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Algebra Difficulty 6.2 National olympiad Find the answer

Determine all integers nn for which the polynomial P(x)=3x3nxn2P(x)=3 x^{3}-n x-n-2 can be written as the product of two non-constant polynomials with integer coefficients.

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

Suppose P(x)P(x) can be written as P(x)=A(x)B(x)P(x)=A(x) B(x) with AA and BB being non-constant polynomials with integer coefficients. Since AA and BB are not constant, they each have a degree of at least 1. The sum of the two degrees is equal to the degree of PP, which is 3. This means that the two degrees must be 1 and 2. We can thus write, without loss of generality, A(x)=ax2+bx+cA(x)=a x^{2}+b x+c and B(x)=dx+eB(x)=d x+e with a,b,c,da, b, c, d and ee being integers. The product of the leading coefficients aa and dd is equal to the leading coefficient of PP, which is 3. Since we could also multiply both AA and BB by -1, we may assume that aa and dd are both positive and thus, in some order, equal to 1 and 3.

First, assume that d=1d=1. Substitute x=1x=-1. We have

P(1)=3(1)3+nn2=5, P(-1)=3 \cdot(-1)^{3}+n-n-2=-5,

so

5=P(1)=A(1)B(1)=A(1)(1+e). -5=P(-1)=A(-1) B(-1)=A(-1) \cdot(-1+e).

We see that 1+e-1+e is a divisor of -5, so it is equal to 5,1,1-5, -1, 1 or 5. This gives four possible values for ee, namely 4,0,2-4, 0, 2 or 6. Furthermore, x=ex=-e is a root of BB and thus also of PP.

If e=4e=-4, then

0=P(4)=3434nn2=1905n 0=P(4)=3 \cdot 4^{3}-4 n-n-2=190-5 n

so n=38n=38. We can indeed factorize P(x)P(x) as follows:

3x338x40=(3x2+12x+10)(x4) 3 x^{3}-38 x-40=\left(3 x^{2}+12 x+10\right)(x-4)

If e=0e=0, then

0=P(0)=n2 0=P(0)=-n-2

so n=2n=-2. We can indeed factorize P(x)P(x) as follows:

3x3+2x=(3x2+2)x 3 x^{3}+2 x=\left(3 x^{2}+2\right) x

If e=2e=2, then

0=P(2)=3(2)3+2nn2=26+n 0=P(-2)=3 \cdot(-2)^{3}+2 n-n-2=-26+n

so n=26n=26. We can indeed factorize P(x)P(x) as follows:

3x326x28=(3x26x14)(x+2) 3 x^{3}-26 x-28=\left(3 x^{2}-6 x-14\right)(x+2)

If e=6e=6, then

0=P(6)=3(6)3+6nn2=650+5n 0=P(-6)=3 \cdot(-6)^{3}+6 n-n-2=-650+5 n

so n=130n=130. We can indeed factorize P(x)P(x) as follows:

3x3130x132=(3x218x22)(x+6) 3 x^{3}-130 x-132=\left(3 x^{2}-18 x-22\right)(x+6)

Now assume that d=3d=3. We have

5=P(1)=A(1)B(1)=A(1)(3+e) -5=P(-1)=A(-1) B(-1)=A(-1) \cdot(-3+e)

We see that 3+e-3+e is a divisor of -5, so it is equal to 5,1,1-5, -1, 1 or 5. This gives four possible values for ee, namely 2,2,4-2, 2, 4 or 8. Furthermore, x=e3x=\frac{-e}{3} is a root of BB and thus also of PP. We see that ee is never divisible by 3. We have

0=P(e3)=3(e3)3+e3nn2=e39+e33n2, 0=P\left(\frac{-e}{3}\right)=3 \cdot\left(\frac{-e}{3}\right)^{3}+\frac{e}{3} n-n-2=-\frac{e^{3}}{9}+\frac{e-3}{3} n-2,

so e33n=e39+2\frac{e-3}{3} n=\frac{e^{3}}{9}+2, thus (e3)n=e33+6(e-3) n=\frac{e^{3}}{3}+6. But this leads to a contradiction, because the left side is an integer and the right side is not, since 3 is not a divisor of ee.

We conclude that the solutions are: n=38,n=2,n=26n=38, n=-2, n=26 and n=130n=130.

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.