AlgebraDifficulty 6.8National olympiadFind the answer
Example 1.1.16 Find the smallest value of M such that the following inequality holds for all real numbers a,b,c. ab(a2−b2)+bc(b2−c2)+ca(c2−a2)≤M(a2+b2+c2)2 (IMO 2006)
A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.
Solution
Let x=a−b,y=b−c,z=c−a,s=a+b+c, then the inequality can be written as follows: 9∣sxyz∣≤M(s2+x2+y2+z2)2
where s,x,y,z are any real numbers, and satisfy x+y+z=0. In fact, s is an independent variable. First, we examine the relationship between xyz and x2+y2+z2. Since x+y+z=0, it is clear that two of x,y,z have the same sign. Without loss of generality, assume x,y≥0 (the case x,y≤0 can be similarly proven). By the AM-GM inequality, we have ∣sxyz∣=∣sxy(x+y)∣≤∣s∣⋅4(x+y)3
Equality holds when x=y. Let t=x+y, and apply the AM-GM inequality again, we have 2s2t6=2s2⋅t2⋅t2⋅t2≤44(2s2+3t2)4
Thus, 42∣s∣t3≤(s2+23t2)2≤(s2+x2+y2+z2)2
Combining (1) and (2), we get ∣sxyz∣≤1621(s2+x2+y2+z2)2
This implies M≥3292. To prove that M=3292 is the best constant, we need to find (s,x,y,z), i.e., (a,b,c), for which equality holds. After simple calculations, the values for which equality holds are (a,b,c)=(1−23,1,1+23).
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