Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /3 of 7

, 2020

Algebra Difficulty 8.5 Shortlist Prove it Taiwan

Let n3n \ge 3 and u1,...,unu_1, ..., u_n be real numbers satisfying
i=1nui2018=1,i=1nui2019=0. \sum_{i=1}^{n} u_i^{2018} = 1, \quad \sum_{i=1}^{n} u_i^{2019} = 0.
Show that there exist 1k1<k2n1 \le k_1 < k_2 \le n such that
i=1nui2020uk1uk2. \sum_{i=1}^{n} u_i^{2020} \le |u_{k_1} u_{k_2}|.

Solution

Denote the original inequality by (*). Without loss of generality, we assume uiui+1u_i \le u_{i+1}, i=1,...,n1i = 1, ..., n-1. Let
P={i:ui>0},Q={i:ui0}. P = \{i : u_i > 0\}, \quad Q = \{i : u_i \le 0\}.
By the given conditions, it is clear that unPu_n \in P, u1Nu_1 \in N, u1<0u_1 < 0, and
maxiPui=un,maxiNui=u1.(1) \max_{i \in P} u_i = u_n, \quad \max_{i \in N} |u_i| = |u_1|. \quad (1)

First, from i=1nui2019=0\sum_{i=1}^{n} u_{i}^{2019} = 0 we obtain
iPui2019=iNui2019.(2) \sum_{i \in P} u_{i}^{2019} = \sum_{i \in N} |u_i|^{2019}. \quad (2)
(Obtaining this result independently earns one point. The cumulative total so far is two points.)
Hence, we obtain
0<iPui2020uniPui2019=uniNui2019    uniPui2020iNui2019,0<iNui2020u1iNui2019=u1iPui2019    u1iNui2020iPui2019. \begin{aligned} 0 < \sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2020} &\le u_n \sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2019} = u_n \sum_{i \in N} |u_i|^{2019} \implies u_n \ge \frac{\sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2020}}{\sum_{i \in N} |u_i|^{2019}}, \\ 0 < \sum_{i \in N} u_i^{2020} &\le |u_1| \sum_{i \in N} |u_i|^{2019} = |u_1| \sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2019} \implies |u_1| \ge \frac{\sum_{i \in N} u_i^{2020}}{\sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2019}}. \end{aligned}

Furthermore, using (1) we can obtain
unu1iPui2020iNui2019iPui2019iNui2020=iPui2020(iPui2019)2iNui2020iNui2020iPui2018. \begin{align} u_n|u_1| &\ge \frac{\sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2020}}{\sum_{i \in N} |u_i|^{2019} \sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2019}} \sum_{i \in N} u_i^{2020} \nonumber \\ &= \frac{\sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2020}}{\left(\sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2019}\right)^2} \sum_{i \in N} u_i^{2020} \ge \frac{\sum_{i \in N} u_i^{2020}}{\sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2018}}. \tag{3} \end{align}
Here, we have used the Cauchy inequality to obtain (iPui2019)2iPui2018iPui2020(\sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2019})^2 \le \sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2018} \sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2020} to confirm that the last estimate holds. From (3), we deduce that
unu1iPui2018iNui2020.(4) u_n|u_1| \sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2018} \geq \sum_{i \in N} u_i^{2020}. \quad (4)
Similarly, we can also obtain
unu1iNui2018iPui2020.(5) u_n|u_1| \sum_{i \in N} u_i^{2018} \geq \sum_{i \in P} u_i^{2020}. \quad (5)
From (4)–(5) together with the equality i=1nui2018=1\sum_{i=1}^{n} u_i^{2018} = 1, we obtain inequality (*), where (uk1,uk2)=(u1,un)(u_{k_1}, u_{k_2}) = (u_1, u_n).

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

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