Suppose x , y , and z are complex numbers satisfying the following system of equations:
⎩ ⎪ ⎨ ⎪ ⎧ x + y = z x 3 + y 3 = z 3 − 3 x y = 1
Find x 2 − x + 1 .
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Cubing both side the equation (1), we will obtain x 3 + y 3 + 3 x y ( x + y ) = z 3 − − − ( 4 ) Thus, by (1) and (2), equation (4) imply that ( z 3 − 3 ) + 3 x y z = z 3 − − − ( 5 ) By equation (3), the equation (5) imply that − 3 + 3 z = 0 , and hence, z = 1 . Thus, equation (1) will become x + y = 1 . Observe that x and y are roots of the quadratic equation a 2 − a + 1 = 0 with sum of the roots x + y = 1 and product of the roots x y = 1 . Therefore, x 2 − x + 1 = 0 as desired.
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Let u = − z . Then x + y + u = 0 and
x 3 + y 3 + u 3 ( x + y + u ) ( x 2 + y 2 + u 2 − x y − y u − u x ) + 3 x y u 0 + 3 ⋅ 1 ⋅ u ⟹ u = − 3 = − 3 = − 3 = − 1 Note that x + y + u = 0 and x y = 1
From x + y + u = 0 multiplied by x on both sides, we have:
x 2 + x y + ( − 1 ) x x 2 − x + 1 = 0 = 0