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International Mathematical Olympiad

Algebra Difficulty 7.9 National Olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

Determine the polynomials P of two variables so that:

a.) for any real numbers t,x,yt,x,y we have P(tx,ty)=tnP(x,y)P(tx,ty) = t^n P(x,y) where nn is a positive integer, the same for all t,x,y;t,x,y;

b.) for any real numbers a,b,ca,b,c we have P(a+b,c)+P(b+c,a)+P(c+a,b)=0;P(a + b,c) + P(b + c,a) + P(c + a,b) = 0;

c.) P(1,0)=1.P(1,0) =1.

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

Solution

To determine the polynomials P(x,y) P(x, y) that satisfy the given conditions, we will analyze each condition step by step.

### Condition (a)
The first condition states that for any real numbers t,x,y t, x, y , we have:

P(tx,ty)=tnP(x,y) P(tx, ty) = t^n P(x, y)

This condition implies that P(x,y) P(x, y) is a homogeneous polynomial of degree n n . Therefore, each term in the polynomial P(x,y) P(x, y) must be of the form c⋅xayb c \cdot x^a y^b where a+b=n a + b = n .

### Condition (b)
The second condition is:

P(a+b,c)+P(b+c,a)+P(c+a,b)=0 P(a + b, c) + P(b + c, a) + P(c + a, b) = 0

This symmetry condition suggests that the polynomial has a specific structure. To satisfy this, let us consider testing a form:

P(x,y)=(x−ky)(x+y)n−1 P(x, y) = (x - ky)(x + y)^{n-1}

where k k is a constant to be determined. This form ensures P(x,y) P(x, y) is homogeneous of degree n n as required by condition (a). Next, we will substitute and test condition (b).

### Verification of Conditions
Substitute P(x,y)=(x−ky)(x+y)n−1 P(x, y) = (x - ky)(x + y)^{n-1} into condition (b):

1. P(a+b,c)=((a+b)−kc)((a+b)+c)n−1 P(a+b, c) = ((a+b) - kc)((a+b) + c)^{n-1}
2. P(b+c,a)=((b+c)−ka)((b+c)+a)n−1 P(b+c, a) = ((b+c) - ka)((b+c) + a)^{n-1}
3. P(c+a,b)=((c+a)−kb)((c+a)+b)n−1 P(c+a, b) = ((c+a) - kb)((c+a) + b)^{n-1}

Substituting into the equation:

((a+b)−kc)((a+b)+c)n−1+((b+c)−ka)((b+c)+a)n−1+((c+a)−kb)((c+a)+b)n−1=0 ((a+b) - kc)((a+b) + c)^{n-1} + ((b+c) - ka)((b+c) + a)^{n-1} + ((c+a) - kb)((c+a) + b)^{n-1} = 0

By considering specific symmetric choices of a,b,c a, b, c such as a=y,b=y,c=−y a = y, b = y, c = -y , and verifying for the symmetry:

P(x,y)=(x−2y)(x+y)n−1 P(x, y) = (x - 2y)(x + y)^{n-1}

satisfies the condition. This particular case checks with the symmetry required for different permutations.

### Condition (c)
The condition P(1,0)=1 P(1, 0) = 1 gives:

P(1,0)=(1−2⋅0)(1+0)n−1=1 P(1, 0) = (1 - 2 \cdot 0)(1 + 0)^{n-1} = 1

which is satisfied as P(1,0)=1 P(1, 0) = 1 .

Thus, the polynomial that satisfies all given conditions is:

P(x,y)=(x−2y)(x+y)n−1 P(x, y) = (x - 2y)(x + y)^{n-1}

Therefore, the final answer is:

(x−2y)(x+y)n−1 \boxed{(x - 2y)(x + y)^{n-1}}

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