Suppose that x1,x2,x3,…,xn are real numbers between 0 and 1 with sum s. Prove that
i=1∑ns+1−xixi+i=1∏n(1−xi)≤1.
Solution
Solution:
Let i be arbitrary and consider the set A={a1,a2,…,an} defined by ai=s+1−xi and let aj=1−xj for all j=i. For example, if i=2 then A would be {1−x1,s+1−x2,1−x3,…,1−xn}. The AM-GM inequality on A tells us
From here we can multiply both sides by (1−xi), then add s to both sides and factorise the LHS to get:
(s+1−xi)(1−j=1∏n(1−xj))≥s.
Now multiply both sides by s(s+1−xi)xi to get the following equation.
(1−j=1∏n(1−xj))sxi≥s+1−xixi(1)
Note that this equation holds for all i. Now consider the sum of Equation 1 over all 1≤i≤n. Since (1−∏(1−xj)) is constant and ∑sxi=1, the sum of all the LHS equals (1−∏(1−xj)). So we get
1−j=1∏n(1−xj)≥i=1∑ns+1−xixi
as required.
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