a) Let O be the origin of the complex plane and consider the points A and B, whose complex coordinates are a and b, respectively. Prove that [OAB]=41∣aˉb−aˉbˉ∣, where [OAB] denotes the area of triangle OAB.
b) Let ABC be an equilateral triangle, C its circumcircle, and O its circumcenter. If a point P lies in the interior of C, let S(P) denote the area of the triangle whose side lengths equal the distances from P to the triangle's sides². Let P1 and P2 be two distinct points in the interior of C. Prove that S(P1)=S(P2) if and only if OP1=OP2.
²The existence of such a triangle is a famous result of the Romanian mathematician Dimitrie Pompeiu (1873-1954).
Solution
a) If the triangle OAB is oriented counterclockwise, then m(∠AOB)=argab, otherwise m(∠AOB)=argba. Then sin(∠AOB)=2∣b∣∣a∣(ab−aˉbˉ)=2∣a∣∣b∣∣ab−ab∣ and since [OAB]=21OA⋅OB⋅sin(∠AOB), we obtain the conclusion.
b) Let ε=cos32π+isin32π. We may assume that the complex coordinates of the points A, B and C are 1, ε, and ε2, respectively. Let P be a point with complex coordinate p, in the interior of the circle. Then (p−1)+ε(p−ε)+ε2(p−ε2)=0. Consider the points D(p−1), E(ε(p−ε)) and F(ε2(p−ε2)). Observe that, OD=PA, OE=PB and OF=PC. Let J be a point such that ODJF is a parallelogram. We obtain that the complex coordinates of points J and F are opposite numbers. Then OJ=PC, and the side lengths of ODJ are PA, PB, and PC. But [ODJ]=[ODE]=41∣(pˉ−1)⋅ε⋅(p−ε)−(p−1)⋅εˉ⋅(pˉ−εˉ)∣=41((ε−ε2)∣p∣2−(ε−ε2))=43∣p∣2−1 Since ∣p∣<1, we obtain [ODE]=S(P)=43(1−∣p∣2), from which the conclusion follows easily.
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