Let a1,…,an be a non increasing sequence of positive real numbers. Prove that a12+a22+⋯+an2≤a1+2+1a2+⋯+n+n−1an When does equality hold?
Solution
We prove the inequality by induction on n≥2.
For n=2, let a1≥a2>0. We have a12+a22=2a22+(a1−a2)2+2a2(a1−a2)≤2a22+(a1−a2)2+22a2(a1−a2)=(a1−a2)+2a2≤a1+2+1a2
Assume the inequality true for any non increasing sequence of positive n real numbers and let a1≥a2≥⋯≥an+1>0. Denote qn=a12+a22+⋯+an2. It is clear that qn≥nan+1. We have a12+a22+⋯+an+12=qn2+an+12==(n+1)an+12+(qn−nan+1)2+2nan+1(qn−nan+1)≤(n+1)an+12+(qn−nan+1)2+2n+1an+1(qn−nan+1)≤n+1an+1+(qn−nan+1)=qn+n+1+nan+1≤a1+2+1a2+⋯+n+1+nan+1
The equality holds when qi=iak+1, for i=1,2,…,n−1, that is a1=a2=⋯=an.
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Source: MathNet,
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