Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 5.1 AIME, harder Find the answer

Determine, with proof, whether there exist positive integers xx and yy such that x+y,x2+y2x+y, x^{2}+y^{2}, and x3+y3x^{3}+y^{3} are all perfect squares.

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

Take (x,y)=(184,345)(x, y)=(184,345). Then x+y=232,x2+y2=3912x+y=23^{2}, x^{2}+y^{2}=391^{2}, and x3+y3=68772x^{3}+y^{3}=6877^{2}. Remark. We need x+y,x2+y2,x2xy+y2x+y, x^{2}+y^{2}, x^{2}-x y+y^{2} to be perfect squares. We will find a,ba, b such that a2+b2,a2ab+b2a^{2}+b^{2}, a^{2}-a b+b^{2} are perfect squares, and then let x=a(a+b)x=a(a+b) and y=b(a+b)y=b(a+b). Experimenting with small Pythagorean triples gives a=8,b=15a=8, b=15 as a solution. Remark. The smallest solution we know of not of the form \left(184 k^{2}, 345 k^{2}\right)is is (147916017521041,184783370001360) (147916017521041,184783370001360) $

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