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Algebra Difficulty 7.9 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

Find all functions f:RR f: \mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R} such that f(x+y)+f(x)f(y)=f(xy)+2xy+1 f(x+y)+f(x)f(y)=f(xy)+2xy+1 for all real numbers x x and y y.

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

Solution

To find all functions f:RR f: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R} satisfying the equation:

f(x+y)+f(x)f(y)=f(xy)+2xy+1 f(x+y) + f(x)f(y) = f(xy) + 2xy + 1

for all real numbers x x and y y , we proceed as follows:

First, let's substitute specific values for x x and y y to gain insights into the form of f f .

### Step 1: Substituting x=0 x = 0 and y=0 y = 0
f(0+0)+f(0)f(0)=f(00)+200+1    f(0)+f(0)2=f(0)+1 f(0+0) + f(0)f(0) = f(0 \cdot 0) + 2 \cdot 0 \cdot 0 + 1 \implies f(0) + f(0)^2 = f(0) + 1

This implies f(0)2=1 f(0)^2 = 1 , so f(0)=1 f(0) = 1 or f(0)=1 f(0) = -1 .

### Case 1: f(0)=1 f(0) = 1
Substituting f(0)=1 f(0) = 1 into the original equation:
f(x+y)+f(x)f(y)=f(xy)+2xy+1 f(x+y) + f(x)f(y) = f(xy) + 2xy + 1

Substitute y=0 y = 0 :
f(x+0)+f(x)f(0)=f(x0)+2x0+1    f(x)+f(x)=1+1 f(x+0) + f(x)f(0) = f(x \cdot 0) + 2x \cdot 0 + 1 \implies f(x) + f(x) = 1 + 1
2f(x)=2    f(x)=1 2f(x) = 2 \implies f(x) = 1

This function does not satisfy every condition when plugged back into the original functional equation. Thus, f(x)=1 f(x) = 1 is not a valid solution unless x=1 x = 1 .

### Case 2: f(0)=1 f(0) = -1
Substitute f(0)=1 f(0) = -1 into the original equation:

f(x+y)+f(x)f(y)=f(xy)+2xy+1 f(x+y) + f(x)f(y) = f(xy) + 2xy + 1

Substitute y=0 y = 0 :
f(x+0)+f(x)(1)=f(0)+2x0+1    f(x)f(x)=1+1 f(x+0) + f(x)(-1) = f(0) + 2x \cdot 0 + 1 \implies f(x) - f(x) = -1 + 1
0=0 0 = 0

This does not provide new information, so let's substitute y=1 y = 1 :

f(x+1)+f(x)f(1)=f(x)+2x+1 f(x+1) + f(x)f(1) = f(x) + 2x + 1

From here, if we assume f(x)=ax2+bx+c f(x) = ax^2 + bx + c or any polynomial form, we find consistent functions, try:

### Validation with Potential Functions

Substitute f(x)=2x1 f(x) = 2x - 1 :
f(x+y)=2(x+y)1,f(x)f(y)=(2x1)(2y1),f(xy)=2xy1 f(x+y) = 2(x+y) - 1, \quad f(x)f(y) = (2x-1)(2y-1), \quad f(xy) = 2xy - 1
f(x+y)+f(x)f(y)=(2x+2y1)+(4xy2x2y+1)=4xy f(x+y) + f(x)f(y) = (2x + 2y - 1) + (4xy - 2x - 2y + 1) = 4xy
f(xy)+2xy+1=2xy1+2xy+1=4xy f(xy) + 2xy + 1 = 2xy - 1 + 2xy + 1 = 4xy

Thus, f(x)=2x1 f(x) = 2x - 1 satisfies the equation.

Substitute f(x)=x21 f(x) = x^2 - 1 :
f(x+y)=(x+y)21,f(x)f(y)=(x21)(y21),f(xy)=x2y21 f(x+y) = (x+y)^2 - 1, \quad f(x)f(y) = (x^2 - 1)(y^2 - 1), \quad f(xy) = x^2y^2 - 1
f(x+y)+f(x)f(y)=(x2+2xy+y21)+(x2y2x2y2+1)\eqref(x2y2x2y2+x2+2xy+y2) f(x+y) + f(x)f(y) = (x^2 + 2xy + y^2 - 1) + (x^2y^2 - x^2 - y^2 + 1) \eqref{(x^2y^2 - x^2 - y^2 + x^2 + 2xy + y^2)}
f(xy)+2xy+1=x2y21+2xy+1=x2y2+2xy f(xy) + 2xy + 1 = x^2y^2 - 1 + 2xy + 1 = x^2y^2 + 2xy

Thus, f(x)=x21 f(x) = x^2 - 1 satisfies the equation.

Substitute f(x)=x1 f(x) = -x - 1 :
f(x+y)=(x+y)1,f(x)f(y)=(x1)(y1),f(xy)=xy1 f(x+y) = -(x+y) - 1, \quad f(x)f(y) = (-x-1)(-y-1), \quad f(xy) = -xy - 1
f(x+y)+f(x)f(y)=((x+y)1)+(xy+x+y+1)=xy f(x+y) + f(x)f(y) = (-(x+y) - 1) + (xy + x + y + 1) = xy
f(xy)+2xy+1=xy1+2xy+1=xy f(xy) + 2xy + 1 = -xy - 1 + 2xy + 1 = xy

Thus, f(x)=x1 f(x) = -x - 1 satisfies the equation.

### Conclusion
The functions that satisfy the original functional equation are:

f(x)=2x1,f(x)=x21,andf(x)=x1 \boxed{f(x) = 2x - 1, \quad f(x) = x^2 - 1, \quad \text{and} \quad f(x) = -x - 1}

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