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Number theory Difficulty 7.6 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it Canada

Problem:

Let's say that an ordered triple of positive integers (a,b,c)(a, b, c) is nn-powerful if abca \leq b \leq c, gcd(a,b,c)=1\operatorname{gcd}(a, b, c)=1, and an+bn+cna^{n}+b^{n}+c^{n} is divisible by a+b+ca+b+c. For example, (1,2,2)(1,2,2) is 5-powerful.

a) Determine all ordered triples (if any) which are nn-powerful for all n1n \geq 1.

b) Determine all ordered triples (if any) which are 2004-powerful and 2005-powerful, but not 2007-powerful.

[Note that gcd(a,b,c)\operatorname{gcd}(a, b, c) is the greatest common divisor of a,ba, b and cc.]

Solution

Solution:

Let Tn=an+bn+cnT_{n}=a^{n}+b^{n}+c^{n} and consider the polynomial
P(x)=(xa)(xb)(xc)=x3(a+b+c)x2+(ab+ac+bc)xabc. P(x)=(x-a)(x-b)(x-c)=x^{3}-(a+b+c) x^{2}+(a b+a c+b c) x-a b c .
Since P(a)=0P(a)=0, we get a3=(a+b+c)a2(ab+ac+bc)a+abca^{3}=(a+b+c) a^{2}-(a b+a c+b c) a+a b c and multiplying both sides by an3a^{n-3} we obtain an=(a+b+c)an1(ab+ac+bc)an2+(abc)an3a^{n}=(a+b+c) a^{n-1}-(a b+a c+b c) a^{n-2}+(a b c) a^{n-3}. Applying the same reasoning, we can obtain similar expressions for bnb^{n} and cnc^{n} and adding the three identities we get that TnT_{n} satisfies the following 3-term recurrence:
Tn=(a+b+c)Tn1(ab+ac+bc)Tn2+(abc)Tn3, for all n3 T_{n}=(a+b+c) T_{n-1}-(a b+a c+b c) T_{n-2}+(a b c) T_{n-3} \text{, for all } n \geq 3
From this we see that if Tn2T_{n-2} and Tn3T_{n-3} are divisible by a+b+ca+b+c, then so is TnT_{n}. This immediately resolves part (b) - there are no ordered triples which are 2004-powerful and 2005-powerful, but not 2007-powerful - and reduces the number of cases to be considered in part (a): since all triples are 1-powerful, the recurrence implies that any ordered triple which is both 2-powerful and 3-powerful is nn-powerful for all n1n \geq 1.

Putting n=3n=3 in the recurrence, we have
a3+b3+c3=(a+b+c)(a2+b2+c2)(ab+ac+bc)(a+b+c)+3abc a^{3}+b^{3}+c^{3}=(a+b+c)\left(a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2}\right)-(a b+a c+b c)(a+b+c)+3 a b c
which implies that (a,b,c)(a, b, c) is 3-powerful if and only if 3abc3 a b c is divisible by a+b+ca+b+c. Since
a2+b2+c2=(a+b+c)22(ab+ac+bc), a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2}=(a+b+c)^{2}-2(a b+a c+b c),
(a,b,c)(a, b, c) is 2-powerful if and only if 2(ab+ac+bc)2(a b+a c+b c) is divisible by a+b+ca+b+c.

Suppose a prime p5p \geq 5 divides a+b+ca+b+c. Then pp divides abca b c. Since gcd(a,b,c)=1\operatorname{gcd}(a, b, c)=1, pp divides exactly one of a,ba, b or cc; but then pp doesn't divide 2(ab+ac+bc)2(a b+a c+b c).

Suppose 323^{2} divides a+b+ca+b+c. Then 3 divides abca b c, implying 3 divides exactly one of aa, bb or cc. But then 3 doesn't divide 2(ab+ac+bc)2(a b+a c+b c).

Suppose 222^{2} divides a+b+ca+b+c. Then 4 divides abca b c. Since gcd(a,b,c)=1\operatorname{gcd}(a, b, c)=1, at most one of a,ba, b or cc is even, implying one of a,b,ca, b, c is divisible by 4 and the others are odd. But then ab+ac+bca b+a c+b c is odd and 4 doesn't divide 2(ab+ac+bc)2(a b+a c+b c).

So if (a,b,c)(a, b, c) is 2- and 3-powerful, then a+b+ca+b+c is not divisible by 4 or 9 or any prime greater than 3. Since a+b+ca+b+c is at least 33, a+b+ca+b+c is either 3 or 6. It is now a simple matter to check the possibilities and conclude that the only triples which are nn-powerful for all n1n \geq 1 are (1,1,1)(1,1,1) and (1,1,4)(1,1,4).

Let pp be a prime. By Fermat's Little Theorem,
ap1{1(modp), if p doesn’t divide a0(modp), if p divides a a^{p-1} \equiv \begin{cases}1(\bmod p), & \text{ if } p \text{ doesn't divide } a \\ 0(\bmod p), & \text{ if } p \text{ divides } a\end{cases}
Since gcd(a,b,c)=1\operatorname{gcd}(a, b, c)=1, we have that ap1+bp1+cp11,2a^{p-1}+b^{p-1}+c^{p-1} \equiv 1,2 or 3(modp)3(\bmod p). Therefore if pp is a prime divisor of ap1+bp1+cp1a^{p-1}+b^{p-1}+c^{p-1}, then pp equals 2 or 3. So if (a,b,c)(a, b, c) is nn-powerful for all n1n \geq 1, then the only primes which can divide a+b+ca+b+c are 2 or 3.

We can proceed in a similar fashion to show that a+b+ca+b+c is not divisible by 4 or 9.

Since
a2{0(mod4), if a is even;1(mod4), if a is odd  a^{2} \equiv \begin{cases}0(\bmod 4), & \text{ if } a \text{ is even;} \\ 1(\bmod 4), & \text{ if } a \text{ is odd }\end{cases}
and a,b,ca, b, c aren't all even, we have that a2+b2+c21,2a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2} \equiv 1,2 or 3(mod4)3(\bmod 4).

By expanding (3k)3,(3k+1)3(3 k)^{3},(3 k+1)^{3} and (3k+2)3(3 k+2)^{3}, we find that a3a^{3} is congruent to 0, 1 or 1-1 modulo 9. Hence
a6{0(mod9), if 3 divides a;1(mod9), if 3 doesn’t divide a. a^{6} \equiv \begin{cases}0(\bmod 9), & \text{ if } 3 \text{ divides } a ; \\ 1(\bmod 9), & \text{ if } 3 \text{ doesn't divide } a .\end{cases}
Since a,b,ca, b, c aren't all divisible by 3, we have that a6+b6+c61,2a^{6}+b^{6}+c^{6} \equiv 1,2 or 3(mod9)3(\bmod 9).

So a2+b2+c2a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2} is not divisible by 4 and a6+b6+c6a^{6}+b^{6}+c^{6} is not divisible by 9. Thus if (a,b,c)(a, b, c) is nn-powerful for all n1n \geq 1, then a+b+ca+b+c is not divisible by 4 or 9. Therefore a+b+ca+b+c is either 3 or 6 and checking all possibilities, we conclude that the only triples which are nn-powerful for all n1n \geq 1 are (1,1,1)(1,1,1) and (1,1,4)(1,1,4).

See Solution for the (b) part.

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