Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 5.6 AIME, harder Prove it China

Determine all possible values of integer kk for which there exist positive integers aa and bb such that b+1a+a+1b=k\frac{b+1}{a} + \frac{a+1}{b} = k.

Solution

choose any (a,b)(a, b) such that bb is the smallest. Then the quadratic equation
x2+(1−kb)x+b2+b=0 x^2 + (1 - kb)x + b^2 + b = 0
has an integral root x=ax = a. Let x=a′x = a' be the second root, it follows from a+a′=kb−1a + a' = kb - 1 that a′∈Za' \in \mathbb{Z}, and from
a⋅a′=b(b+1) a \cdot a' = b(b + 1)
that a′>0a' > 0. Hence, we have
b+1a′+a′+1b=k. \frac{b+1}{a'} + \frac{a'+1}{b} = k.
And it follows from the assumption on bb that
a≥b,a′≥b.a \geq b, a' \geq b.
So one of aa and a′a' is equal to bb. Without loss of generality, we may assume a=ba = b, so k=2+2bk = 2 + \frac{2}{b}, and so b∣2b \mid 2 i.e., b=1b = 1 or 22, and k=3k = 3 or 44, respectively.
If a=b=1a = b = 1, then k=4k = 4; if a=b=2a = b = 2, then k=3k = 3.
Consequently, k=3k = 3 or 44 is the only solution. □\square

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.