Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 289 of 300 #1689 of 1964

Problem 1689

National olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Geometry Difficulty 7.9 Prove it

An ellipse with focus FF is given. Two perpendicular lines passing through FF meet the ellipse at four points. The tangents to the ellipse at these points form a quadrilateral circumscribed around the ellipse. Prove that this quadrilateral is inscribed into a conic with focus FF

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 the ellipse and points of intersection:
Let the ellipse be denoted by Γ\Gamma. Let X,Y,Z,WX, Y, Z, W be the points where the two perpendicular lines passing through the focus FF intersect the ellipse Γ\Gamma.

2. Define the intersections of tangents:
Let A=XXWWA = XX \cap WW, B=XXYYB = XX \cap YY, C=YYZZC = YY \cap ZZ, and D=ZZWWD = ZZ \cap WW. These points are the intersections of the tangents to the ellipse at X,Y,Z,WX, Y, Z, W.

3. Intersection of diagonals with the ellipse:
Let ACAC intersect Γ\Gamma at points II and KK, with II closer to AA. Similarly, let BDBD intersect Γ\Gamma at points JJ and LL, with JJ closer to BB.

4. Collinearity using Pascal's Theorem:
Let T=XYWZT = XY \cap WZ. By applying Pascal's Theorem to the hexagon XXZWWYXXZWWY, we get that A,F,TA, F, T are collinear. Similarly, applying Pascal's Theorem to YYWZZXYYWZZX, we get that C,F,TC, F, T are collinear. Thus, T,A,I,F,K,CT, A, I, F, K, C are collinear.

5. Perpendicularity of diagonals:
Similarly, B,J,F,L,DB, J, F, L, D are collinear. Since FF is the focus of the ellipse, we have BFA+CFD=90\angle BFA + \angle CFD = 90^\circ. Given that BFA=CFD\angle BFA = \angle CFD, it follows that BDCABD \perp CA.

6. Tangency and harmonic division:
Since the pole of TT is BDBD, the lines TJTJ and TLTL are tangent to Γ\Gamma. This implies that (IK;JL)=1(IK; JL) = -1. Additionally, since XZYWXZ \perp YW, we also have (XZ;YW)=1(XZ; YW) = -1.

7. Collinearity of intersection points:
Denote X=IIJJX' = II \cap JJ, Y=JJKKY' = JJ \cap KK, Z=KKLLZ' = KK \cap LL, and W=LLIIW' = LL \cap II. We observe that X,X,F,Z,ZX', X, F, Z, Z' and W,W,F,Y,YW', W, F, Y, Y' are collinear.

8. Concurrent lines and harmonic division:
Since LL,JJ,WZLL, JJ, WZ are concurrent at TT, we have:
1=(WZ;LJ)=L(WZ;TLFWZ)=D(AC;TF) -1 = (WZ; LJ) \overset{L}{=} (WZ; TLF \cap WZ) \overset{D}{=} (AC; TF)

9. Intersection points on the directrix:
Let S=IIKKXWYZS = II \cap KK \cap XW \cap YZ, R=YYWWILJKR = YY \cap WW \cap IL \cap JK, and P=XXZZIJKLP = XX \cap ZZ \cap IJ \cap KL. We observe that T,S,R,PT, S, R, P lie on AC,BD,XZ,YWAC, BD, X'Z', Y'W' respectively. Furthermore, we have:
1=(TF;IK)=(SF;JD)=(RF;XZ)=(PF;YW) -1 = (TF; IK) = (SF; JD) = (RF; XZ) = (PF; YW)
Thus, T,S,R,PT, S, R, P lie on the directrix of Γ\Gamma and are collinear.

10. Ellipse through intersection points:
Consider the ellipse passing through AXBCZAX'BCZ'. Since (AC;FT)=(XZ;FR)=1(AC; FT) = (X'Z'; FR) = -1, the pole of FF is the directrix. Similarly, since (BD;FS)=1(BD; FS) = -1, the points AXBCZDAX'BCZ'D lie on an ellipse. Similarly, ABYCXWABY'CXW' lies on an ellipse. Since FF has the same pole in both cases, the points AXBYCZDWAX'BY'CZ'DW' lie on an ellipse, denoted by Ω\Omega.

11. Quadrilateral inscribed in a conic:
Consider the quadrilateral formed by the tangents from A,B,C,DA, B, C, D with Ω\Omega. The vertex A=AABBA^* = AA \cap BB lies on the pole of PP and is collinear with X,F,ZX, F, Z. Similarly, C=CCDDC^* = CC \cap DD lies on X,F,ZX, F, Z, and B=BBCCB^* = BB \cap CC and D=DDAAD^* = DD \cap AA are collinear with FF and YY and WW. This implies that ACBDA^*C^* \perp B^*D^*, so AFB+CFD=180\angle A^*FB^* + \angle C^*FD^* = 180^\circ, and FF is the focus of some in-ellipse of ABCDA^*B^*C^*D^*, which must be Ω\Omega. Thus, Ω\Omega has focus FF.

\blacksquare

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