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Algebra Difficulty 8.0 Shortlist Find the answer

Find all functions f:RRf: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} such that
f(xy)=f(x)f(y)+f(f(x+y))f(xy) = f(x)f(y) + f(f(x + y))
holds for all x,yRx, y \in \mathbb{R}.

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

Solution

We are tasked with finding all functions f:RR f: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} satisfying the equation:

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

for all x,yR x, y \in \mathbb{R} .

### Step 1: Consideration of Simple Cases

First, let us consider the case where x=0 x = 0 :

f(0)=f(0)f(y)+f(f(y)) f(0) = f(0)f(y) + f(f(y))

for all yR y \in \mathbb{R} . Let f(0)=c f(0) = c . Thus, we have:

c=cf(y)+f(f(y)) c = cf(y) + f(f(y))

Rearranging gives us:

f(f(y))=c(1f(y)) f(f(y)) = c(1 - f(y))

### Step 2: Examine Constant Solutions

Let us consider if a constant function f(x)=c f(x) = c could be a solution:

1. If f(x)=0 f(x) = 0 for all x x , then the equation becomes 0=0+0 0 = 0 + 0 , which is always true. Hence, f(x)=0 f(x) = 0 is indeed a solution.

2. For nonzero constant f(x)=c f(x) = c , substitute into the original equation:

c=cc+c c = c \cdot c + c

which implies:

c=c2+c c = c^2 + c

leading to the quadratic equation:

c2+cc=0,c(c+1)=0 c^2 + c - c = 0, \quad \Rightarrow \quad c(c+1) = 0

This gives c=0 c = 0 or c=1 c = -1 . Thus, we need to check if f(x)=1 f(x) = -1 is a valid solution. Substituting back:

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

Then f(f(x+y))=2 f(f(x+y)) = -2 , which contradicts with the hypothesis that f1 f \equiv -1 . So f(x)=1 f(x) = -1 is not a valid solution.

### Step 3: Consider Linear Solutions

Let's test if a linear function satisfies the equation. Suppose f(x)=ax+b f(x) = ax + b . Substitute into the original equation:

f(xy)=a(xy)+b=(ax+b)(ay+b)+f(a(x+y)+b) f(xy) = a(xy) + b = (ax + b)(ay + b) + f(a(x+y) + b)

which simplifies to:

axy+b=a2xy+abx+aby+b2+f(ax+ay+2b) axy + b = a^2xy + abx + aby + b^2 + f(ax + ay + 2b)

To satisfy this for all x,y x, y , we must have coefficients of xy xy : a=a2a(a1)=0 a = a^2 \Rightarrow a(a - 1) = 0 . Hence, a=0 a = 0 or a=1 a = 1 .

- If a=0 a = 0 , f(x)=b=0 f(x) = b = 0 (since we already know f(x)=0 f(x) = 0 is a solution).

- If a=1 a = 1 , substitute into simplified form:

xy+b=xy+x+y+b2+f(x+y+b) xy + b = xy + x + y + b^2 + f(x + y + b)

From this, consequently b=1 b = -1 . Thus, f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1 .

### Conclusion

The solutions are:

- f(x)=0 f(x) = 0
- f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1

Thus, the functions f(x)=0 f(x) = 0 and f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1 satisfy the given functional equation, and these are the solutions. Therefore, the final answer is:

f(x) = 0 and f(x) = x - 1 \boxed{\text{f(x) = 0 and f(x) = x - 1}}

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