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Geometry Difficulty 8.0 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it United States

Let P\mathcal{P} be a convex polygon with nn sides, n3n \ge 3. Any set of n3n-3 diagonals of P\mathcal{P} that do not intersect in the interior of the polygon determine a triangulation of P\mathcal{P} into n2n-2 triangles. If P\mathcal{P} is regular and there is a triangulation of P\mathcal{P} consisting of only isosceles triangles, find all the possible values of nn.

Solution

Solution. The answer is n=2m+1+2kn = 2^{m+1} + 2^k, where mm and kk are nonnegative integers. In other words, nn is either a power of 2 (when m+1=km+1=k) or the sum of two nonequal powers of 2 (with 1=201=2^0 being considered as a power of 2).
We start with the following observation.
Lemma. Let Q=Q0Q1QtQ = Q_0Q_1\dots Q_t be a convex polygon with Q0Q1=Q1Q2==Qt1QtQ_0Q_1 = Q_1Q_2 = \dots = Q_{t-1}Q_t. Suppose that QQ is cyclic and its circumcenter does not lie in its interior. If there is a triangulation of QQ consisting only of isosceles triangles, then t=2at = 2^a, where aa is a positive integer.
Proof. We call an arc minor if its arc measure is less than or equal to 180°. By the given conditions, points Q1,,Qt1Q_1, \dots, Q_{t-1} lie on the minor arc Q 0Q t\text{Q 0Q t} of the circumcircle, so none of the angles QiQjQkQ_iQ_jQ_k (0i<j<kt0 \le i < j < k \le t) is acute. (See the left-hand side diagram shown below.) It is not difficult to see that Q0QtQ_0Q_t is longer than each other side or diagonal of QQ. Thus Q0QtQ_0Q_t must be the base of an isosceles triangle in the triangulation of QQ. Therefore, tt must be even. We write t=2st = 2s. Then Q0QsQtQ_0Q_sQ_t is an isosceles triangle in the triangulation. We can apply the same process to polygon Q0Q1QsQ_0Q_1\dots Q_s and show that ss is even. Repeating this process leads to the conclusion that t=2at = 2^a for some positive integer aa.
The results of the lemma can be generalized by allowing a=0a=0 if we consider the degenerate case Q=Q0Q1Q = Q_0Q_1. \square

Figure 1

We are ready to prove our main result. Let P=P1P2...Pn\mathcal{P} = P_1P_2...P_n denote the regular polygon. There is an isosceles triangle in the triangulation such that the center of P\mathcal{P} lies within the boundary of the triangle. Without loss of generality, we may assume that P1PiPjP_1P_iP_j, with P1Pi=P1PjP_1P_i = P_1P_j (that is, Pj=Pni+2P_j = P_{n-i+2}), is this triangle. Applying the Lemma to the polygons P1...Pi,Pi...PjP_1...P_i, P_i...P_j, and Pj...P1P_j...P_1, we conclude that there are 2m1,2k1,2m12^m-1, 2^k-1, 2^m-1 (where mm and kk are nonnegative integers) vertices in the interiors of the minor arcs P1Pi^,PiPj^,PjP1^\widehat{P_1P_i}, \widehat{P_iP_j}, \widehat{P_jP_1}, respectively. (In other words, i=2m+1,j=2k+ii = 2^m+1, j = 2^k+i.) Hence
n=2m1+2k1+2m1+3=2m+1+2k, n = 2^m - 1 + 2^k - 1 + 2^m - 1 + 3 = 2^{m+1} + 2^k,
where mm and kk are nonnegative integers. The above discussion can easily lead to a triangulation consisting of only isosceles triangles for n=2m+1+2kn = 2^{m+1}+2^k. (The middle diagram shown above illustrates the case n=18=23+1+21n = 18 = 2^{3+1}+2^1. The right-hand side diagram shown above illustrates the case n=16=22+1+23n = 16 = 2^{2+1}+2^3.)

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