Let R>0 be the set of positive real numbers. Let a∈R>0 be given. Find all functions f:R>0→R such that f(a)=1 and
∀x,y∈R>0:f(x)f(y)+f(xa)f(ya)=2f(xy)
A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.
Solution
Substituting x=a and y=1 into (1) gives f(a)f(1)+f(aa)f(1a)=2f(a⋅1), which, due to f(a)=1, leads to f(1)+f(1)=2, thus
f(1)=1
Substituting y=1 into (1) gives f(x)f(1)+f(xa)f(1a)=2f(x⋅1), which, due to f(a)=f(1)=1, leads to f(x)+f(xa)=2f(x), thus
f(x)=f(xa).
But then (1) transforms into f(x)f(y)+f(x)f(y)=2f(xy), thus
f(x)f(y)=f(xy)
From (3) and (4) it follows that f(x)f(x)=f(x)f(xa)=f(x⋅xa)=f(a)=1, so for every x∈R>0, f(x)=1 or f(x)=−1. Since we can write positive x as xx, we find using (4) that f(x)=f(xx)=f(x)f(x)=(±1)2=1, thus f(x)=1 for every x∈R>0. We conclude that the only possibility for f is apparently the constant function f:R>0→R:x↦1. Finally, we check whether the constant function ∀x:f(x)=1 indeed satisfies the conditions. The condition f(a)=1 is satisfied, while (1) becomes 1⋅1+1⋅1=2⋅1, which holds. Thus, there is exactly one function f that satisfies the given conditions, namely f:R>0→R:x↦1.
Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track
puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.
Source: NuminaMath-1.5,
licensed Apache-2.0.
Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.