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Geometry Difficulty 8.8 Shortlist Prove it IMO

Let ABCABC be an acute triangle with AB<ACAB < AC, and let Γ\Gamma be the circumcircle of ABCABC. Points XX and YY lie on Γ\Gamma so that XYXY and BCBC intersect on the external angle bisector of BAC\angle BAC. Suppose that the tangents to Γ\Gamma at XX and YY intersect at a point TT on the same side of BCBC as AA, and that TXTX and TYTY intersect BCBC at UU and VV, respectively. Let JJ be the centre of the excircle of triangle TUVTUV opposite the vertex TT.
Prove that AJAJ bisects BAC\angle BAC.

Solution

Claim. Quadrilateral WXYZWXYZ is cyclic, and its circumcentre is JJ.
Proof. As NN is the midpoint of BAC^\widehat{BAC}, WW and ZZ lie on BCBC, and XX and YY are the second intersections of NWNW and NZNZ with Γ\Gamma, we have that WXYZWXYZ is cyclic.
Let the parallel to BCBC through NN intersect TUTU and TVTV at UU' and VV', respectively. Then UU' is the intersection of the tangents to Γ\Gamma at NN and XX, so UN=UXU'N = U'X. As NUBCNU' \parallel BC, UNXU'NX is similar to UWXUWX, so UW=UXUW = UX as well. Hence, the perpendicular bisector of WXWX is the internal bisector of XUW\angle XUW, which is the external bisector of VUT\angle VUT. Analogously, the perpendicular bisector of YZYZ is the external bisector of TVU\angle TVU. This means that the circumcentre of WXYZWXYZ is the intersection of the external bisectors of VUT\angle VUT and TVU\angle TVU, which is JJ. \square

Figure 1

Let ANAN intersect BCBC at LL, so XYXY passes through LL as well. By power of a point from LL to Γ\Gamma and circle WXYZWXYZ, we have that LALN=LXLY=LWLZLA \cdot LN = LX \cdot LY = LW \cdot LZ, so WANZWANZ is also cyclic. Thus, AA is the Miquel point of quadrilateral WXYZWXYZ. As WXYZWXYZ is cyclic with circumcentre JJ and its opposite sides WXWX and YZYZ intersect at NN, we have that ANAJAN \perp AJ. Since ANAN is the external bisector of BAC\angle BAC, this implies that AJAJ is the internal bisector of BAC\angle BAC.

Solution 2:

Let the internal and external angle bisectors of BAC\angle BAC intersect BCBC at KK and LL, respectively. Let AKAK intersect circle ABCABC again at MM, and let DD be the intersection of the tangents to Γ\Gamma at BB and CC. Let Ω\Omega be the TT-excircle of TUVTUV, and let ω\omega be the incircle of DBCDBC.

Claim. The points TT, KK, and DD are collinear.
Proof. Note that BCBC and XYXY are the polars of TT and DD with respect to Γ\Gamma. By La Hire's Theorem, TDTD is the polar of LL with respect to Γ\Gamma. As (B,C;K,L)=1(B, C ; K, L) = -1, KK also lies on the polar of LL, thus proving the collinearity. \square

Claim. The incentre of DBCDBC is MM.
Proof. We have that MBC=MAC=12BAC=12DBC\angle MBC = \angle MAC = \frac{1}{2} \angle BAC = \frac{1}{2} \angle DBC, so BMBM bisects DBC\angle DBC. Similarly, CMCM bisects BCD\angle BCD, so MM is the incentre of DBCDBC. \square

Figure 2

Claim. The intersection of the common external tangents of Ω\Omega and ω\omega is KK.
Proof. Let KK' be the intersection of the common external tangents of Ω\Omega and ω\omega. As Ω\Omega and ω\omega are both tangent to BCBC and lie on the same side of BCBC opposite to AA, KK' lies on BCBC. As TT is the intersection of the common external tangents of Γ\Gamma and Ω\Omega and DD is the intersection of the common external tangents of Γ\Gamma and ω\omega, by Monge's theorem KK' lies on TDTD. As KK' lies on both BCBC and TDTD, it is the same point as KK. \square

Hence, KK is collinear with the centres of Ω\Omega and ω\omega, which are MM and JJ, respectively. As KK and MM both lie on the bisector of BAC\angle BAC, so does JJ.

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