Denote by α and β the common differences of the arithmetic progressions an and bn, respectively. The quadratics Pk (k=1,2,…,m) can be written as
Pk(x)=x2+(a1+(k−1)α)x+b1+(k−1)β,k=1,2,…,m.
Since P1 and Pm have no real root, we have
Δ1=a12−4b1<0
and
Δm=(a1+(m−1)α)2−4(b1+(m−1)β)<0.
Suppose that there exists k≤m such that the quadratic Pk has a real root. We have
Δk=(a1+(k−1)α)2−4(b1+(k−1)β)≥0.
Since k,m>1, it follows from the above and by the previous inequalities that
(k−1)Δm<0<(m−1)Δk,
which is equivalent to
(k−1)a12+(k−1)(m−1)2α2−4(k−1)b1<(m−1)a12+(m−1)(k−1)2α2−4(m−1)b1.
This implies that
(k−1)(m−1)(m−k)2α2(k−1)(m−1)2α2⇒a12−4b1<(m−k)a12−4(m−k)b1<a12−4b1(since m>k)≥0,
which contradicts Δ1=a12−4b1<0. This completes our proof.