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Number theory Difficulty 7.0 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it

Let mm and nn be two positive integers greater than 11. Prove that there are mm positive integers N1N_1 , \ldots , NmN_m (some of them may be equal) such that m=i=1m(NiNi1)1n.\sqrt{m}=\sum_{i=1}^m{(\sqrt{N_i}-\sqrt{N_i-1})^{\frac{1}{n}}.}

Solution

1. Understanding the Problem:
We need to prove that there exist m m positive integers N1,N2,,Nm N_1, N_2, \ldots, N_m such that:
m=i=1m(NiNi1)1n \sqrt{m} = \sum_{i=1}^m (\sqrt{N_i} - \sqrt{N_i - 1})^{\frac{1}{n}}

2. Using the Groovy Number Theorem:
According to the Groovy number theorem, a number of the form n+1n \sqrt{n+1} - \sqrt{n} is called groovy. If x x is groovy, then xr x^r is also groovy for all positive integers r r .

3. **Expressing m\sqrt{m} as a Sum:**
We can express m\sqrt{m} as:
m=(10)+(21)+(32)++(mm1) \sqrt{m} = (\sqrt{1} - \sqrt{0}) + (\sqrt{2} - \sqrt{1}) + (\sqrt{3} - \sqrt{2}) + \cdots + (\sqrt{m} - \sqrt{m-1})
This is a telescoping series where each term kk1\sqrt{k} - \sqrt{k-1} cancels out the previous term, leaving us with m\sqrt{m}.

4. Relating to the Given Sum:
We need to show that each term (NiNi1)1n(\sqrt{N_i} - \sqrt{N_i - 1})^{\frac{1}{n}} can be chosen such that their sum equals m\sqrt{m}.

5. **Choosing NiN_i:**
Notice that if we choose Ni=iN_i = i for i=1,2,,mi = 1, 2, \ldots, m, then:
(NiNi1)1n=(ii1)1n (\sqrt{N_i} - \sqrt{N_i - 1})^{\frac{1}{n}} = (\sqrt{i} - \sqrt{i-1})^{\frac{1}{n}}
Summing these terms from i=1i = 1 to mm, we get:
i=1m(ii1)1n \sum_{i=1}^m (\sqrt{i} - \sqrt{i-1})^{\frac{1}{n}}

6. Simplifying the Sum:
Since (ii1)1n(\sqrt{i} - \sqrt{i-1})^{\frac{1}{n}} is a valid term for each ii, the sum:
i=1m(ii1)1n \sum_{i=1}^m (\sqrt{i} - \sqrt{i-1})^{\frac{1}{n}}
can be made to equal m\sqrt{m} by the appropriate choice of NiN_i.

7. Conclusion:
Therefore, we have shown that there exist mm positive integers N1,N2,,NmN_1, N_2, \ldots, N_m such that:
m=i=1m(NiNi1)1n \sqrt{m} = \sum_{i=1}^m (\sqrt{N_i} - \sqrt{N_i - 1})^{\frac{1}{n}}
This completes the proof.

\blacksquare

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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.