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Number theory Difficulty 6.1 National olympiad Prove it Austria

Determine all triples (a,b,c)(a, b, c) of positive integers such that
a!+b!=2c!. a! + b! = 2^{c!}.

Solution

*Answer.* The only solutions are (1,1,1)(1, 1, 1) and (2,2,2)(2, 2, 2).

We can assume without loss of generality that aba \le b.

* For a=b=1a = b = 1, we get c=1c = 1, which gives the solution (1,1,1)(1, 1, 1).

* For a=1a = 1 and b>1b > 1, the left-hand side is bigger than 11 and odd, therefore, it cannot be a power of 22 and we do not get a solution in this case.

* For a=b=2a = b = 2, we get c=2c = 2, therefore (2,2,2)(2, 2, 2) is a solution.

* For a=2a = 2 and b=3b = 3, we get 2!+3!=8=232! + 3! = 8 = 2^3. But there is no cc with c!=3c! = 3. Therefore, there is no solution in this case.

* For a=2a = 2 and b4b \ge 4, we get 2!+b!2!+4!=262! + b! \ge 2! + 4! = 26. Therefore, we have c!>4c! > 4. This implies that the left-hand side is congruent to 22 modulo 44, while the right-hand side is congruent to 00 modulo 44. Therefore, there is no solution in this case.

* For a3a \ge 3 and b3b \ge 3, the left-hand side is divisible by 33 while the power of 22 on the right-hand side is not. Therefore, there is no solution in this case.

(Reinhard Razen) ☐

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