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Serbian Mathematical Olympiad

Geometry Difficulty 7.5 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it Russia

Let ABCDABCD be a quadrilateral having no two parallel sides, inscribed into the circle Ω\Omega. Let ωa,ωb,ωc,ωd\omega_a, \omega_b, \omega_c, \omega_d be circles inscribed into triangles DAB,ABC,BCD,CDADAB, ABC, BCD, CDA, respectively. Let us draw common external tangents t1,t2,t3,t4t_1, t_2, t_3, t_4 to pairs of circles ωa\omega_a and ωb\omega_b, ωb\omega_b and ωc\omega_c, ωc\omega_c and ωd\omega_d, ωd\omega_d and ωa\omega_a, respectively, so that lines t1,t2,t3,t4t_1, t_2, t_3, t_4 do not contain the sides of ABCDABCD. The quadrilateral whose consecutive sides lie on t1,t2,t3,t4t_1, t_2, t_3, t_4 (in this order) is inscribed into the circle Γ\Gamma. Prove that the three lines connecting centers of ωa\omega_a and ωc\omega_c, ωb\omega_b and ωd\omega_d, Ω\Omega and Γ\Gamma, are concurrent.

Solution

Without loss of generality, let rays ABAB and DCDC intersect at point PP, and rays ADAD and BCBC intersect at point QQ. Denote the center of circle ωa\omega_a as IaI_a, and define points Ib,Ic,IdI_b, I_c, I_d similarly. Let the quadrilateral formed by the four tangent lines be A′B′C′D′A'B'C'D' (line A′B′A'B' is the common external tangent to ωa\omega_a and ωb\omega_b, and similarly for the other three sides).

Figure 1

For quadrilateral ABCDABCD, denote ∠A=α\angle A = \alpha, ∠D=δ\angle D = \delta. By the cyclic properties of quadrilaterals ABCDABCD and AIaIdDAI_aI_dD, we have angle relations: ∠QCD=α\angle QCD = \alpha, ∠UIaA=∠ADId=δ/2\angle UI_aA = \angle ADI_d = \delta/2, ∠VIdD=∠DAIa=α/2\angle VI_dD = \angle DAI_a = \alpha/2. Consequently, ∠CQD=δ−α\angle CQD = \delta - \alpha and ∠PUV=∠PVU=(α+δ)/2\angle PUV = \angle PVU = (\alpha+\delta)/2. In particular, α<δ\alpha < \delta, so point XadX_{ad} lies on ray ADAD and ∠DXadId=∠ADV−∠PVU=(δ−α)/2\angle DX_{ad}I_d = \angle ADV - \angle PVU = (\delta - \alpha)/2. This equality implies that line IaIdI_aI_d is parallel to the angle bisector of ∠CQD\angle CQD.
Since line A′D′A'D' is symmetric to line ADAD with respect to the line of centers IaIdI_aI_d, we obtain that A′D′∥BCA'D' \parallel BC, and line A′D′A'D' passes through point XadX_{ad}. Defining points Xab,Xbc,XcdX_{ab}, X_{bc}, X_{cd} similarly, we find these points lie on lines A′B′,B′C′,C′D′A'B', B'C', C'D' which are parallel to the sides of quadrilateral ABCDABCD.
As established, line IaIdI_aI_d is parallel to the bisector of ∠CQD\angle CQD. Similarly, line IbIcI_bI_c is parallel to this bisector, while lines IaIbI_aI_b

and IcIdI_c I_d are parallel to the bisector of ∠BPC\angle BPC. Since ∠PUV=∠PVU\angle PUV = \angle PVU, the bisector of ∠BPC\angle BPC is perpendicular to line IaIdI_a I_d. Thus, adjacent sides of quadrilateral IaIbIcIdI_a I_b I_c I_d are perpendicular, making it a rectangle. Therefore, it is cyclic - denote its circumcircle by ω\omega, with center at the intersection of its diagonals.
It remains to prove that the centers of circles ω\omega, Ω\Omega and Γ\Gamma are collinear. We'll show these three circles share a radical axis containing points Xab,Xbc,Xcd,XdaX_{ab}, X_{bc}, X_{cd}, X_{da} (⋆\star).
Let γ\gamma be the circumcircle of quadrilateral AIaIdDAI_a I_d D. Then point XadX_{ad} is the radical center of circles γ\gamma, ω\omega and Ω\Omega, lying on two of their radical axes. Hence, the radical axis of ω\omega and Ω\Omega passes through XadX_{ad}, and similarly through Xab,Xbc,XcdX_{ab}, X_{bc}, X_{cd}. Thus these four points are collinear.
Let line B′C′B'C' intersect side ABAB at SS and side CDCD at TT. Since B′C′∥ADB'C' \parallel AD, we have ∠BST=∠BAD=180∘−∠BCT\angle BST = \angle BAD = 180^{\circ} - \angle BCT, making quadrilateral BCTSBCTS cyclic. As C′D′∥ABC'D' \parallel AB and A′B′∥CDA'B' \parallel CD, by Thales' theorem:
XbcB′XbcT=XbcXabXbcXcd=XbcSXbcC′ \frac{X_{bc}B'}{X_{bc}T} = \frac{X_{bc}X_{ab}}{X_{bc}X_{cd}} = \frac{X_{bc}S}{X_{bc}C'}
From these ratios and the cyclicity of BCTSBCTS, we obtain XbcB′⋅XbcC′=XbcS⋅XbcT=XbcB⋅XbcCX_{bc}B' \cdot X_{bc}C' = X_{bc}S \cdot X_{bc}T = X_{bc}B \cdot X_{bc}C, showing equal power of XbcX_{bc} with respect to Ω\Omega and Γ\Gamma. Analogous reasoning applies to Xab,Xad,XcdX_{ab}, X_{ad}, X_{cd}, proving claim (⋆\star) as required.

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