Let a,b,c be integers. Define f(x)=ax2+bx+c. Suppose there exist pairwise distinct integers u,v,w such that f(u)=0,f(v)=0, and f(w)=2. Find the maximum possible value of the discriminant b2−4ac of f.
A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.
Solution
By the factor theorem, f(x)=a(x−u)(x−v), so the constraints essentially boil down to 2=f(w)=a(w−u)(w−v). We want to maximize the discriminant b2−4ac=a2[(u+v)2−4uv]=a2(u−v)2=a2[(w−v)−(w−u)]2. Clearly a∣2. If a>0, then (w−u)(w−v)=2/a>0 means the difference ∣u−v∣ is less than 2/a, whereas if a<0, since at least one of ∣w−u∣ and ∣w−v∣ equals 1, the difference ∣u−v∣ of factors is greater than 2/∣a∣. So the optimal choice occurs either for a=−1 and ∣u−v∣=3, or a=−2 and ∣u−v∣=2. The latter wins, giving a discriminant of (−2)2⋅22=16.
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