2>0. This ends the proof.
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