Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 8 / 106 of 180 #1806 of 1964

Problem 1806

IMO Shortlist mid-range; USAMO P2/P5
Geometry Difficulty 8.3 Prove it

In acute triangle ABC,ABC, the feet of the altitudes are A1,B1,A_1,B_1, and C1C_1 (with the usual notations on sides BC,CA,BC,CA, and ABAB respectively). The circumcircles of triangles AB1C1AB_1C_1 and BC1A1BC_1A_1 intersect at the circumcircle of triangle ABCABC ar points PAP\neq A and QB,Q\neq B, respectively. Prove that lines AQ,BPAQ, BP and the Euler line of triangle ABCABC are either concurrent or parallel to each other.

[i]Proposed by Géza Kós, Budapest[/i]

This one wants a proof. Work it on paper, then read the official solution and mark yourself. Be honest about it: the record is only any use to you if it is.

Official solution

1. Define Key Points and Circles:
- Let H H and O O be the orthocenter and circumcenter of triangle ABC ABC , respectively.
- Let A1,B1, A_1, B_1, and C1 C_1 be the feet of the altitudes from A,B, A, B, and C C respectively.
- Let P P and Q Q be the points where the circumcircles of triangles AB1C1 AB_1C_1 and BC1A1 BC_1A_1 intersect the circumcircle of triangle ABC ABC at points other than A A and B B , respectively.

2. **Claim: H H lies on the radical axis of the circles (AOQ) (AOQ) and (BOP) (BOP) .**
- To prove this, consider the power of point H H with respect to these circles.
- Let A A' and B B' be the antipodes of A A and B B in the circumcircle of ABC \triangle ABC .

3. **Prove H H lies on the radical axis:**
- Note that HPA=HC1A=90=APA \angle HPA = \angle HC_1A = 90^\circ = \angle A'PA , so APH A' \in PH .
- Similarly, BQH B' \in QH .
- Let M M be the second intersection of HP HP with (BOP) (BOP) and N N be the second intersection of HQ HQ with (AOQ) (AOQ) .
- Since HMO=PMO=PBO=PBB=PAB=HAB \angle HMO = \angle PMO = \angle PBO = \angle PBB' = \angle PA'B' = \angle HA'B' , it follows that MOAB MO \parallel A'B' .
- Similarly, NOAB NO \parallel A'B' .
- Hence, MNAB MN \parallel A'B' .

4. Using Thales's Theorem:
- By Thales's theorem in HAB \triangle HA'B' , we have:
HMHA=HNHB \frac{HM}{HA'} = \frac{HN}{HB'}
- This implies:
ρ(H,(AOQ))=HQHN=HNHB(HQHB)=HNHBρ(H,(ABC))=HMHA(HPHA)=HPHM=ρ(H,(BOP)) \rho(H, (AOQ)) = HQ \cdot HN = \frac{HN}{HB'} \cdot (HQ \cdot HB') = \frac{HN}{HB'} \cdot \rho(H, (ABC)) = \frac{HM}{HA'} \cdot (HP \cdot HA') = HP \cdot HM = \rho(H, (BOP))
- Therefore, H H lies on the radical axis of (AOQ) (AOQ) and (BOP) (BOP) .

5. Case Analysis:
- **Case 1: AQBP AQ \nparallel BP **
- Let K=AQBP K = AQ \cap BP .
- Consider the inversion Ψ \Psi with respect to the circumcircle of ABC \triangle ABC .
- For each X(ABC) X \in (ABC) , Ψ(X)=X \Psi(X) = X .
- Hence, Ψ(AQ)=(AOQ) \Psi(AQ) = (AOQ) and Ψ(BP)=(BOP) \Psi(BP) = (BOP) , implying K=Ψ(K)(AOQ)(BOP){O} K^* = \Psi(K) \in (AOQ) \cap (BOP) \setminus \{O\} .
- From the claim, HOK H \in OK^* .
- Since KOK K \in OK^* , it follows that O,H,K, O, H, K^*, and K K are collinear.
- Therefore, lines AQ,BP, AQ, BP, and the Euler line HO HO of ABC \triangle ABC are concurrent.

- **Case 2: AQBP AQ \parallel BP **
- In this case, AQBP AQBP forms an isosceles trapezium.
- The circumcenters of AOQ \triangle AOQ and BOP \triangle BOP lie on the common perpendicular bisector of segments AQ AQ and BP BP .
- This implies that (AOQ) (AOQ) and (BOP) (BOP) are tangent at O O .
- From the claim, HO HO is tangent to (BOP) (BOP) at O O , implying:
HOP=OBP=OPB \angle HOP = \angle OBP = \angle OPB
- Hence, HOBPAQ HO \parallel BP \parallel AQ .

Conclusion:
The lines AQ,BP, AQ, BP, and the Euler line of ABC \triangle ABC are either concurrent or parallel to each other.

\blacksquare

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic, difficulty and ordering added by this site.