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Number theory Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Find the answer

Example 18 (Problem 1494 from "Mathematics Bulletin") Try to find all positive integers a,b,c,da, b, c, d, where 1<a<b<c<d1<a<b<c<d, such that abcd1a b c d-1 is an integer multiple of (a1)(b1)(c1)(d1)(a-1)(b-1)(c-1)(d-1).

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

Let k=abcd1(a1)(b1)(c1)(d1)Z+k=\frac{a b c d-1}{(a-1)(b-1)(c-1)(d-1)} \in \mathbf{Z}^{+}. It is easy to see that a,b,c,da, b, c, d are all odd or all even, and 11)11).
If a5a \geqslant 5, then 1<k<54657687=21<k<\frac{5}{4} \cdot \frac{6}{5} \cdot \frac{7}{6} \cdot \frac{8}{7}=2, kk does not exist;
If a=4a=4, then b,c,db, c, d are all even, b6,c8,d10b \geqslant 6, c \geqslant 8, d \geqslant 10, thus kk is odd, and
3k<436587109=12863<33 \leqslant k<\frac{4}{3} \cdot \frac{6}{5} \cdot \frac{8}{7} \cdot \frac{10}{9}=\frac{128}{63}<3, kk does not exist;
If a=3a=3, then b,c,db, c, d are all odd, b5,c7,d9b \geqslant 5, c \geqslant 7, d \geqslant 9, thus 1<k<32547698=315128<31<k<\frac{3}{2} \cdot \frac{5}{4} \cdot \frac{7}{6} \cdot \frac{9}{8}=\frac{315}{128}<3,
so k=2k=2.
If b=7b=7, because 3×3bcd13 \times 3 b c d-1,
so 3×(a1)(b1)(c1)(d1)=2b(c1)(d1)3 \times(a-1)(b-1)(c-1)(d-1)=2 \cdot b \cdot(c-1)(d-1), a contradiction.
Therefore, b7b \neq 7. Consequently, b,c,d1(mod3)b, c, d \neq 1(\bmod 3).
If b9b \geqslant 9, then 2=k<329811101514=891448<22=k<\frac{3}{2} \cdot \frac{9}{8} \cdot \frac{11}{10} \cdot \frac{15}{14}=\frac{891}{448}<2, a contradiction.
If b=5b=5, then 224(c1)(d1)=15cd12 \cdot 2 \cdot 4(c-1)(d-1)=15 c d-1, i.e., (c16)(d16)=239(c-16)(d-16)=239 (prime), so a=3,b=5a=3, b=5, c=17,d=255c=17, d=255.
If a=2a=2, similarly, we get k=3k=3, then 3abcd13 \mid a b c d-1, thus 3abcd3 \mid a b c d.
If b4b \neq 4, then b8,c10,d14b \geqslant 8, c \geqslant 10, d \geqslant 14, thus 1<k<2871091413=2240819<31<k<2 \cdot \frac{8}{7} \cdot \frac{10}{9} \cdot \frac{14}{13}=\frac{2240}{819}<3, a contradiction, so b=4b=4, from 313 \cdot 1 \cdot 3(c1)(d1)=24cd13 \cdot(c-1)(d-1)=2 \cdot 4 c d-1, we get (c9)(d9)=71(c-9)(d-9)=71 (prime).
So a=2,b=4,c=10,d=80a=2, b=4, c=10, d=80.
In summary, the solutions are (3,5,17,255),(2,4,10,80)(3,5,17,255),(2,4,10,80).
Note: This problem is a generalization of Problem 1 from the 33rd IMO.
In solving the problem, making assumptions about multiple scenarios for a certain object is a method of specific conjecture in the problem—classification and discussion.

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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.