Number theoryDifficulty 5.4AIME, harderProve itBelarus
Find all pairs (n;m) of positive integers n and m satisfying the equality n2+n+1=(m2+m−3)(m2−m+5).
Solution
Answer: (n;m)=(4;2). By condition, n2+n+1=(m2+n−3)(m2−n+5)=m4+m2+8m−15. Consider the obtained equation n2+n−(m4+m2+8m−16)=0(1) as a quadratic equation with respect to n. It has positive integer roots only if the determinant D=4m4+4m2+32m−63 of this equation is a perfect square of some integer number. But D=4m4+4m2+32m−63=(2m2+2)2−4(m−4)2−3<(2m2+2)2 for any natural number m, and D=4m4+4m2+32m−63=(2m2+1)2+32(m−2)>(2m2+1)2 for any natural number m>2. Therefore, (1) has the natural roots only if m=1 or m=2. If m=1, then n2+n+6=0, so either n=−2 or n∈Z. If m=2, then n2+n−20=0, so either n=−5 or n=4. Thus, (4; 2) is a unique pair of positive integers satisfying the problem condition.
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