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Number theory Difficulty 5.8 AIME, harder Prove it Belarus

Find all triples (x;n;p)(x; n; p) of positive integers xx, nn, and primes pp, such that
x3+3x+14=2pn. x^3 + 3x + 14 = 2 \cdot p^n.

Solution

Answer: (x;n;p)=(1;2;3)(x; n; p) = (1; 2; 3), (x;n;p)=(3;2;5)(x; n; p) = (3; 2; 5).

It is easy to see that x3+3x+14=(x+2)(x22x+7)x^3 + 3x + 14 = (x+2)(x^2 - 2x + 7), so the initial equality can be rewritten as
(x+2)(x22x+7)=2pn(1) (x+2)(x^2-2x+7)=2 \cdot p^n \quad (1)
It is evident that x22x+7>x+2x^2-2x+7 > x+2 for all xNx \in \mathbb{N}. So for the case x+2=2pkx+2 = 2 \cdot p^k, x22x+7=2pnkx^2 - 2x + 7 = 2 \cdot p^{n-k} we have nkk0n-k \ge k \ge 0. It means that for both the cases 2(x22x+7):(x+2)2(x^2 - 2x + 7) : (x+2). Therefore, the number 2(x22x+7)/(x+2)2(x^2 - 2x + 7)/(x+2) is integer, but since 2(x22x+7)=2x(x+2)8(x+2)302(x^2 - 2x + 7) = 2x(x+2) - 8(x+2) - 30, the number 30/(x+2)30/(x+2) must be integer. It possible only if (x+2)(x+2) is a divisor of 3030. From (1) it follows that the number x+2x+2 has at most two prime divisors, one of them being 22. So for the natural number xx the number x+2x+2 can admit only the following values 3,5,6,103, 5, 6, 10, i.e. xx can admit only the values 1,3,4,81, 3, 4, 8.

For x=1x=1 we have (x+2)(x22x+7)=36=18=232(x+2)(x^2-2x+7)=3 \cdot 6=18=2 \cdot 3^2, so p=3p=3, n=2n=2.

For x=3x=3 we have (x+2)(x22x+7)=510=252(x+2)(x^2-2x+7)=5 \cdot 10=2 \cdot 5^2, so p=5p=5, n=2n=2.

For x=4x=4 we have (x+2)(x22x+7)=615=2325(x+2)(x^2-2x+7)=6 \cdot 15=2 \cdot 3^2 \cdot 5, i.e. this number cannot be 2pn2 \cdot p^n for any natural nn and any prime pp.

For x=8x=8 we have (x+2)(x22x+7)=1055=25211(x+2)(x^2-2x+7)=10 \cdot 55=2 \cdot 5^2 \cdot 11, i.e. this number cannot be 2pn2 \cdot p^n for any natural nn and any prime pp.

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