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Number theory Difficulty 5.6 AIME, harder Prove it Greece

Determine all positive integers aa, bb, cc for which there exist positive integers xx, yy, zz, such that: ab+1=x!ab + 1 = x!, bc+1=y!bc + 1 = y!, ca+1=z!ca + 1 = z!, where n!n! denotes the product 123n1 \cdot 2 \cdot 3 \ldots \cdot n.

Solution

We can easily see that x,y,z2x, y, z \ge 2.
If x,y,z3x, y, z \ge 3, then observe that 33 doesn't divide a,b,ca, b, c. Indeed, if for example, 3a3 \mid a, then 33 doesn't divide ab+1ab + 1, but 33 divides x!x!, contradiction.
This means that two of the numbers are congruent mod 33. Due to the symmetry,
suppose that ab(mod3)a \equiv b \pmod{3}. Then, we have
x!=ab+1a2+1(mod3). x! = ab + 1 \equiv a^2 + 1 \pmod{3}.
However, 3x!3 \mid x!, so 3a2+13 \mid a^2 + 1, which is absurd, since for all integers xx, we have
x20,1(mod3)x^2 \equiv 0,1 \pmod{3}.
It follows that one of x,y,zx, y, z is smaller than 33, let it be xx. Then x=2x = 2 and from
ab+1=2!=2ab + 1 = 2! = 2, we get ab=1ab = 1, so a=b=1a = b = 1. Then, from the second relation,
y=zy = z, so all solutions have the form (1,1,y!1)(1,1, y! - 1) with its cyclic permutations.

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