Maths Olympiad Prep

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Combinatorics Difficulty 6.6 National olympiad Find the answer

positive integers a1,a2,...,a9a_1, a_2, . . . , a_9 satisfying a1+a2+...+a9=90a_1+a_2+ . . . +a_9 =90
find maximum of 1a12a2...9a9a1!a2!...a9!\frac{1^{a_1} \cdot 2^{a_2} \cdot . . . \cdot 9^{a_9}}{a_1! \cdot a_2! \cdot . . . \cdot a_9!}

I was really shocked because there are no inequality problems at KJMO
and the test difficulty even more lower...

Solution

To find the maximum value of the expression
1a12a29a9a1!a2!a9! \frac{1^{a_1} \cdot 2^{a_2} \cdot \ldots \cdot 9^{a_9}}{a_1! \cdot a_2! \cdot \ldots \cdot a_9!}
given the constraint a1+a2++a9=90a_1 + a_2 + \ldots + a_9 = 90, we can use the method of Lagrange multipliers or analyze the properties of the function directly.

1. Setting up the problem:
We need to maximize
f(a1,a2,,a9)=1a12a29a9a1!a2!a9! f(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_9) = \frac{1^{a_1} \cdot 2^{a_2} \cdot \ldots \cdot 9^{a_9}}{a_1! \cdot a_2! \cdot \ldots \cdot a_9!}
subject to the constraint
g(a1,a2,,a9)=a1+a2++a990=0. g(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_9) = a_1 + a_2 + \ldots + a_9 - 90 = 0.

2. Using the method of Lagrange multipliers:
We introduce a Lagrange multiplier λ\lambda and set up the system of equations:
f=λg. \nabla f = \lambda \nabla g.
This gives us the equations:
ai(iaiai!)=λai(a1+a2++a9). \frac{\partial}{\partial a_i} \left( \frac{i^{a_i}}{a_i!} \right) = \lambda \frac{\partial}{\partial a_i} (a_1 + a_2 + \ldots + a_9).

3. Simplifying the partial derivatives:
The partial derivative of ff with respect to aia_i is:
ai(iaiai!)=iailn(i)ai!iaiaiai!(ai!)2=iailn(i)iaiaiai!. \frac{\partial}{\partial a_i} \left( \frac{i^{a_i}}{a_i!} \right) = \frac{i^{a_i} \ln(i) \cdot a_i! - i^{a_i} \cdot a_i \cdot a_i!}{(a_i!)^2} = \frac{i^{a_i} \ln(i) - i^{a_i} \cdot a_i}{a_i!}.
Setting this equal to λ\lambda, we get:
iailn(i)iaiaiai!=λ. \frac{i^{a_i} \ln(i) - i^{a_i} \cdot a_i}{a_i!} = \lambda.

4. Analyzing the equations:
For each ii, we have:
iailn(i)iaiai=λai!. i^{a_i} \ln(i) - i^{a_i} \cdot a_i = \lambda a_i!.
This implies that:
ln(i)ai=λai!iai. \ln(i) - a_i = \frac{\lambda a_i!}{i^{a_i}}.

5. Finding the optimal values:
To maximize the expression, we need to balance the terms. By symmetry and the constraint a1+a2++a9=90a_1 + a_2 + \ldots + a_9 = 90, we can assume ai=2ia_i = 2i for i=1,2,,9i = 1, 2, \ldots, 9. This satisfies the constraint since:
12+22+32++92=2(1+2+3++9)=245=90. 1 \cdot 2 + 2 \cdot 2 + 3 \cdot 2 + \ldots + 9 \cdot 2 = 2(1 + 2 + 3 + \ldots + 9) = 2 \cdot 45 = 90.

6. Calculating the maximum value:
Substituting ai=2ia_i = 2i into the expression, we get:
1224369182!4!6!18!. \frac{1^{2} \cdot 2^{4} \cdot 3^{6} \cdot \ldots \cdot 9^{18}}{2! \cdot 4! \cdot 6! \cdot \ldots \cdot 18!}.

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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.