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Algebra Difficulty 7.7 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it Iran

Suppose that a1,a2,a3,a_1, a_2, a_3, \dots and b1,b2,b3,b_1, b_2, b_3, \dots are two sequences of real numbers. These sequences are said to be Co-Algebraic if a non-zero two-variable polynomial P(x,y)P(x, y) with real coefficients exists such that for each natural number nn, P(an,bn)=0P(a_n, b_n) = 0.

a) Prove that sequences nn and 2n2^n (for each natural number nn) are not Co-Algebraic.

b) Are sequences 2n2^n and 3n3^n (for each natural number nn) Co-Algebraic?

c) Suppose that f(x,y)f(x, y) is a non-zero two-variable polynomial with real coefficients. Prove that there exists a natural number nn such that f(2n,3n)f(2^n, 3^n) is not divisible by 5n5^n.

Solution

a) Assume to the contrary that there exists a non-zero polynomial P(x,y)R[x,y]P(x, y) \in \mathbb{R}[x, y] such that for every nNn \in \mathbb{N}, P(n,2n)=0P(n, 2^n) = 0. Let dd be the degree of PP with respect to its second variable, yy. P(x,y)P(x, y) can be written as,
P(x,y)=pd(x)yd++p1(x)y+p0(x), P(x, y) = p_d(x)y^d + \cdots + p_1(x)y + p_0(x),
where pip_i's are polynomials in xx and pdp_d is not zero.
For every ϵ>0\epsilon > 0, there exists N1>0N_1 > 0 such that for every n>N1n > N_1, pd(n)>ϵ|p_d(n)| > \epsilon. Furthermore, there exists N2>0N_2 > 0 such that for every n>N2n > N_2,
p0(n),,pd1(n)<(2)n=2n2. |p_0(n)|, \dots, |p_{d-1}(n)| < (\sqrt{2})^n = 2^{\frac{n}{2}}.
Now for every n>max{N1,N2}n > \max\{N_1, N_2\},
P(n,2n)=pd(n)2dn++p1(n)2n+p0(n)pd(n)2dn(pd1(n)2(d1)n++p1(n)2n+p0(n))>ϵ2dn2n2(1+2n++2(d1)n)>ϵ2dn2(d1)n+n2+1=2dn(ϵ2n2+1). \begin{align*} |P(n, 2^n)| &= |p_d(n)2^{dn} + \cdots + p_1(n)2^n + p_0(n)| \\ &\ge |p_d(n)2^{dn}| - \left( |p_{d-1}(n)2^{(d-1)n}| + \cdots + |p_1(n)2^n| + |p_0(n)| \right) \\ &> \epsilon 2^{dn} - 2^{\frac{n}{2}}(1 + 2^n + \cdots + 2^{(d-1)n}) \\ &> \epsilon 2^{dn} - 2^{(d-1)n + \frac{n}{2} + 1} \\ &= 2^{dn} (\epsilon - 2^{-\frac{n}{2}+1}). \end{align*}
Since 2n2+12^{-\frac{n}{2}+1} approaches zero as nn approaches infinity, P(n,2n)|P(n, 2^n)| approaches infinity and cannot be zero for large values of nn.

b) No! Let α=log23\alpha = \log_2 3 (i.e., 2α=32^\alpha = 3). It is easy to prove that α\alpha is irrational. Suppose that the two mentioned sequences are Co-Algebraic and that there exists a non-zero polynomial P(x,y)P(x, y) such that for every positive natural number nn, P(2n,3n)=0P(2^n, 3^n) = 0. This polynomial is the sum of monomials of the form ck,lxkylc_{k,l}x^k y^l, where kk and ll are nonnegative integers and ck,l0c_{k,l} \neq 0 is a real number. Thus P(2n,3n)P(2^n, 3^n) is the sum of expressions of the form ck,l2nk3nl=ck,l2n(k+αl)c_{k,l}2^{nk}3^{nl} = c_{k,l}2^{n(k+\alpha l)}. Since α\alpha is irrational, different pairs (k,l)(k, l) of integers lead to different values for k+αlk+\alpha l. Let β\beta be the maximum value of k+αlk + \alpha l among all of the pairs (k,l)(k, l) for which ck,lc_{k,l} is not zero.
Therefore, P(2n,3n)P(2^n, 3^n) can be written as
P(2n,3n)=c22βn+c12β1n++ck2βkn,() P(2^n, 3^n) = c_2 2^{\beta n} + c_1 2^{\beta_1 n} + \dots + c_k 2^{\beta_k n}, \quad (*)
where c0c \neq 0 and βi<β\beta_i < \beta for 1ik1 \le i \le k. Now, dividing both sides of (*) by 2βn2^{\beta n} results in
12βnP(2n,3n)=c+c12(β1β)n++ck2(βkβ)n. \frac{1}{2^{\beta n}} P(2^n, 3^n) = c + c_1 2^{(\beta_1 - \beta)n} + \dots + c_k 2^{(\beta_k - \beta)n}.
The left hand side approaches zero and the right hand side approaches cc as nn approaches infinity. This is a contradiction because it is assumed that c0c \neq 0, and shows that two sequences 2n2^n and 3n3^n are not Co-Algebraic.

c) According to part (b), there exists mNm \in \mathbb{N} such that f(2m,3m)0f(2^m, 3^m) \neq 0. Let kk be the largest natural number such that 5kP(2m,3m)5^k|P(2^m, 3^m). It is claimed that if n:=m+4×5kn := m + 4 \times 5^k, then f(2n,3n)f(2^n, 3^n) is not divisible by 5k+15^{k+1}, and since k+1<nk+1 < n, not divisible by 5n5^n either. In order to prove it, note that φ(5k+1)=4×5k\varphi(5^{k+1}) = 4 \times 5^k, and by Euler's theorem
24×5k5k+134×5k5k+11. 2^{4 \times 5^k} \stackrel{5^{k+1}}{\equiv} 3^{4 \times 5^k} \stackrel{5^{k+1}}{\equiv} 1.
Hence
f(2n,3n)=f(2m+4×5k,3m+4×5k)5k+1f(2m,3m)≢5k+10. f(2^n, 3^n) = f(2^{m+4 \times 5^k}, 3^{m+4 \times 5^k}) \stackrel{5^{k+1}}{\equiv} f(2^m, 3^m) \stackrel{5^{k+1}}{\not\equiv} 0.

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