Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /37 of 97

Algebra Difficulty 7.8 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

Determine the greatest real number C C , such that for every positive integer n2 n\ge 2 , there exists x1,x2,...,xn[1,1] x_1, x_2,..., x_n \in [-1,1], so that
1i<jn(xixj)Cn(n1)2\prod_{1\le i<j\le n}(x_i-x_j) \ge C^{\frac{n(n-1)}{2}}.

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

Solution

To determine the greatest real number C C such that for every positive integer n2 n \geq 2 , there exist x1,x2,,xn[1,1] x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_n \in [-1, 1] satisfying
1i<jn(xixj)Cn(n1)2, \prod_{1 \le i < j \le n} (x_i - x_j) \geq C^{\frac{n(n-1)}{2}},
we consider the example where xi=cos(iπn) x_i = \cos\left(\frac{i\pi}{n}\right) for i=1,2,,n i = 1, 2, \ldots, n .

For this choice, the product 1i<jn(xixj) \prod_{1 \le i < j \le n} (x_i - x_j) can be analyzed using properties of Chebyshev polynomials. Specifically, the roots of the Chebyshev polynomial of degree n n are given by cos((2k1)π2n) \cos\left(\frac{(2k-1)\pi}{2n}\right) for k=1,2,,n k = 1, 2, \ldots, n . The difference between any two such roots can be expressed in terms of sine functions:
xjxi=2sin((ij)π2n)sin((i+j)π2n). x_j - x_i = 2 \sin\left(\frac{(i-j)\pi}{2n}\right) \sin\left(\frac{(i+j)\pi}{2n}\right).

The logarithm of the product of these differences can be approximated by considering the average value of lnsin(x) \ln \left| \sin(x) \right| over the interval [0,2π] [0, 2\pi] , which is ln(12) \ln \left(\frac{1}{2}\right) .

Thus, the product 1i<jn(xixj) \prod_{1 \le i < j \le n} (x_i - x_j) is approximately (12)n(n1)2 \left(\frac{1}{2}\right)^{\frac{n(n-1)}{2}} .

Therefore, the greatest real number C C satisfying the given inequality for all n2 n \geq 2 is 12 \frac{1}{2} .

The answer is: \boxed{\frac{1}{2}}.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

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