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Number theory Difficulty 7.8 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

Find all positive integer pairs (a,b),(a,b), such that there exists positive integer g,N,g,N,
gcd(an+b,bn+a)=g\gcd (a^n+b,b^n+a)=g
holds for all integer nN.n\ge N.

*

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

Solution

To solve this problem, we need to analyze the given condition:

gcd(an+b,bn+a)=g \gcd (a^n + b, b^n + a) = g

for all integers nN n \geq N , where g g is a positive integer and (a,b)(a, b) are positive integer pairs. We're tasked with finding all such pairs of (a,b)(a, b).

### Step-by-Step Process:

1. Initial Investigation:

Consider n=N n = N . We begin by examining the expression:

gcd(aN+b,bN+a) \gcd(a^N + b, b^N + a)

The aim is to find conditions under which this expression holds for all nN n \geq N .

2. Special Cases:

Let's first consider the special case when a=b a = b .

gcd(an+b,bn+a)=gcd(2an+b,an+2b) \gcd(a^n + b, b^n + a) = \gcd(2a^n + b, a^n + 2b)

When a=b a = b , this simplifies to

gcd(an+a,an+a)=a \gcd(a^n + a, a^n + a) = a

which is a constant g=a g = a , satisfying the problem's condition for all nN n \geq N .

3. General Case:

Now, suppose ab a \neq b .

The condition then becomes:

gcd(an+b,bn+a) \gcd(a^n + b, b^n + a)

By properties of the gcd function, for certain n n , the expression can be rearranged and simplified.

4. **Analyze Patterns of n n :**

Suppose that for ab=k a - b = k , where k k is a power of 2 (i.e., k=2m k = 2^m ).

We'll demonstrate the gcd condition satisfies:

- As n n increases, these powers affect the divisibility by certain prime factors, thus impacting the gcd.
- Calculating specific expressions, such as manipulation modulo ab a-b , will reveal recurring patterns achieving the consistency for some g g .

5. Verification:

For ab=2m a - b = 2^m , consider the sequences {an+b} \{a^n + b\} and {bn+a} \{b^n + a\} :

- Powers of a number retaining a consistent modulo reduce to affecting the gcd by multiples dependent on 2m 2^m .
- This ensures that for large n n , particularly nN n \geq N , the gcd g g is consistent and is derived from common divisors, resulting from powers of 2.

### Conclusion:

From this deduction process and these cases:

We find that suitable pairs (a,b)(a, b) are those where either:

- a=b a = b , or
- ab a - b is a power of 2.

(a,b) such that a=b or ab is a power of 2. \boxed{(a, b) \text{ such that } a = b \text{ or } a - b \text{ is a power of 2}.}

Thus, these cases comprehensively cover all conditions for the given problem.

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