Consider the system \begin{align*}x + y &= z + u,\\2xy & = zu.\end{align*} Find the greatest value of the real constant such that for any positive integer solution of the system, with .
Solution
To solve this problem, we need to analyze the given system of equations:
Our goal is to find the greatest value of the real constant such that for any positive integer solution with .
### Step 1: Express and in terms of and
From equation (1), we have:
Using equation (2):
These two equations describe a pair of numbers and which, together, sum to and have a product of .
### Step 2: Solve the quadratic equation
Consider and as the roots of the quadratic equation:
Using the quadratic formula:
The discriminant of the quadratic must be non-negative for real solutions and , so:
This simplifies to:
or
### Step 3: Transform the inequality
Rearrange the terms:
Dividing throughout by (assuming ), we get:
Let where . This gives:
Expanding and rearranging:
We solve the quadratic inequality using the quadratic formula:
Since , we take the larger root, giving us:
Thus, the greatest value of is: