Let a and n be two fixed positive integers. a) Prove that there exist n positive integers a1,a2,…,an such that 1+a1=(1+a11)(1+a21)…(1+an1).
b) Prove that 1+a1 has only finitely many possible representations as in the point a).
Solution
a) If a1<a2<⋯<an are consecutive positive integers, then we have (1+a11)(1+a21)…(1+an1)=a1an+1. Choosing ak=an+k−1,∀k=1,n, we get (1+a11)(1+a21)…(1+an1)=anan+n=1+a1.
b) We prove by induction on n∈N∗, the following property: P(n): "For any rational number q>1, we can choose only finitely many possible n positive integers a1≤a2≤⋯≤an such that ∏k=1n(1+ak1)=q." It is easy to see that P(1) is true. Suppose now that P(n) is true for a positive integer n. Let q∈Q, q>1. From the previous point, we know that there exist n+1 positive integers a1≤a2≤⋯≤an+1 such that ∏k=1n+1(1+ak1)=q. Using the inequalities 1+a11<q≤(1+a11)n+1, we get that a1∈A, where A=(q−11,nq−11]∩N∗ is a finite set. For a fixed number a1∈A, let q1=1+1/a1q. It is clear that q1∈Q, q1>1. Using the induction hypothesis, we can choose only finitely many possible n positive integers a2≤⋯≤an+1, such that ∏k=2n+1(1+ak1)=q1. We deduce from here that we can choose only finitely many possible n+1 positive integers a1≤a2≤⋯≤an+1, such that ∏k=1n+1(1+ak1)=q, that is P(n+1) is also true.
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