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International Mathematical Olympiad

Algebra Difficulty 8.3 Shortlist Find the answer

Find all function f:R→Rf:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow\mathbb{R} such that for all x,y∈Rx,y\in\mathbb{R} the following equality holds f(⌊x⌋y)=f(x)⌊f(y)⌋ f(\left\lfloor x\right\rfloor y)=f(x)\left\lfloor f(y)\right\rfloor where ⌊a⌋\left\lfloor a\right\rfloor is greatest integer not greater than a.a.

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

Solution

To solve the functional equation
f(⌊x⌋y)=f(x)⌊f(y)⌋ f(\left\lfloor x\right\rfloor y) = f(x) \left\lfloor f(y) \right\rfloor
for all x,y∈R x, y \in \mathbb{R} , where ⌊a⌋ \left\lfloor a \right\rfloor denotes the greatest integer not greater than a a , we proceed as follows:

### Step 1: Analyze the Equation for x=0 x = 0

Substitute x=0 x = 0 into the equation:
f(⌊0⌋y)=f(0)⌊f(y)⌋. f(\left\lfloor 0 \right\rfloor y) = f(0) \left\lfloor f(y) \right\rfloor.
Since ⌊0⌋=0 \left\lfloor 0 \right\rfloor = 0 , we have:
f(0)=f(0)⌊f(y)⌋. f(0) = f(0) \left\lfloor f(y) \right\rfloor.
This equation implies that either f(0)=0 f(0) = 0 or ⌊f(y)⌋=1 \left\lfloor f(y) \right\rfloor = 1 for all y y .

### Step 2: Consider the Case f(0)=0 f(0) = 0

If f(0)=0 f(0) = 0 , the equation becomes:
f(⌊x⌋y)=f(x)⌊f(y)⌋. f(\left\lfloor x\right\rfloor y) = f(x) \left\lfloor f(y) \right\rfloor.
Substituting y=1 y = 1 gives:
f(⌊x⌋)=f(x)⌊f(1)⌋. f(\left\lfloor x \right\rfloor) = f(x) \left\lfloor f(1) \right\rfloor.
If ⌊f(1)⌋=0 \left\lfloor f(1) \right\rfloor = 0 , then f(x)=0 f(x) = 0 for all x x , which is one possible solution. Thus, f(x)=0∀x∈R f(x) = 0 \quad \forall x \in \mathbb{R} .

### Step 3: Consider the Case ⌊f(y)⌋=1 \left\lfloor f(y) \right\rfloor = 1

If ⌊f(y)⌋=1 \left\lfloor f(y) \right\rfloor = 1 for all y y , then:
1≤f(y)<2 for all y. 1 \le f(y) < 2 \text{ for all } y.
In this case, the original equation simplifies to:
f(⌊x⌋y)=f(x). f(\left\lfloor x \right\rfloor y) = f(x).
For all y≠0 y \neq 0 , choosing x=0 x = 0 gives:
f(0)=f(0)trivial identity. f(0) = f(0) \quad \text{trivial identity}.
For specific y y values like y=n∈Z y = n \in \mathbb{Z} , if 1≤f(n)<2 1 \leq f(n) < 2 , and considering continuity or piecewise constant functions, one possible solution is that f(x)=c∀x∈R f(x) = c \quad \forall x \in \mathbb{R} , where 1≤c<2 1 \leq c < 2 .

### Conclusion

Therefore, the functions f:R→R f: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} that satisfy the given functional equation are:
f(x)=0∀x∈R,f(x)=c∀x∈R, where 1≤c<2. \boxed{f(x) = 0 \quad \forall x \in \mathbb{R}, \quad f(x) = c \quad \forall x \in \mathbb{R}, \text{ where } 1 \leq c < 2}.

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