Find all functions such that
for all .
Solution
We rewrite the given equation into the equivalent form
Setting , in (1) we obtain
Now, setting in (1) and using (2) we get
for all . This means that if a number can be expressed as the difference of two values of , that is , then . We show that if takes any nonzero value then every number is a difference of two values of .
Let . Putting in the original equation we have
Since , the expression on the right hand side is a polynomial of degree 3, and therefore takes every real number as its value when run over the entire real axis. Hence, the left hand side, which is the difference of two values of , can take any real value. Together with the previous observation we get for all . Finally, one can easily check that all functions of the form satisfy the given functional equation.
The zero function is obviously a solution as well.