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Algebra Difficulty 5.4 AIME, harder Prove it Bulgaria

Find all values of the real parameter aa such that the equation
x3ax2+(a21)xa2+a=0 x^3 - a x^2 + (a^2 - 1)x - a^2 + a = 0
has three distinct real roots which (in some order) form an arithmetic progression.

Solution

Writing the equation in the form
(x1)(x2+(1a)xa+a2)=0, (x-1)(x^2 + (1-a)x - a + a^2) = 0,
we obtain x1=1x_1 = 1. Let x2x_2 and x3x_3 be the roots of the quadratic equation. If 11 is the second term of the progression then x2+x3=2x_2 + x_3 = 2, giving a1=2a - 1 = 2, i.e. a=3a = 3. When a=3a = 3 the roots of the quadratic equation are not real.
If x1=1x_1 = 1 is not the second term we may assume that 1+x2=2x31 + x_2 = 2x_3, which together with x2+x3=a1x_2 + x_3 = a - 1 implies 3x3=a3x_3 = a. Therefore a3\frac{a}{3} is a root of the quadratic equation, i.e.
(a3)2+(1a)a3a+a2=0. \left(\frac{a}{3}\right)^2 + (1-a)\frac{a}{3} - a + a^2 = 0.
Thus, a=0a = 0 or a=67a = \frac{6}{7}. When a=0a = 0 we obtain x2=1x_2 = -1, x3=0x_3 = 0 and when a=67a = \frac{6}{7} we find x2=37x_2 = -\frac{3}{7} and x3=27x_3 = \frac{2}{7}. Hence the desired values are a=0a = 0 and a=67a = \frac{6}{7}.

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