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Number theory Difficulty 6.8 National olympiad Prove it

Let SnS_n be sum of squares of the coefficient of the polynomial (1+x)n(1+x)^n. Prove that S2n+1S_{2n} +1 is not divisible by 3.3.

Solution

1. We start by considering the polynomial (1+x)n(1+x)^n. The sum of the squares of the coefficients of this polynomial is given by SnS_n.

2. We need to prove that S2n+1S_{2n} + 1 is not divisible by 3.

3. By definition, SnS_n is the sum of the squares of the coefficients of (1+x)n(1+x)^n. The coefficients of (1+x)n(1+x)^n are given by the binomial coefficients (nk)\binom{n}{k} for k=0,1,,nk = 0, 1, \ldots, n. Therefore,
Sn=k=0n(nk)2. S_n = \sum_{k=0}^{n} \binom{n}{k}^2.

4. Using the identity for the sum of the squares of binomial coefficients, we have:
Sn=k=0n(nk)2=(2nn). S_n = \sum_{k=0}^{n} \binom{n}{k}^2 = \binom{2n}{n}.

5. Therefore, S2n=(4n2n)S_{2n} = \binom{4n}{2n}. We need to show that S2n+1=(4n2n)+1S_{2n} + 1 = \binom{4n}{2n} + 1 is not divisible by 3.

6. We use a lemma related to binomial coefficients modulo a prime pp:
Lemma: If (2xx) is not divisible by p, and x=(a0,a1,,at)p (base p representation), then 0aip12. \text{Lemma: If } \binom{2x}{x} \text{ is not divisible by } p, \text{ and } x = (a_0, a_1, \ldots, a_t)_p \text{ (base } p \text{ representation)}, \text{ then } 0 \leq a_i \leq \frac{p-1}{2}.

7. Applying this lemma with p=3p = 3, we consider 2n2n in base 3 representation. Let 2n=(a0,a1,,at)32n = (a_0, a_1, \ldots, a_t)_3 where ai{0,1}a_i \in \{0, 1\}.

8. By the lemma, if (4n2n)\binom{4n}{2n} is not divisible by 3, then the sum of the digits aia_i in the base 3 representation of 2n2n must be even. This is because each aia_i can only be 0 or 1, and the sum of an even number of 1's is even.

9. Suppose for contradiction that (4n2n)1(mod3)\binom{4n}{2n} \equiv -1 \pmod{3}. Then:
(4n2n)=i=0t(2aiai)(mod3). \binom{4n}{2n} = \sum_{i=0}^{t} \binom{2a_i}{a_i} \pmod{3}.
Notice that each term (2aiai)\binom{2a_i}{a_i} is 1 if ai=0a_i = 0 and -1 if ai=1a_i = 1.

10. For (4n2n)\binom{4n}{2n} to be 1(mod3)-1 \pmod{3}, there must be an odd number of aia_i equal to 1. However, this implies that the sum of the digits aia_i in the base 3 representation of 2n2n is odd.

11. But 2n=a0+a13++at3t2n = a_0 + a_1 \cdot 3 + \ldots + a_t \cdot 3^t is even, which contradicts the fact that the sum of the digits aia_i is odd.

12. Therefore, (4n2n)1(mod3)\binom{4n}{2n} \equiv 1 \pmod{3}, and hence S2n+1=(4n2n)+12(mod3)S_{2n} + 1 = \binom{4n}{2n} + 1 \equiv 2 \pmod{3}, which is not divisible by 3.

\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.