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Algebra Difficulty 7.4 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it Hong Kong

Let f(x)=xn+a1xn1++anf(x) = x^n + a_1x^{n-1} + \cdots + a_n be a polynomial of degree n2n \ge 2 with real roots b1,b2,,bnb_1, b_2, \ldots, b_n. If xx is greater than b1,b2,,bnb_1, b_2, \ldots, b_n, prove that
f(x+1)(1xb1+1xb2++1xbn)2n2. f(x+1) \left( \frac{1}{x-b_1} + \frac{1}{x-b_2} + \cdots + \frac{1}{x-b_n} \right) \ge 2n^2.

Solution

Let cj=xbj>0c_j = x - b_j > 0 for each jj. Note that
f(y)=(yb1)(yb2)(ybn). f(y) = (y - b_1)(y - b_2)\cdots(y - b_n).
Therefore, we have
f(x+1)=(x+1b1)(x+1b2)(x+1bn)=(1+c1)(1+c2)(1+cn). \begin{aligned} f(x+1) &= (x+1-b_1)(x+1-b_2)\cdots(x+1-b_n) \\ &= (1+c_1)(1+c_2)\cdots(1+c_n). \end{aligned}
Now, by the AM-GM inequality, we have
1c1+1c2++1cnn1c1c2cnn. \frac{1}{c_1} + \frac{1}{c_2} + \cdots + \frac{1}{c_n} \ge n \sqrt[n]{\frac{1}{c_1 c_2 \cdots c_n}}.
Thus, it suffices to prove
j=1n(1+cj)ncj1n2n.(1) \prod_{j=1}^{n} \sqrt[\frac{1}{n}]{\frac{(1+c_j)^n}{c_j}} \ge 2n. \quad (1)
Indeed, since n2n \ge 2, we get
(1+cj)ncj1cj+n+n(n1)2cjn+21cjn(n1)2cj2n \frac{(1+c_j)^n}{c_j} \ge \frac{1}{c_j} + n + \frac{n(n-1)}{2} c_j \ge n + 2 \sqrt{\frac{1}{c_j} \cdot \frac{n(n-1)}{2}} c_j \ge 2n
by the AM-GM inequality and a simple inequality 2n(n1)2n2\sqrt{\frac{n(n-1)}{2}} \ge n (which is equivalent to n2n \ge 2). This implies (1). Equality holds when n=2n=2 and cj=1c_j = 1, i.e. x1=b1=b2==bnx-1 = b_1 = b_2 = \cdots = b_n.

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