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Algebra Difficulty 8.7 Shortlist Find the answer

Find all functions ff from the reals to the reals such that (f(x)+f(z))(f(y)+f(t))=f(xyzt)+f(xt+yz) \left(f(x)+f(z)\right)\left(f(y)+f(t)\right)=f(xy-zt)+f(xt+yz) for all real x,y,z,tx,y,z,t.

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

Solution

To solve the given functional equation for all functions f:RR f: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R} :

(f(x)+f(z))(f(y)+f(t))=f(xyzt)+f(xt+yz), (f(x) + f(z))(f(y) + f(t)) = f(xy - zt) + f(xt + yz),

we start by analyzing specific cases to deduce possible forms for f(x) f(x) .

1. Testing the Zero Function:

Substitute f(x)=0 f(x) = 0 for all x x . The equation becomes:

(0+0)(0+0)=0+0, (0 + 0)(0 + 0) = 0 + 0,
which holds for all x,y,z,t x, y, z, t . Thus, f(x)=0 f(x) = 0 is a solution.

2. Testing the Constant Function:

Assume f(x)=c f(x) = c , where c c is a constant. Substituting into the equation gives:

(c+c)(c+c)=c+c, (c + c)(c + c) = c + c,

4c2=2c. 4c^2 = 2c.

Solving 4c2=2c 4c^2 = 2c yields c=0 c = 0 or c=12 c = \frac{1}{2} . Therefore, f(x)=12 f(x) = \frac{1}{2} is another solution.

3. Assuming Polynomial Form:

To explore non-constant solutions, assume f(x) f(x) takes a polynomial form. Given the symmetry and the construction of the equation, check f(x)=x2 f(x) = x^2 :

Substituting f(x)=x2 f(x) = x^2 leads to:

(x2+z2)(y2+t2)=(xyzt)2+(xt+yz)2. (x^2 + z^2)(y^2 + t^2) = (xy - zt)^2 + (xt + yz)^2.

Expanding both sides:

- Left side: (x2+z2)(y2+t2)=x2y2+x2t2+z2y2+z2t2 (x^2 + z^2)(y^2 + t^2) = x^2y^2 + x^2t^2 + z^2y^2 + z^2t^2,
- Right side expand completely:

(xyzt)2=x2y22xyzt+z2t2 (xy - zt)^2 = x^2y^2 - 2xyzt + z^2t^2
(xt+yz)2=x2t2+2xyzt+y2z2 (xt + yz)^2 = x^2t^2 + 2xyzt + y^2z^2

Their sum:
x2y2+x2t2+z2t2+y2z2. x^2y^2 + x^2t^2 + z^2t^2 + y^2z^2.

The expanded form matches perfectly, hence f(x)=x2 f(x) = x^2 is a valid solution.

Based on these analyses, the complete set of solutions is:

f(x)=0,f(x)=12,f(x)=x2. \boxed{f(x) = 0, \quad f(x) = \frac{1}{2}, \quad f(x) = x^2.}

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