Number theoryDifficulty 6.9National olympiadProve itJapan
Show that there are no positive integer solutions (a,b,c,d,n) satisfying the equation a2+b2+c2+d2−4abcd=7⋅22n−1.
Solution
Assume the existence of a positive integer solution (a,b,c,d,n) such that a2+b2+c2+d2−4abcd=7⋅22n−1, and take the one with the minimum value of n. Since abcd is rational, abcd must be a square number. First, we establish the following two lemmas. Note that a2+b2+c2+d2−4abcd=(a−b)2+(c−d)2+2(ab−cd)2.
Lemma 1.a,b,c,d are all distinct from each other. Proof. From the symmetry of a,b,c,d, it suffices to assume a=b and derive a contradiction. Since abcd=a2cd is a square number, cd must also be a square number. Therefore, both M=c−d and N=a−cd are integers, and we have M2+2N2=7⋅22n−1. Since the residues of square numbers divided by 7 are 0,1,2, or 4, the residues of M2 and 2N2 when divided by 7 must also be 0,1,2, or 4. Since their sum is a multiple of 7, both M and N must be multiples of 7. Therefore, M2+2N2 is a multiple of 49. However, 7⋅22n−1 is not a multiple of 49, which is a contradiction. ■
Lemma 2. The product of any two numbers among a,b,c,d is different from the product of the remaining two numbers. Proof. From the symmetry of a,b,c,d, we only need to derive a contradiction by assuming ab=cd. Let M=a−b and N=c−d, then M and N are integers, and M2+N2=7⋅22n−1 holds. Because the residues of square numbers divided by 7 can only be 0,1,2, or 4, as mentioned in Lemma 1, both M and N must be multiples of 7. Therefore, M2+N2 is a multiple of 49, but 7⋅22n−1 is not, leading to a contradiction. ■
Consider cases based on the value of n.
(1) n=1 By the symmetry of a,b,c,d and Lemma 1, we can assume that a<b<c<d. From (d−a)2+(c−b)2+2(ad−bc)2=14, we have d−a≤14<4, implying a=b−1=c−2=d−3. We also get bc=a2+3a+2=ad+2 and consequently ad+2−ad=2, which leads to a contradiction since a and d are positive.
(2) n>1 When a,b,c,d are all even, (2a,2b,2c,2d,n−1) satisfies the given equation, contradicting the minimality of n. Therefore, at least one of a,b,c,d is odd. Since the residues of square numbers divided by 4 are 0 or 1, and a2+b2+c2+d2=7⋅22n−1+4abcd is divisible by 4, all of a,b,c,d are odd. Since abcd is an odd square number, abcd≡1(mod4), implying that there are an even number of elements among a,b,c,d that leave a remainder of 3 when divided by 4. Thus, without loss of generality, we can assume a≡b(mod4) and c≡d(mod4). Let g denote the greatest common divisor of ab and cd. Then, gab and gcd are coprime, and gab⋅gcd=g2abcd is a square number. Hence, there exist positive integers x and y such that ab=gx2 and cd=gy2, and (ab−cd)2=g(x−y)2 holds. Since a≡b(mod4), we have ab≡1(mod4), and combined with x2≡1(mod4), this yields g≡1(mod4). By Lemma 1 and Lemma 2, we can find positive odd integers p,q,r and non-negative integers α,β,γ satisfying ∣a−b∣=p⋅2α,∣c−d∣=q⋅2β, and ∣x−y∣=r⋅2γ. Remark that 7⋅22n−1=a2+b2+c2+d2−4abcd=(a−b)2+(c−d)2+2(ab−cd)2=p2⋅22α+q2⋅22β+gr2⋅22γ+1 holds. p2≡q2≡1(mod8), gr2≡1(mod4) imply a contradiction by the following lemma.
Lemma 3. There exist no non-negative integers α,β,γ, positive integers n,s,t,u such that s≡t≡1(mod8), u≡1(mod4), and s⋅22α+t⋅22β+u⋅22γ+1=7⋅22n−1. Proof. By the symmetry of (α,s) and (β,t), we can assume α≤β.
* case when α≤γ Since s+t⋅22(β−α)+u⋅22(γ−α)+1=7⋅22(n−α)−1 is a positive integer, we must have n−α≥1. Therefore, both u⋅22(γ−α)+1 and 7⋅22(n−α)−1 are even, implying that s+t⋅22(β−α) is even as well, and consequently, α=β. Since s+t⋅20 cannot be divisible by 4, we obtain either γ−α=0 or n−α=1. In the former case, 7⋅22(n−α)−1=s+t+2u≡4(mod8), leading to a contradiction. In the latter case, u⋅22(γ−α)+1=14−s−t≡4(mod8), which also contradicts the conditions.
* case when γ<α Since s⋅22(α−γ)+t⋅22(β−γ)+2u=7⋅22(n−γ)−1 has a remainder of 2 when divided by 4, we must have n−γ=1. In this case, 22(β−γ)<14, implying α−γ≤β−γ≤1, which leads to α−γ=β−γ=1. Therefore, we have 2s+2t+u=7, but 2s+2t+u≡1(mod4), which is a contradiction.
Therefore we have proved the lemma.
Therefore, there are no solutions (a,b,c,d,n).
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