Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 6.5 National olympiad Prove it Romania

Let aa and nn be two fixed positive integers.
a) Prove that there exist nn positive integers a1,a2,,ana_1, a_2, \dots, a_n such that
1+1a=(1+1a1)(1+1a2)(1+1an). 1 + \frac{1}{a} = \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_1}\right) \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_2}\right) \dots \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_n}\right).

b) Prove that 1+1a1 + \frac{1}{a} has only finitely many possible representations as in the point a).

Solution

a) If a1<a2<<ana_1 < a_2 < \dots < a_n are consecutive positive integers, then we have
(1+1a1)(1+1a2)(1+1an)=an+1a1. \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_1}\right) \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_2}\right) \dots \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_n}\right) = \frac{a_n + 1}{a_1}.
Choosing ak=an+k1,k=1,na_k = an + k - 1, \forall k = \overline{1, n}, we get
(1+1a1)(1+1a2)(1+1an)=an+nan=1+1a. \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_1}\right) \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_2}\right) \dots \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_n}\right) = \frac{an + n}{an} = 1 + \frac{1}{a}.

b) We prove by induction on nNn \in \mathbb{N}^*, the following property:
P(n)P(n): "For any rational number q>1q > 1, we can choose only finitely many possible nn positive integers a1a2ana_1 \le a_2 \le \dots \le a_n such that k=1n(1+1ak)=q\prod_{k=1}^{n} \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_k}\right) = q."
It is easy to see that P(1)P(1) is true.
Suppose now that P(n)P(n) is true for a positive integer nn.
Let qQq \in \mathbb{Q}, q>1q > 1. From the previous point, we know that there exist n+1n + 1 positive integers a1a2an+1a_1 \le a_2 \le \dots \le a_{n+1} such that k=1n+1(1+1ak)=q\prod_{k=1}^{n+1} \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_k}\right) = q. Using the inequalities 1+1a1<q(1+1a1)n+11 + \frac{1}{a_1} < q \le \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_1}\right)^{n+1}, we get that a1Aa_1 \in A, where A=(1q1,1q1n]NA = \left(\frac{1}{q-1}, \frac{1}{\sqrt[n]{q-1}}\right] \cap \mathbb{N}^* is a finite set. For a fixed number a1Aa_1 \in A, let q1=q1+1/a1q_1 = \frac{q}{1+1/a_1}. It is clear that q1Qq_1 \in \mathbb{Q}, q1>1q_1 > 1. Using the induction hypothesis, we can choose only finitely many possible nn positive integers a2an+1a_2 \le \dots \le a_{n+1}, such that k=2n+1(1+1ak)=q1\prod_{k=2}^{n+1} \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_k}\right) = q_1. We deduce from here that we can choose only finitely many possible n+1n + 1 positive integers a1a2an+1a_1 \le a_2 \le \dots \le a_{n+1}, such that k=1n+1(1+1ak)=q\prod_{k=1}^{n+1} \left(1 + \frac{1}{a_k}\right) = q, that is P(n+1)P(n + 1) is also true.

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