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Algebra Difficulty 6.4 National olympiad Prove it China

Let x1,x2,,x22x_1, x_2, \dots, x_{22} be real numbers such that 2i1xi2i2^{i-1} \le x_i \le 2^i holds for every 1i221 \le i \le 22. Find the maximum value of
(x1+x2++x22)(1x1+1x2++1x22). (x_1 + x_2 + \dots + x_{22}) \left( \frac{1}{x_1} + \frac{1}{x_2} + \dots + \frac{1}{x_{22}} \right).

Solution

Let yi=xi2i/2y_i = \frac{x_i}{2^{i/2}}, for i=1,2,,22i = 1, 2, \dots, 22. It is well-known that f(t)=t+1tf(t) = t + \frac{1}{t} is decreasing on (0,1](0, 1] and increasing on [1,+)[1, +\infty). For 1i111 \le i \le 11, we have 1212iyi1211i\frac{1}{2^{12-i}} \le y_i \le \frac{1}{2^{11-i}}, thus yi+1yi212i+1212iy_i + \frac{1}{y_i} \le 2^{12-i} + \frac{1}{2^{12-i}}. For 12i2212 \le i \le 22, we have 2i12yi2i112^{i-12} \le y_i \le 2^{i-11}, thus yi+1yi2i11+12i11y_i + \frac{1}{y_i} \le 2^{i-11} + \frac{1}{2^{i-11}}. Hence, we have
(i=122xi)(i=1221xi)=(i=122yi)(i=1221yi)14(i=1n(yi+1yi))214(i=111(212i+1212i)+i=1222(2i11+12i11))2=(21+22++211+121+122++1211)2=(21211211)2. \begin{aligned} \left(\sum_{i=1}^{22} x_i\right) \left(\sum_{i=1}^{22} \frac{1}{x_i}\right) &= \left(\sum_{i=1}^{22} y_i\right) \left(\sum_{i=1}^{22} \frac{1}{y_i}\right) \\ &\le \frac{1}{4} \left(\sum_{i=1}^{n} \left(y_i + \frac{1}{y_i}\right)\right)^2 \\ &\le \frac{1}{4} \left(\sum_{i=1}^{11} \left(2^{12-i} + \frac{1}{2^{12-i}}\right) + \sum_{i=12}^{22} \left(2^{i-11} + \frac{1}{2^{i-11}}\right)\right)^2 \\ &= \left(2^1 + 2^2 + \dots + 2^{11} + \frac{1}{2^1} + \frac{1}{2^2} + \dots + \frac{1}{2^{11}}\right)^2 \\ &= \left(2^{12} - 1 - \frac{1}{2^{11}}\right)^2. \end{aligned}
When
xi={2i1,1i11,2i,12i22, x_i = \begin{cases} 2^{i-1}, & 1 \le i \le 11, \\ 2^i, & 12 \le i \le 22, \end{cases}
equality holds. Thus, the maximum value sought is (21211211)2(2^{12} - 1 - \frac{1}{2^{11}})^2. \square

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