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Number theory Difficulty 8.0 Shortlist Prove it Romania

Let n≥2n \ge 2 be a natural number and let a1,a2,…,ana_1, a_2, \dots, a_n be nonzero integers such that a1+a2+⋯+an=a1a2…ana_1 + a_2 + \dots + a_n = a_1 a_2 \dots a_n.
Prove that the number (a12−1)(a22−1)…(an2−1)(a_1^2 - 1)(a_2^2 - 1)\dots(a_n^2 - 1) is a perfect square.

Solution

For n=2n=2, we have a1+a2=a1a2a_1+a_2 = a_1 a_2, which rewrites as (a1−1)(a2−1)=1(a_1-1)(a_2-1) = 1. We get a1=2,a2=2a_1 = 2, a_2 = 2, so (a12−1)(a22−1)=9(a_1^2 - 1)(a_2^2 - 1) = 9.

∣a1a2…an∣=∣a1+a2+⋯+an∣≤∣a1∣+∣a2∣+⋯+∣an∣. |a_1 a_2 \dots a_n| = |a_1 + a_2 + \dots + a_n| \le |a_1| + |a_2| + \dots + |a_n|.
Dividing by ∣a1a2…an∣>0|a_1 a_2 \dots a_n| > 0 we obtain
1≤∣a1∣∣a1a2⋯an∣+∣a2∣∣a1a2⋯an∣+⋯+∣an∣∣a1a2⋯an∣. 1 \le \frac{|a_1|}{|a_1 a_2 \cdots a_n|} + \frac{|a_2|}{|a_1 a_2 \cdots a_n|} + \dots + \frac{|a_n|}{|a_1 a_2 \cdots a_n|}.
If all the numbers have absolute value greater than or equal to 22, then the right-hand side of the above inequality is less than or equal to n2n−1\frac{n}{2^{n-1}}, i.e., 2n−1≤n2^{n-1} \le n.
For n≥3n \ge 3, we obtain (by induction or using Bernoulli's inequality) that 2n−1>n2^{n-1} > n, which contradicts the previous inequality.
Therefore, at least one of the numbers has absolute value 11, which implies (a12−1)(a22−1)…(an2−1)=0(a_1^2 - 1)(a_2^2 - 1)\dots(a_n^2 - 1) = 0, a perfect square.

Remark. For every n≥3n \ge 3, there exist numbers satisfying the condition in the statement, for example
1+1+⋯+1⏟n−2 times+2+n=1⋅1…1⏟n−2 times⋅2⋅n. \underbrace{1+1+\dots+1}_{n-2 \text{ times}}+2+n = \underbrace{1 \cdot 1 \dots 1}_{n-2 \text{ times}} \cdot 2 \cdot n.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.