Find all functions f:R+→R+ such that for all positive real numbers x and y, f(f(x+1)y)+f(xf(y)x+1)=f(y).
Solution
Let P(x,y) be the assertion f(f(x+1)y)+f(xf(y)x+1)=f(y).
Rewriting the equation, we get f(f(x)y)+f((x−1)f(y)x)=f(y) which is valid for each x>1,y∈R+.
If there exists a∈R+ for which f(a)>a1, we get P(af(a)−1af(a),a)⇒ff(af(a)−1af(a))a=0, which is a contradiction. Therefore, for each x∈R+, f(x)≤x1.
Now, we can write P(x>1,y)⇒f(y)=f(f(x)y)+f((x−1)f(y)x)≤yf(x)+(1−x1)f(y)⇒yf(y)≤xf(x). So for all x,y>1∈R+, xf(x)=yf(y). Hence for each x>1∈R+, f(x)=xC where C is a constant number. If we choose real numbers x,y greater than 1 such that y is also greater than C, substituting these values for x and y in the equation shows that C=1. Therefore, ∀x>1∈R+, f(x)=x1.
Since f(1)≤1, we have P(x>1,1)⇒f(1)=f(f(x)1)+f((x−1)f(1)x)=f(x)+xx−1f(1)⇒x1f(1)=x1⇒f(1)=1. Now, for 21≤x<1, we can write P(2,x)⇒f(f(2)x)+f(f(x)2)=f(x)⇒f(2x)+f(f(x)2)=f(x)⇒2x1+2f(x)=f(x)⇒f(x)=x1. In a similar way, by using induction on n one can prove that for each positive real x in the interval 2n1≤x<2n−11, f(x)=x1. Therefore, for each x∈R+, f(x)=x1. It's easy to verify that this solution is indeed an answer to the functional equation.
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