Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /22 of 43

Algebra Difficulty 7.9 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

Determine whether or not there exist 15 integers m1,,m15m_{1}, \ldots, m_{15} such that k=115mkarctan(k)=arctan(16)\sum_{k=1}^{15} m_{k} \cdot \arctan (k)=\arctan (16).

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

Solution

We show that such integers m1,,m15m_{1}, \ldots, m_{15} do not exist. Suppose that the equation is satisfied by some integers m1,,m15m_{1}, \ldots, m_{15}. Then the argument of the complex number z1=1+16iz_{1}=1+16 i coincides with the argument of the complex number z2=(1+i)m1(1+2i)m2(1+3i)m3(1+15i)m15z_{2}=(1+i)^{m_{1}}(1+2 i)^{m_{2}}(1+3 i)^{m_{3}} \cdots \cdots(1+15 i)^{m_{15}} Therefore the ratio R=z2/z1R=z_{2} / z_{1} is real (and not zero). As Rez1=1\operatorname{Re} z_{1}=1 and Rez2\operatorname{Re} z_{2} is an integer, RR is a nonzero integer. By considering the squares of the absolute values of z1z_{1} and z2z_{2}, we get (1+162)R2=k=115(1+k2)mk\left(1+16^{2}\right) R^{2}=\prod_{k=1}^{15}\left(1+k^{2}\right)^{m_{k}} Notice that p=1+162=257p=1+16^{2}=257 is a prime (the fourth Fermat prime), which yields an easy contradiction through pp-adic valuations: all prime factors in the right hand side are strictly below pp (as k<16k<16 implies 1+k2<p1+k^{2}<p ). On the other hand, in the left hand side the prime pp occurs with an odd exponent.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

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