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Number theory Difficulty 7.4 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

Example 24([43.3]) Find all pairs of positive integers {m,n}(m3,n3)\{m, n\}(m \geqslant 3, n \geqslant 3) such that there exist infinitely many positive integers aa for which the value of am+a1an+a21\frac{a^{m}+a-1}{a^{n}+a^{2}-1} is an integer.

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

Solution

First, if the conclusion holds, then it must be that m>nm>n (why). By the division algorithm for polynomials, there exist integer-coefficient polynomials q(x)q(x) and r(x)r(x) (with degree less than nn), such that
xm+x1=q(x)(xn+x21)+r(x)x^{m}+x-1=q(x)\left(x^{n}+x^{2}-1\right)+r(x) \text {. }

If there are infinitely many positive integers aa, such that when x=ax=a, (xm+x1)/\left(x^{m}+x-1\right) / (xn+x21)\left(x^{n}+x^{2}-1\right) takes integer values, then by equation (1), for these infinitely many positive integers aa, when x=ax=a, r(x)/(xn+x21)r(x) /\left(x^{n}+x^{2}-1\right) also takes integer values. Since the degree of r(x)r(x) is less than nn, unless r(x)r(x) is identically zero, this is impossible (why). Therefore, a necessary condition for the conclusion to hold is that r(x)r(x) is identically zero, i.e., the polynomial xn+x21x^{n}+x^{2}-1 divides xm+x1x^{m}+x-1.

Thus, setting m=n+k,k1m=n+k, k \geqslant 1, we obtain: A necessary condition for the conclusion to hold is that there is an integer-coefficient polynomial with leading coefficient 1 (why)
q(x)=(xk+ck1xk1+ck2xk2++c2x2+c1x+1)q(x)=\left(x^{k}+c_{k-1} x^{k-1}+c_{k-2} x^{k-2}+\cdots+c_{2} x^{2}+c_{1} x+1\right)

such that
xn+k+x1=(xk+ck1xk1+ck2xk2++c2x2+c1x+1)(xn+x21)\begin{aligned} x^{n+k}+x-1= & \left(x^{k}+c_{k-1} x^{k-1}+c_{k-2} x^{k-2}+\cdots\right. \\ & \left.+c_{2} x^{2}+c_{1} x+1\right)\left(x^{n}+x^{2}-1\right) \end{aligned}

We simplify the above equation. Subtracting xk(xn+x21)x^{k}\left(x^{n}+x^{2}-1\right) from both sides of the equation, we get
(x1)(xk+1+xk1)=xk+2+xk+x1=(ck1xk1+ck2xk2++c2x2+c1x+1)(xn+x21)\begin{array}{l} -(x-1)\left(x^{k+1}+x^{k}-1\right)=-x^{k+2}+x^{k}+x-1 \\ \quad=\left(c_{k-1} x^{k-1}+c_{k-2} x^{k-2}+\cdots+c_{2} x^{2}+c_{1} x+1\right)\left(x^{n}+x^{2}-1\right) \end{array}

When x=1x=1, xn+x21=1x^{n}+x^{2}-1=1, so by equation (3) we know
ck1xk1+ck2xk2++c2x2+c1x+1=0c_{k-1} x^{k-1}+c_{k-2} x^{k-2}+\cdots+c_{2} x^{2}+c_{1} x+1=0

Therefore, the integer-coefficient polynomial ck1xk1+ck2xk2++c2x2+c1x+1c_{k-1} x^{k-1}+c_{k-2} x^{k-2}+\cdots+c_{2} x^{2}+c_{1} x+1 is divisible by x1x-1 (why). We set
ck1xk1+ck2xk2++c2x2+c1x+1=(x1)h(x),c_{k-1} x^{k-1}+c_{k-2} x^{k-2}+\cdots+c_{2} x^{2}+c_{1} x+1=-(x-1) h(x),

where the integer-coefficient polynomial h(x)h(x) is
h(x)=blxl+bl1xl1++b1x+1,bl0,l0.h(x)=b_{l} x^{l}+b_{l-1} x^{l-1}+\cdots+b_{1} x+1, \quad b_{l} \neq 0, l \geqslant 0 .

Combining the above discussions, we get
(xk+1+xk1)=(blxl+bl1xl1++b1x+1)(xn+x21).\left(x^{k+1}+x^{k}-1\right)=\left(b_{l} x^{l}+b_{l-1} x^{l-1}+\cdots+b_{1} x+1\right)\left(x^{n}+x^{2}-1\right) .

Comparing the coefficients on both sides of the equation, we get
k+1=l+n,bl=1,l0k+1=l+n, \quad b_{l}=1, l \geqslant 0

Since n3n \geqslant 3, it must be that k2k \geqslant 2. If k=2k=2, by equation (6) we immediately get
l=0,n=3,m=5l=0, \quad n=3, \quad m=5

Correspondingly, we have
x5+x1=(x3+x21)(x2x+1)x^{5}+x-1=\left(x^{3}+x^{2}-1\right)\left(x^{2}-x+1\right)

Next, we prove that equation (7) is the unique solution, i.e., it is impossible to have k>2k>2. We use proof by contradiction. If k>2k>2, let f(x)=xn+x21f(x)=x^{n}+x^{2}-1. Polynomials are continuous functions, and note that
f(0)=1,f(1)=1f(0)=-1, \quad f(1)=1

By the intermediate value theorem for continuous functions, there must be a real number α(0<α<1)\alpha(0<\alpha<1) such that
f(α)=0f(\alpha)=0

If k>2k>2, then α2>αk\alpha^{2}>\alpha^{k} (why). From the above two inequalities, we get
αk+1>αn,k+1<n\alpha^{k+1}>\alpha^{n}, \quad k+1<n

This contradicts equation (6). Proof complete.

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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.