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Number theory Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Prove it Romania

Let nn be a natural number. Find the integers xx, yy, zz such that x2+y2+z2=2n(x+y+z)x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = 2^n (x + y + z).

Solution

If n=0n = 0, using the inequalities x2xx^2 \ge x and its analogues, we deduce that xx, yy, z{0,1}z \in \{0, 1\}.

If n1n \ge 1, then 22 divides x2+y2+z2x^2 + y^2 + z^2, and hence, either the three numbers are even, or one is even and the others are odd. In the former case, if we take x=2x1+1x = 2x_1 + 1, y=2y1+1y = 2y_1 + 1, z=2z1z = 2z_1, we get 4(x12+x1+y12+y1+z12)+2=4(x1+y1+z1+1)4(x_1^2 + x_1 + y_1^2 + y_1 + z_1^2) + 2 = 4(x_1 + y_1 + z_1 + 1), which is a contradiction.
Let us consider the case when the numbers xx, yy, zz are even. For x=2x1x = 2x_1, y=2y1y = 2y_1, z=2z1z = 2z_1, we get x12+y12+z12=2n1(x1+y1+z1)x_1^2 + y_1^2 + z_1^2 = 2^{n-1}(x_1 + y_1 + z_1), and thus, if n=1n = 1, then xx, yy, z{0,2}z \in \{0, 2\}.
For n>1n > 1, using the same argument, we deduce that if x=2nxnx = 2^n x_n, y=2nyny = 2^n y_n, z=2nznz = 2^n z_n, then xnx_n, yny_n, znZz_n \in \mathbb{Z} and xn2+yn2+zn2=xn+yn+znx_n^2 + y_n^2 + z_n^2 = x_n + y_n + z_n, whence xnx_n, yny_n, zn{0,1}z_n \in \{0, 1\}, and thus xx, yy, z{0,2n}z \in \{0, 2^n\}.

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