x 2 y 2 z 2
Let x , y and z be reals number satisfying the conditions x + y + z = 0 and x 2 + y 2 + z 2 = 1 .
Let the maximum of the expression above is P , submit your answer as ⌊ 1 0 0 0 0 P ⌋ .
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Oh! Did you, by any chance, get your second solution from my problem? :)
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That solution was known long before you and I were born ;) It's a standard way to do these kinds of problems, going back at least to Euler
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Ohh... Sorry, not aware of that... I just thought it was something original... It just seemed very similar to my solution...
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@Manuel Kahayon – If you look closely, you will find many problems on Brilliant where that same technique is used... you know, people on Brilliant love Viete ;)
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@Otto Bretscher – Aaahh, I didn't mean that part... I meant the part where you use calculus to find the local maxima of the function to minimize the constant term... Or something of the sort...
Apart from than "using a little calculus", we could also use the cubic discriminant along with the condition for 3 real roots.
Relevant wiki: Cubic Discriminant
Because ( x + y + z ) 2 = x 2 + y 2 + x 2 + 2 ( x y + x z + y z ) , then x y + x z + y z = − 2 1 .
Let f ( X ) be a monic cubic polynomial with roots x , y and z . Then by Vieta's formula , f ( X ) = X 3 − 2 1 X + Q , where Q = − x y z . So we want to maximize Q 2 = P .
Since all it's roots are real numbers, then its cubic discriminant is non-negative:
b 2 c 2 − 4 a c 3 − 4 b 3 d − 2 7 a 2 d 2 + 1 8 a b c d ≥ 0 ,
with a = 0 , b = 0 , c = − 2 1 , d = Q . Substituting these values and simplifying it gives Q 2 ≤ 5 4 1 . So P = 5 4 1 , and so our answer is ⌊ 1 0 0 0 0 P ⌋ = ⌊ 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 ⌋ = 1 8 5 .
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We can parameterize this circle as x = a cos ( t ) − b sin ( t ) , y = − a cos ( t ) − b sin ( t ) , z = 2 b sin ( t ) , where a = 2 1 and b = 6 1 . Now x y z = 6 2 ( 6 1 sin 2 ( t ) − 2 1 cos 2 ( t ) ) sin ( t ) = − 3 6 1 sin ( 3 t ) has a maximal absolute value of 3 6 1 , and the maximum of x 2 y 2 z 2 is 5 4 1 ≈ 0 . 0 1 8 5 . The answer is 1 8 5
Alternatively, for a given solution x , y , z , consider the polynomial f ( t ) = ( t − x ) ( t − y ) ( t − z ) = t 3 − 2 1 t − x y z , by Viete. Using a little calculus, we observe that the polynomial t 3 − 2 1 t − q has all real roots if and only if ∣ q ∣ ≤ 3 6 1 ; those values of q are the possible values of x y z .