Let P∈Q[x] be a polynomial of degree 2016 whose leading coefficient is 1. A positive integer m is "nice" if there exists some positive integer n such that m=n3+3n+1. Suppose that there exist infinitely many positive integers n such that P(n) are nice. Prove that there exists an arithmetic sequence (nk) of arbitrary length such that P(nk) are all nice for k=1,2,3,…
Solution
For convenience, denote 3d=2016.
Lemma. There exist a polynomial Q(x)∈Q[x] such that x→+∞lim[3P(x)−Q(x)]=0 Proof. Suppose that S(x)∈Q[x] is a polynomial such that deg(P(x)−S3(x)) is minimized (if there are many S(x) that satisfy, we choose one of them). It is easy to check that: - deg(P(x)−S3(x))<degP(x)=3d. - S(x) has leading coefficient 1. - deg(P(x)−S3(x))<2d. For iii), denote P(x)−S3(x)=alxl+al−1xl−1+⋯+a0 and suppose by contradiction that l=deg(P(x)−S3(x))≥2d. Consider polynomial S∗(x)=S(x)+3alxl−2d then P(x)−(S∗(x))3=(P(x)−S3(x)−alxl−2dS2(x))−(31al2x2l−4dS(x)+271al3x3l−6d). The result is a polynomial of degree less than l. This means deg(P(x)−(S∗(x))3)<l=deg(P(x)−S3(x)) which is a contradiction. Then, take Q(x)=S(x) to get 3P(x)−Q(x)=3P2(x)+3P(x)Q(x)+Q2(x)P(x)−Q3(x) From iii), we can see that deg(3P(x)−Q(x))<2d=deg(3P2(x)+3P(x)Q(x)+Q2(x)) then limx→+∞[3P(x)−Q(x)]=0. The lemma is proved.
Since there exist infinitely many numbers a such that P(a) is nice, we can choose some strictly increasing sequence of positive integers (an) such that P(ai) are nice for all i∈N∗. Clearly, for each ai, there exists Ni∈Z+ such that P(ai)=Ni3+3Ni+1. Since limx→+∞ai=+∞, which implies that x→+∞limP(ai)=+∞ and x→+∞limNi=+∞ then x→+∞lim[3Ni3+3Ni+1−Ni]=0 Now, let Q(x) be the polynomial described in the lemma. Because Q(x)∈Q[x], there exists a number M∈Z+ such that M⋅Q(x)∈Z[x]. We have i→+∞limM(Q(ai)−Ni)=i→+∞limM(Q(ai)−3P(ai)+3P(ai)−Ni)=0 Hence, there is a number i0∈Z+ such that −1<M(Q(ai)−Ni)<1,∀i>i0. On the other hand, MQ(ai)∈Z, Ni∈Z so M(Q(ai)−Ni)=0 for all i>i0, then Q(ai)−Ni=0⇔P(ai)=Q3(ai)+3Q(ai)+1 for all i>i0. This implies that P(x)=Q3(x)+3Q(x)+1 for all x∈R.
Choose a number N such that Q(x)>0,∀x>aN then we will prove that the arithmetic sequence given by the formula nk=aN+Mk satisfies the given requirement. It is needed to clarify Q(a1+Mk)∈Z+ for all k∈Z+. Indeed, let R(x)=MQ(x) then R(x)∈Z[x], then R(n1)=Ma1 is divisible by M. So (nk−n1)∣R(nk)−R(n1) leads to M∣R(nk) for all k∈Z+. This finishes the proof.
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