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Number theory Difficulty 5.7 AIME, harder Prove it North Macedonia

Find all integer solutions of the equation
x4+2y4+4z4+8t4=16xyzt x^4 + 2y^4 + 4z^4 + 8t^4 = 16xyzt

Solution

It is clear that (0,0,0,0)(0, 0, 0, 0) is a solution of the equation. We will show that there exists no nonzero solution of the equation. Let us suppose the contrary, i.e. let (x0,y0,z0,t0)(x_0, y_0, z_0, t_0) be a solution of the equation with at least one nonzero coordinate x04+2y04+4z04+8t04=16x0y0z0t0x_0^4 + 2y_0^4 + 4z_0^4 + 8t_0^4 = 16x_0 y_0 z_0 t_0. It is clear that x0x_0 is divisible by 22. Therefore we write it in the form x0=2x1x_0 = 2x_1 for some x1Zx_1 \in \mathbb{Z}, we substitute in the first equation and we divide by 22, after which we get the equation y04+2z04+4t04+8x14=16x1y0z0t0y_0^4 + 2z_0^4 + 4t_0^4 + 8x_1^4 = 16x_1 y_0 z_0 t_0. Now the number y0y_0 is divisible by 22 so y0=2y1y_0 = 2y_1 for some y1Zy_1 \in \mathbb{Z}. We again substitute in the last equation and we divide by 22, after which we get z04+2t04+4x14+8y14=16x1y1z0t0z_0^4 + 2t_0^4 + 4x_1^4 + 8y_1^4 = 16x_1 y_1 z_0 t_0. Analogously, the number z0z_0 is divisible by 22, so z0=2z1z_0 = 2z_1 for z1Zz_1 \in \mathbb{Z}. We substitute in the last equation and divide by 22, after which we get the equation t04+2x14+4y14+8z14=16x1y1z1t0t_0^4 + 2x_1^4 + 4y_1^4 + 8z_1^4 = 16x_1 y_1 z_1 t_0. The number t0t_0 is divisible by 22 i.e. t0=2t1t_0 = 2t_1 for t1Zt_1 \in \mathbb{Z}. After substitution and division by 22 we get the equation x14+2y14+4z14+8t14=16x1y1z1t1x_1^4 + 2y_1^4 + 4z_1^4 + 8t_1^4 = 16x_1 y_1 z_1 t_1. We get that the quadruple (x1,y1,z1,t1)(x_1, y_1, z_1, t_1) is also a solution of the first equation. If we continue this procedure, we get quadruples of integer solutions of the first equation (x2,y2,z2,t2)(x_2, y_2, z_2, t_2), (x3,y3,z3,t3)(x_3, y_3, z_3, t_3), with the solution at the nn-th step being (xn,yn,zn,tn)=(x02n,y02n,z02n,t02n)(x_n, y_n, z_n, t_n) = \left(\frac{x_0}{2^n}, \frac{y_0}{2^n}, \frac{z_0}{2^n}, \frac{t_0}{2^n}\right), which contradicts the fact the solutions are integer quadruples. Therefore the only solution is (0,0,0,0)(0, 0, 0, 0).

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