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Number theory Difficulty 5.8 AIME, harder Prove it Taiwan

Find all pairs of positive integers (x,y)(x, y) satisfying
7x213xy+7y23=xy+1. \sqrt[3]{7x^2 - 13xy + 7y^2} = |x - y| + 1.

Solution

The answer is x=y=1x = y = 1 and {x,y}={m3+m22m1, m3+2m2m1}\{x, y\} = \{m^3 + m^2 - 2m - 1,\ m^3 + 2m^2 - m - 1\}, where m2m \ge 2.

1. If x=yx = y, then the original equation is equivalent to x2/3=1x^{2/3} = 1, so x=y=1x = y = 1.

2. If x>yx > y, let n=xyn = x - y, then the original equation can be rewritten as
7(y+n)213(y+n)y+7y23=n+1. \sqrt[3]{7(y + n)^2 - 13(y + n)y + 7y^2} = n + 1.
Cubing both sides and simplifying, we have
y2+yn=n34n2+3n+1. y^2 + yn = n^3 - 4n^2 + 3n + 1.
To complete the square on the left side, we multiply both sides by 44 and add n2n^2 to both sides, obtaining
(2y+n)2=(n2)2(4n+1). (2y + n)^2 = (n - 2)^2(4n + 1).
Clearly n2n \le 2 is impossible. When n>2n > 2, since 4n+14n + 1 must be a perfect square, we must have 4n+1=(2m+1)24n + 1 = (2m + 1)^2, hence
n=m2+m,(1) n = m^2 + m, \tag{1}
where m2m \ge 2 (since n3n \ge 3). Substituting back into the original equation, we get
(2y+m2+m)2=(2m3+3m23m2)2. (2y + m^2 + m)^2 = (2m^3 + 3m^2 - 3m - 2)^2.
Thus clearly 2y+m2+m=2m3+3m23m2y=m3+m22m12y + m^2 + m = 2m^3 + 3m^2 - 3m - 2 \Leftrightarrow y = m^3 + m^2 - 2m - 1.
Substituting back gives the solution.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from the original; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.