text: # Thread: Extremely difficult IMO problem
  
  1. ## Extremely difficult IMO problem
  
  This problem is from the 2003 IMO, the third level of the American Mathematics Competition. I do not even know how to approach this.
  
  "Determine all paris (a,b) such that $\frac{a^2}{2ab^2-b^3+1}$ is a positive integer."
  
  The only assertion I can make is that $2ab^2-b^3+1>0$.
  
  2. Originally Posted by Jameson
  This problem is from the 2003 IMO, the third level of the American Mathematics Competition. I do not even know how to approach this.
  
  "Determine all paris (a,b) such that $\frac{a^2}{2ab^2-b^3+1}$ is a positive integer."
  
  The only assertion I can make is that $2ab^2-b^3+1>0$.
  Are a, b integers as well? If so, then another criterion comes from the rational roots test:
  
  Let n be a positive integer, then let
  $\frac{a^2}{2ab^2-b^3+1} = n$
  
  So $nb^3-2nab^2+(a^2-n)=0$
  
  Thus we know that the only rational b values that satisfy this equation are of the form:
  $b = \frac{factor \, of \, a^2-n}{factor \, of \, n}$
  
  Since b must be an integer, the only possible values for b are those for which factors of n are factors of a^2-n.
  
  Just a thought.
  
  -Dan
  
  3. Hmmm...
  
  I just found a non-integer pair $\left ( \frac{1 \pm \sqrt{15}}{4}, \, \frac{1}{2} \right )$ that seems to work.
  
  I guess they DON'T need to be integers...
  
  -Dan
  
  4. (Shrugs) I guess by letting n be a positive integer and otherwise letting n and b be arbitrary we can always find two "a" values for each (b, n) pair:
  
  $a = nb^2 \pm \sqrt{n^2b^4-nb^3+n}$
  
  as long as the discriminant is real.
  
  -Dan
  
  5. Could you show your work for your last post? I appreciate your insight. The question asks for all pairs, and I'm getting from your work that there could be infinite. How would I go about first finding the number of pairs?
  
  6. Originally Posted by Jameson
  Could you show your work for your last post? I appreciate your insight. The question asks for all pairs, and I'm getting from your work that there could be infinite. How would I go about first finding the number of pairs?
  $\frac{a^2}{2ab^2-b^3+1}=n$
  Thus,
  $a^2=2ab^2n-b^3n+n$
  
  7. Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker
  topsquark (the physicist)
  Do I detect a note of disdain here? (I think he's just jealous. ) And hey, even the workers at Friendly's have enough respect to call me "The Professor!"
  
  -Dan
  
  8. by the way the actual question is:
  Determine all pairs of positive integers $(a,b)$ such that
  $\frac{a^2}{2ab^2-b^3+1}$
  is a positive integer.
  
  so a and b must be positive integers.
  
  here are a few examples of positive integers which work:
  a = 126, b = 4
  a = 7, b = 2
  a = 116149892142279364320, b = 123456
  
  9. ## Are there any more pairs except these?
  
  Originally Posted by topsquark
  (Shrugs) I guess by letting n be a positive integer and otherwise letting n and b be arbitrary we can always find two "a" values for each (b, n) pair:
  
  $a = nb^2 \pm \sqrt{n^2b^4-nb^3+n}$
  
  as long as the discriminant is real.
  
  -Dan
  I visited this thread yesterday and the question sounded interesting to me.
  Continuing the quoted work, I tried to find the integer values(of b and n) for which discriminant is real and a perfect square(so that a is an integer), and hence the answer to the question.
  I found that a= 8*(k^4) - k
  b= 2k
  
  where k is any positive integer gives the pairs pair satisfying the conditions in the question.
  e.g
  k=1, b=2, a=7
  k=2, b=4, a=126
  k=3, b=6, a=645
  ...................k is any positive real number
  Are there any more pairs?
  If you want to know how I arrived at the generalization, tell me.
  
  10. The more trivial ones.
  (a,b)=(k,2k)
  (a,b)=(2k,1)
  
  11. Originally Posted by ThePerfectHacker
  The more trivial ones.
  (a,b)=(k,2k)
  (a,b)=(2k,1)
  The method I used show that there should be two values of a for each b
  i.e. if b=2k either a = 8*(k^4) - k or a=k(a=k is not trivial)
  The trivial one is (2k,1)
  Can b be a odd no. except 1? I think no. What do you think?
  
  12. We have,
  $\frac{a^2}{2ab^2-b^3+1}=k\geq 1$
  Thus,
  $a^2-2ab^2k+b^3k-k=0$
  Let us find under which conditions this quadradic has a unique solution, that is when,
  $4b^4k^2-4b^3k+4k=0$
  Thus,
  $b^3k-b^2+1=0$
  Thus,
  $k=\frac{b^2-1}{b^3}$
  Is not an integer because the numerator factors into $(b-1)(b+1)$ and $\gcd(b,b+1)=1$ therefore the only case is $b=1$, which leads to our pairs $(2k,1)$.
  Otherwise what I have showed is that if this equation has two solutions and one is a positive integer then the other must be also because it follows by Viete's theorem.