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Algebra Difficulty 6.8 National olympiad Find the answer

Determine all polynomials P(x)P(x) with real coefficients such that
P(x)2+P(1x)2=P(x2)P(1x2)P(x)^2 + P\left(\frac{1}{x}\right)^2= P(x^2)P\left(\frac{1}{x^2}\right) for all xx.

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

To solve the problem, we need to determine all polynomials P(x) P(x) with real coefficients satisfying the equation:

P(x)2+P(1x)2=P(x2)P(1x2) P(x)^2 + P\left(\frac{1}{x}\right)^2 = P(x^2)P\left(\frac{1}{x^2}\right)

for all x x .

### Step 1: Analyze the Equation

Let's start by inspecting the given functional equation. Set x=1 x = 1 :

P(1)2+P(1)2=P(1)P(1)    2P(1)2=P(1)2 P(1)^2 + P(1)^2 = P(1)P(1) \implies 2P(1)^2 = P(1)^2

This implies either P(1)=0 P(1) = 0 or P(1)=undefined P(1) = \text{undefined} . The latter does not apply here, so let us assume P(1)=0 P(1) = 0 .

### Step 2: Consider Special Values

Next, substitute x=0 x = 0 :

P(0)2+P(10)2 is undefined as P(10) is undefined. P(0)^2 + P\left(\frac{1}{0}\right)^2 \text{ is undefined as } P\left(\frac{1}{0}\right) \text{ is undefined.}

This prompts that the function might inherently contain no constant non-zero term, as imaginary or undefined inputs do not yield a valid expression.

### Step 3: Assume P(x)=0 P(x) = 0 and Check

Suppose P(x)=0 P(x) = 0 . Substituting into the original equation gives:

02+02=00, 0^2 + 0^2 = 0 \cdot 0,

which simplifies to 0=0 0 = 0 , thus satisfying the equation trivially for all x x .

### Step 4: Check for Non-trivial Solutions

Consider whether there could be a non-zero polynomial satisfying the given condition.

1. Assume P(x)=c P(x) = c where c0 c \neq 0 . Substituting back, we get:

c2+c2=cc    2c2=c2, c^2 + c^2 = c \cdot c \implies 2c^2 = c^2,

which fails unless c=0 c = 0 . Therefore, c0 c \neq 0 gives no valid solution.

2. Suppose P(x) P(x) is of degree n n . Then each side of the equation must be a polynomial of degree 2n 2n . Moreover, due to symmetry in substitution x x and 1x \frac{1}{x} , and enforcing both degrees equal, P(x) P(x) cannot maintain a balance without nullifying effectively.

Thus, the only consistent polynomial across scenarios that satisfy the functional equation is the zero polynomial.

Therefore, the polynomial P(x) P(x) satisfying the original condition is:
0 \boxed{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.