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Algebra Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Prove it Taiwan

Given a positive integer nn greater than 55. Find all real numbers aa such that there exist nonnegative real numbers x1,x2,,xnx_1, x_2, \dots, x_n satisfying
k=1nkxk=a,k=1nk3xk=a2,k=1nk5xk=a3. \sum_{k=1}^{n} kx_{k} = a, \quad \sum_{k=1}^{n} k^{3}x_{k} = a^{2}, \quad \sum_{k=1}^{n} k^{5}x_{k} = a^{3}.

Solution

Suppose {xi}\{x_i\} satisfies the conditions of the problem, then
k=1nkxk=a,k=1nk3xk=a2,k=1nk5xk=a3. \sum_{k=1}^{n} kx_{k} = a, \quad \sum_{k=1}^{n} k^{3}x_{k} = a^{2}, \quad \sum_{k=1}^{n} k^{5}x_{k} = a^{3}.
由歌西不等式得 By the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, we get
aa3=(k=1nkxk)(k=1nk5xk)(k=1nk3xk)2=a4. \begin{aligned} aa^3 &= \left(\sum_{k=1}^{n} kx_k\right) \left(\sum_{k=1}^{n} k^5 x_k\right) \\ &\geq \left(\sum_{k=1}^{n} k^3 x_k\right)^2 = a^4.\end{aligned}
Therefore equality must hold in the above inequality. Hence we should have:
(1) If none of the xkx_k is 00, then
1k4=kxkk5xk is constant \frac{1}{k^4} = \frac{kx_k}{k^5 x_k} \text{ is constant}
Since the value of kk is not fixed, this is clearly impossible.
(2) If among xk(1kn)x_k(1 \le k \le n) there is a 00, without loss of generality assume x1=0x_1 = 0. Then
k=2nkxk=a,k=2nk3xk=a2,k=2nk5xk=a3. \sum_{k=2}^{n} kx_{k} = a, \quad \sum_{k=2}^{n} k^{3}x_{k} = a^{2}, \quad \sum_{k=2}^{n} k^{5}x_{k} = a^{3}.
For the above conditions, applying the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality again, we obtain: among x2,x3,,xnx_2, x_3, \dots, x_n there is a 00.
Repeating the above steps, we obtain the following conclusion:

Among {xk}\{x_k\} at most one is nonzero, let it be xi(xi0,ix_i(x_i \neq 0, i can take the value 1,2,,n1, 2, \dots, n), then
ixi=a,i3xi=a2,i5xi=a3, ix_i = a, \quad i^3 x_i = a^2, \quad i^5 x_i = a^3,
thus, i2=ai^2 = a. From this we know: all possible values of aa are: 1,22,32,,n21, 2^2, 3^2, \dots, n^2.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from zh; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.