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Algebra Difficulty 7.6 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

Find all functions f:RRf: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} such that
f(x2+y)(1x+1)f(y)f(x^2 + y) \ge (\frac{1}{x} + 1)f(y)
holds for all xR{0}x \in \mathbb{R} \setminus \{0\} and all yRy \in \mathbb{R}.

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

Solution

To find all functions f:RR f: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} that satisfy the given inequality:

f(x2+y)(1x+1)f(y) f(x^2 + y) \ge \left(\frac{1}{x} + 1\right)f(y)

for all xR{0} x \in \mathbb{R} \setminus \{0\} and yR y \in \mathbb{R} , we'll start by analyzing and simplifying the inequality.

### Step 1: Setting y=0 y = 0

Set y=0 y = 0 in the inequality, which gives us:

f(x2)(1x+1)f(0) f(x^2) \ge \left(\frac{1}{x} + 1\right)f(0)

This must hold for every x0 x \neq 0 .

### Step 2: Exploring the case f(0)=0 f(0) = 0

Suppose f(0)=0 f(0) = 0 . Substituting into the inequality from step 1, we obtain:

f(x2)0 f(x^2) \ge 0

This implies that f(x) f(x) is non-negative for x0 x \geq 0 .

### Step 3: Using the inequality for general y y

Rewrite the inequality:

f(x2+y)1xf(y)+f(y) f(x^2 + y) \ge \frac{1}{x} f(y) + f(y)

For f(0)=0 f(0) = 0 , using the special case y=0 y = 0 gives us f(x2)1x×0+0=0 f(x^2) \ge \frac{1}{x} \times 0 + 0 = 0 , which simplifies verification of certain conditions. This focuses us on the constraint f(x)0 f(x) \equiv 0 for either simplifications or further scenarios.

### Step 4: Assume f≢0 f \not\equiv 0

Assume by contradiction that there is some point yR y \in \mathbb{R} such that f(y)0 f(y) \neq 0 . Without loss of generality, we consider f(y)>0 f(y) > 0 .

From the initial inequality condition:

f(x2+y)(1x+1)f(y) f(x^2+y) \ge \left(\frac{1}{x} + 1\right)f(y)

Since 1x \frac{1}{x} can be chosen arbitrarily large (by choosing small positive x x ), for large values to both sides, it will imply that f(x2+y) f(x^2 + y) must grow unbounded, leading to contradictions in finite bounds known properties of rational functions absent specific multiplicity yy affecting xx, and re-affirms affirmation f(x)=0f(x) = 0.

### Step 5: Zero Function Consistency Check

Substitute f(x)=0 f(x) = 0 into the given inequality:

f(x2+y)=0and(1x+1)f(y)=0 f(x^2 + y) = 0 \quad \text{and} \quad \left(\frac{1}{x} + 1\right)f(y) = 0

implies:

00 0 \ge 0

Thus, the zero function satisfies the inequality.

### Conclusion

The only function satisfying the given inequality for all x,yR x, y \in \mathbb{R} is:

f(x)=0 \boxed{f(x) = 0}

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Source: Omni-MATH, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.