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Algebra Difficulty 6.0 AIME, harder Prove it China

Suppose that a,b,ca, b, c are positive real numbers, prove that
1<aa2+b2+bb2+c2+cc2+a2322. 1 < \frac{a}{\sqrt{a^2 + b^2}} + \frac{b}{\sqrt{b^2 + c^2}} + \frac{c}{\sqrt{c^2 + a^2}} \le \frac{3\sqrt{2}}{2}.

Solution

Set x=b2a2x = \frac{b^2}{a^2}, y=c2b2y = \frac{c^2}{b^2}, z=a2c2z = \frac{a^2}{c^2}, then x,y,zR+x, y, z \in \mathbb{R}^+ and xyz=1xyz = 1. It suffices to prove that
1<11+x+11+y+11+z322. 1 < \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+x}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+y}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+z}} \le \frac{3\sqrt{2}}{2}.

Without loss of generality, we assume that xyzx \le y \le z. Set A=xyA = xy, we have z=1Az = \frac{1}{A}, A1A \le 1. Thus
11+x+11+y+11+z>11+x+11+1x=1+x1+x>1. \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+x}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+y}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+z}} > \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+x}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+\frac{1}{x}}} = \frac{1+\sqrt{x}}{\sqrt{1+x}} > 1.
Let u=11+A+x+Axu = \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+A+x+\frac{A}{x}}}, then u(0,11+A]u \in (0, \frac{1}{1+\sqrt{A}}], and x=Ax = \sqrt{A} if and only if u=11+Au = \frac{1}{1+\sqrt{A}}. Hence
(11+x+11+y)2=[11+x+11+Ax]2 \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+x}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+y}} \right)^2 = \left[ \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+x}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+\frac{A}{x}}} \right]^2
=11+x+11+Ax+21+A+x+Ax=2+x+Ax1+A+x+Ax+21+A+x+Ax=1+(1A)u2+2u. = \frac{1}{1+x} + \frac{1}{1+\frac{A}{x}} + \frac{2}{\sqrt{1+A+x+\frac{A}{x}}} \\ = \frac{2+x+\frac{A}{x}}{1+A+x+\frac{A}{x}} + \frac{2}{\sqrt{1+A+x+\frac{A}{x}}} \\ = 1 + (1-A)u^2 + 2u.
Set f(u)=(1A)u2+2u+1f(u) = (1-A)u^2 + 2u + 1, we see that f(u)f(u) is an increasing function on u(0,11+A]u \in (0, \frac{1}{1+\sqrt{A}}], which implies that
11+x+11+yf(11+A)=21+A \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+x}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+y}} \le \sqrt{f\left(\frac{1}{1+\sqrt{A}}\right)} = \frac{2}{\sqrt{1+\sqrt{A}}}
Now set A=v\sqrt{A} = v, we get
11+x+11+y+11+z21+A+11+1A=21+v+2v2(1+v2)21+v+2v1+v=21+v+221+v=2[11+v22]2+322322. \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+x}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+y}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+z}} \le \frac{2}{\sqrt{1+\sqrt{A}}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+\frac{1}{A}}} \\ = \frac{2}{\sqrt{1+v}} + \frac{\sqrt{2}v}{\sqrt{2}(1+v^2)} \le \frac{2}{\sqrt{1+v}} + \frac{\sqrt{2}v}{1+v} \\ = \frac{2}{\sqrt{1+v}} + \sqrt{2} - \frac{\sqrt{2}}{1+v} = -\sqrt{2} \left[ \frac{1}{\sqrt{1+v}} - \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} \right]^2 + \frac{3\sqrt{2}}{2} \\ \le \frac{3\sqrt{2}}{2}.

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