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Number theory Difficulty 6.1 National olympiad Prove it Croatia

Let mm be a positive integer, and pp be a prime number such that p>mp > m. Prove that the number of positive integers nn, for which
m2+n2+p22mn2mp2np m^2 + n^2 + p^2 - 2mn - 2mp - 2np
is a square of some positive integer, does not depend on pp. (Bulgaria 2013)

Solution

Let m2+n2+p22mn2mp2np=k2m^2 + n^2 + p^2 - 2mn - 2mp - 2np = k^2 for some positive integer kk. Since
k2+4mp=m2+n2+p22mn+2mp2np=(mn+p)2 k^2 + 4mp = m^2 + n^2 + p^2 - 2mn + 2mp - 2np = (m - n + p)^2
is a perfect square, there exists a positive integer ll such that (k+l)2=k2+4mp(k+l)^2 = k^2 + 4mp, i.e. 2kl+l2=4mp2kl + l^2 = 4mp, and hence ll is even. Thus l=2al = 2a and a2<a(k+a)=mp<p2a^2 < a(k+a) = mp < p^2, hence p>ap > a.
Since pp is prime, it follows that pk+ap \mid k+a, i.e. k+a=bpk+a = bp for some positive integer bb. Thus ab=m<pab = m < p,
(bp+a)2=(k+2a)2=(k+l)2=(mn+p)2 (bp + a)^2 = (k + 2a)^2 = (k + l)^2 = (m - n + p)^2
and n=p+ab±(bp+a)n = p + ab \pm (bp + a).
However, p+ab(bp+a)=(1b)(pa)0p + ab - (bp + a) = (1-b)(p-a) \le 0, so n=p+m+bp+an = p + m + bp + a meaning that every choice of (a,b)(a, b) yields valid nn.

Now assume that two different choices (a,b)(a, b) and (a,b)(a', b') yield the same nn, i.e. p+m+bp+a=p+m+bp+ap+m+bp+a = p+m+b'p+a'. It follows that p(bb)=aa-p(b-b') = a-a' and hence paap \mid a-a', which is impossible because 0<aa<m<p0 < |a-a'| < m < p.
Thus, the number of valid positive integers nn is equal to the number of divisors of mm, which does not depend on pp.

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