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Algebra Difficulty 6.2 National olympiad Prove it Saudi Arabia

Let a,ba, b be given two real numbers with a0a \neq 0. Find all polynomials PP with real coefficients such that
xP(xa)=(xb)P(x) for all xR. x P(x-a) = (x-b) P(x) \text{ for all } x \in \mathbb{R}.

Solution

Let PR[x]P \in \mathbb{R}[x] satisfy the given condition.

First, we notice that if b=0b=0 then xP(xa)=xP(x)P(xa)=P(x)x P(x-a) = x P(x) \Rightarrow P(x-a) = P(x) (for all x0x \neq 0), hence P(x)P(x) \equiv a constant (since a0a \neq 0), and we can recheck that any constant polynomial satisfies the given condition.

Now, let b0b \neq 0, and put ba=k\frac{b}{a} = k. We need only consider 2 cases.

1. kNk \in \mathbb{N} : Substituting x=0x=0 into the given condition, we have
bP(0)=0P(0)=0. -b P(0) = 0 \Rightarrow P(0) = 0.
Substituting x=a,2a,3a,,kax=a, 2a, 3a, \ldots, k a (in succession) into the given condition, we also have
aP(0)=(ab)P(a)P(a)=02aP(a)=(2ab)P(2a)P(2a)=03aP(2a)=(3ab)P(3a)P(3a)=0(k1)aP((k2)a)=((k1)ab)P((k1)a)P((k1)a)=0. \begin{aligned} & a P(0) = (a-b) P(a) \Rightarrow P(a) = 0 \\ & 2a P(a) = (2a-b) P(2a) \Rightarrow P(2a) = 0 \\ & 3a P(2a) = (3a-b) P(3a) \Rightarrow P(3a) = 0 \\ & \ldots \\ & (k-1)a P((k-2)a) = ((k-1)a-b) P((k-1)a) \Rightarrow P((k-1)a) = 0. \end{aligned}
Thus, 0,a,2a,,(k1)a0, a, 2a, \ldots, (k-1)a are roots of P(x)=0P(x) = 0; therefore, by Bezout's theorem, P(x)P(x) can be written in the form
P(x)=x(xa)(x2a)(x(k1)a)Q(x) P(x) = x(x-a)(x-2a) \cdots (x-(k-1)a) Q(x)
for some QR[x]Q \in \mathbb{R}[x].

The given condition is then equivalent to:
x(xa)(xka)Q(xa)=x(xa)(xka)Q(x)Q(xa)=Q(x)x{0,a,2a,,ka}Q(x)cP(x)=cx(xa)(x2a)(x(k1)a)xR \begin{aligned} & x(x-a) \cdots (x-ka) Q(x-a) = x(x-a) \cdots (x-ka) Q(x) \\ & \Leftrightarrow Q(x-a) = Q(x) \quad \forall x \notin \{0, a, 2a, \ldots, ka\} \\ & \Leftrightarrow Q(x) \equiv c \\ & \Leftrightarrow P(x) = c x(x-a)(x-2a) \cdots (x-(k-1)a) \quad \forall x \in \mathbb{R} \end{aligned}
for any real constant cc.

2. kNk \notin \mathbb{N} : In the same way, it is easy to check that all numbers mama, with mNm \in \mathbb{N}, are roots of P(x)=0P(x) = 0; which implies that P(x)0P(x) \equiv 0; and we can re-check that the zero polynomial satisfies the given condition.

In summary:
- If b=0b=0, then P(x)cP(x) \equiv c.
- If ba=kN\frac{b}{a} = k \in \mathbb{N}, then P(x)cx(xa)(x2a)(x(k1)a)P(x) \equiv c x(x-a)(x-2a) \cdots (x-(k-1)a).
- If ba=kN\frac{b}{a} = k \notin \mathbb{N}, then P(x)0P(x) \equiv 0.

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