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Algebra Difficulty 6.9 National Olympiad Prove it Ireland

A complex number zz is called a root of unity if zk=1z^k = 1, for some positive integer kk.
Given a positive integer nn, let SnS_n be the set of all roots of unity of the form
a+bin \frac{a+bi}{\sqrt{n}}
where i=1i = \sqrt{-1} and aa and bb are positive integers.
(i) Prove that SnS_n has less than n\sqrt{n} distinct elements.
(ii) Prove that S5S_5 is empty.

Solution

(i) For a root of unity z=p+qiz = p + qi, with pp and qq real and zk=1z^k = 1, we have zk=zk=1|z|^k = |z^k| = 1, i.e. p2+q2=1p^2+q^2=1. So, if (a+bi)/nSn(a+bi)/\sqrt{n} \in S_n, for positive integers aa and bb, we have a2+b2=na^2+b^2=n.
Since aa and bb are positive integers, a<na < \sqrt{n} and, once aa is known, bb is also known, so SnS_n has fewer than n\sqrt{n} distinct elements, as asserted.

(ii) Suppose to the contrary that z=(a+bi)/5z = (a+bi)/\sqrt{5} is a root of unity, where aa and bb are positive integers. Then a2+b2=5a^2+b^2=5 and we have two possibilities: either a=1a=1 and b=2b=2 or a=2a=2 and b=1b=1.
First note that 2+i=i(1+2i)2+i = i(1+2i) and that zz is a root of unity iff zˉ\bar{z} is a root of unity. Hence it is sufficient to consider the case
z=1+2i5=15+25i. z = \frac{1+2i}{\sqrt{5}} = \frac{1}{\sqrt{5}} + \frac{2}{\sqrt{5}}i.
Suppose zz is a root of unity, say zk=1z^k = 1, where kk is a positive integer. We can write z=cosθ+isinθz = \cos \theta + i \sin \theta, and obtain cos(kθ)=1\cos(k\theta) = 1, sin(kθ)=0\sin(k\theta) = 0, so kθ=2mπk\theta = 2m\pi, for some integer mm, and if ll is any integer, then cos(lθ)=cos(hπ/k)\cos(l\theta) = \cos(h\pi/k), for some non-negative integer h<kh < k.
In particular, there are only finitely many possible values for cos(lθ)\cos(l\theta) as ll runs through the set of integers.
We claim:
cos(2rθ)=ur52r1for r=1,2,3, \cos(2^r \theta) = \frac{u_r}{5^{2r-1}} \quad \text{for } r = 1, 2, 3, \dots
where uru_r is an integer not divisible by 55.
We prove the claim by induction on rr. When r=1r=1, cos(2rθ)=cos(2θ)=2cos2θ1=2(15)21=35\cos(2^r\theta) = \cos(2\theta) = 2\cos^2\theta - 1 = 2(\frac{1}{\sqrt{5}})^2 - 1 = -\frac{3}{5}, and the claim holds.
2cos2θ1=2(15)21=35 2 \cos^2 \theta - 1 = 2 \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{5}} \right)^2 - 1 = -\frac{3}{5}
Assume that r1r \ge 1 is an integer and that the claim holds for rr. This means that cos(2rθ)=ur52r1\cos(2^r\theta) = \frac{u_r}{5^{2r-1}}, with uru_r not divisible by 55, and thus
cos(2r+1θ)=2cos2(2rθ)1=2ur2(52r1)21=2ur252r52r, \cos(2^{r+1}\theta) = 2\cos^2(2^r\theta) - 1 = \frac{2u_r^2}{(5^{2r-1})^2} - 1 = \frac{2u_r^2 - 5^{2r}}{5^{2r}},
and ur+1=2ur252ru_{r+1} = 2u_r^2 - 5^{2r} is an integer not divisible by 55. Thus the claim holds for r+1r+1. Hence the claim is proved for all integers r1r \ge 1.
It follows that all the values of cos(2rθ)\cos(2^r\theta), r=1,2,3,r = 1, 2, 3, \dots are distinct, since, when written as a fraction in reduced form, all the denominators are distinct. But this contradicts what we have shown above, namely that there are only finitely many possible values for cos(lθ)\cos(l\theta) as ll runs through the set of integers. Hence S5S_5 is empty, as required.

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