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Algebra Difficulty 6.2 National olympiad Prove it

5. Find all functions f:NNf: \mathbf{N} \rightarrow \mathbf{N}, such that for all nNn \in \mathbf{N}, we have
f(f(f(n)))=f(n+1)+1. f(f(f(n)))=f(n+1)+1 .

Solution

5. For nNn \in \mathbf{N}, there are two functions satisfying the conditions:
f(n)=n+1f(n)=n+1,
f(n)={n+1,n0 or 2(mod4);n+5,n1(mod4);n3,n3(mod4). f(n)=\left\{\begin{array}{ll} n+1, & n \equiv 0 \text { or } 2(\bmod 4) ; \\ n+5, & n \equiv 1(\bmod 4) ; \\ n-3, & n \equiv 3(\bmod 4) . \end{array}\right.

Let h0(x)=xh^{0}(x)=x,
hk(x)=h(hk(x)))(kZ+)h^{k}(x)=\underbrace{h(\cdots h}_{k \uparrow}(x) \cdots))\left(k \in \mathbf{Z}_{+}\right).
From equation (1) we get
f4(n)=f(f3(n))=f(f(n+1)+1)f^{4}(n)=f\left(f^{3}(n)\right)=f(f(n+1)+1),
f4(n+1)=f3(f(n+1))f^{4}(n+1)=f^{3}(f(n+1))
=f(f(n+1)+1)+1=f(f(n+1)+1)+1.
Thus, f4(n)+1=f4(n+1)f^{4}(n)+1=f^{4}(n+1).
(1) Let RiR_{i} denote the range of fif^{i}.
(ii) b=f(0)+1b=f(0)+1;
(iii) b1S1b-1 \in S_{1}.
Otherwise, b1R1b-1 \in R_{1}, and there exists nZ+n \in \mathbf{Z}_{+} such that
f(n)=b1f(n)=b-1.
Thus, f3(n1)=f(n)+1=bf^{3}(n-1)=f(n)+1=b.
Therefore, bR3b \in R_{3}, which is a contradiction.
By 3k=S1S2S31+1+S1=k+23 k=\left|S_{1} \cup S_{2} \cup S_{3}\right| \leqslant 1+1+\left|S_{1}\right|=k+2, we have
k1k \leqslant 1.
Thus, k=1k=1, and the equality in the inequality holds.
Therefore, there exists some aNa \in \mathbf{N} such that
S1={a},S2={f(a)},S3={f2(a)}S_{1}=\{a\}, S_{2}=\{f(a)\}, S_{3}=\left\{f^{2}(a)\right\}.

Since f0(x)=xf^{0}(x)=x, then
the conditions (i), (ii), and (iii) each hold
R0=NR_{0}=\mathbf{N}, and R0R1R_{0} \supseteq R_{1} \supseteq \cdots.
From equation (3), if aR4a \in R_{4}, then a+1R4a+1 \in R_{4}.
This indicates that N\R4\mathbf{N} \backslash R_{4} is finite, hence N\R1\mathbf{N} \backslash R_{1} is finite. In particular, R1R_{1} is unbounded.

If there exist different non-negative integers m,nm, n such that f(m)=f(n)f(m)=f(n), from equation (1) we get
f(m+1)=f(n+1)f(m+1)=f(n+1).
By mathematical induction, for every cNc \in \mathbf{N}, we have
f(m+c)=f(n+c)f(m+c)=f(n+c).
Thus, for all kmk \geqslant m, the function f(k)f(k) is periodic with period mn|m-n|. Therefore, R1R_{1} is bounded, which is a contradiction.
Thus, ff is injective.
(2) Let Si=Ri1\RiS_{i}=R_{i-1} \backslash R_{i}.
Then for all positive integers i(i4)i(i \leqslant 4), SiS_{i} is finite.
On the other hand, since ff is injective, we have
nSif(n)Si+1n \in S_{i} \Leftrightarrow f(n) \in S_{i+1}.
By ff being bijective, ff is a bijection between SiS_{i} and Si+1S_{i+1},

Thus, S1=S2=\left|S_{1}\right|=\left|S_{2}\right|=\cdots, and we denote Si=k\left|S_{i}\right|=k.
If 0R30 \in R_{3}, then there exists nNn \in \mathbf{N} such that
f(f(f(n)))=0f(f(f(n)))=0.
From equation (1) we get f(n+1)=1f(n+1)=-1, which is a contradiction.
Thus, 0R0\R3=S1S2S30 \in R_{0} \backslash R_{3}=S_{1} \cup S_{2} \cup S_{3}, and k1k \geqslant 1.
For elements bb in R0\R3=S1S2S3R_{0} \backslash R_{3}=S_{1} \cup S_{2} \cup S_{3}, at least one of the following three conditions is satisfied:
(i) b=0b=0;

Thus f(0)=f3(a)=f(a+1)+1=1f(0)=f^{3}(a)=f(a+1)+1=1.
Therefore, a=f(0)+1=2a=f(0)+1=2.
From equation (5) we get f(2)=3f(2)=3.
Thus, f(0)=1,f(2)=3,f(3)=0f(0)=1, f(2)=3, f(3)=0.
We will prove by induction on mm that for all n=4k,4k+2,4k+3(km)n=4 k, 4 k+2,4 k+3(k \leqslant m) and for all n=4k+1n=4 k+1 (k<m)(k<m), equation (2) holds.
When m=0m=0, the conclusion holds.
Assume the conclusion holds for m1(m1)m-1(m \geqslant 1).
From equation (1) we get
f3(4m3)=f(4m2)+1=4mf^{3}(4 m-3)=f(4 m-2)+1=4 m.
From equation (3) we get
f(4m)=f4(4m3)=f4(4m4)+1=f3(4m3)+1=4m+1. \begin{array}{l} f(4 m)=f^{4}(4 m-3)=f^{4}(4 m-4)+1 \\ =f^{3}(4 m-3)+1=4 m+1 . \end{array}

By the induction hypothesis and equation (1) we get
f(4m3)=f2(4m4)=f3(4m1)=f(4m)+1=4m+2,f(4m+2)=f2(4m3)=f3(4m4)=f(4m3)+1=4m+3,f(4m+3)=f2(4m+2)=f3(4m3)=f(4m2)+1=4m. \begin{array}{l} f(4 m-3)=f^{2}(4 m-4)=f^{3}(4 m-1) \\ =f(4 m)+1=4 m+2, \\ f(4 m+2)=f^{2}(4 m-3)=f^{3}(4 m-4) \\ =f(4 m-3)+1=4 m+3, \\ f(4 m+3)=f^{2}(4 m+2)=f^{3}(4 m-3) \\ =f(4 m-2)+1=4 m . \end{array}

In summary, equation (2) holds.
Direct verification shows that equation (2) is a solution to the original equation.
f3(4k)=4k+7=f(4k+1)+1,f3(4k+1)=4k+4=f(4k+2)+1,f3(4k+2)=4k+1=f(4k+3)+1,f3(4k+3)=4k+6=f(4k+4)+1. \begin{array}{l} f^{3}(4 k)=4 k+7=f(4 k+1)+1, \\ f^{3}(4 k+1)=4 k+4=f(4 k+2)+1, \\ f^{3}(4 k+2)=4 k+1=f(4 k+3)+1, \\ f^{3}(4 k+3)=4 k+6=f(4 k+4)+1 . \end{array}

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