Luc TARTAR to John MACKEY, October 26, 2009

The VTRMC problems of October 24.

VTRMC 1: At time t, the walker is at x = t, and the jogger at x = 1 + 2t, i.e. t + 1 meters ahead. At time
f (n), the dog and the walker are at x = f (n) and the jogger is ahead of f (n) + 1 meters, so
that it takes
f (n) + 1 seconds for the dog to catch the jogger, and it is then time g(n) = f (n) + f (n) + 1 = 2f (n) + 1;
then the dog runs back to the walker, who is at g(n) + 1 meters behind, and it takes g(n)+1 4 seconds to reach
him. One deduces that f (n + 1) = g(n) + g(n)+1 5g(n) 1 5f (n) 3
= 52 f (n) + 1 ,


4 = 4 + 4 = 2 + 2 , or f (n + 1) + 1

n
n
so that f (n) + 1 = 25 , i.e. f (n) = 52 − 1.
VTRMC 2: 40! is divisible by 59 since there are 8 multiples of 5 between 1 and 40, and 1 multiple of 25. 40!
is divisible by 238 since there are 20 multiples of 2 between 1 and 40, 10 multiples of 4, 5 multiples of 8, 2
multiples of 16, and 1 multiple of 32. A consequence is that 40! is divisible by 109 , so that p = q = . . . = x = 0.
Let A = abc def , B = 283 247, C = 897 734, D = 345 611, E = 269 596, F = 115 894, G = 272 000,
H = 0, so that 40! = 1042 A + 1036 B + . . . + 1012 F + 106 G, and since since 40! is divisible by 999 999 =
33 · 7 · 11 · 13 · 37 and 106 = 1 modulo 999 999, one deduces that 0 = A + B + . . . + F + G (mod 999 999).
Since B + . . . + F + G = 2 184 082, one deduces that A = 3 · 999 999 − 2 184 082 = 815 915.
Rx 2 2 4 Rx 2 2
VTRMC 3: f 0 (x) = 2 0 ex v dv, and f 00 (x) = 2ex + 2 0 2x v 2 ex v dv, so that 2f 00 (2) + f 0 (2) = 4e16 +
R2 2 R 2 2 4v2 R2 2 2 2
 R2 2

0
(16v 2 + 2) e4v dv, but 0
8v e dv = (e4v )0 v dv = v e4v  − e4v dv, so that 2f 00 (2) + f 0 (2) = 8e16 .
0 0 0
VTRMC 4: One chooses X as origin, and the line through the centers of the two circles as x axis, the centers
being −a for the circle on the left and b for the circle on the right, the equation of the circle on the left is
then x2 + y 2 + 2a x = 0, and the equation of the circle on the right is x2 + y 2 − 2b x = 0. Let y = λ x be any
line through 0 intersecting the circle on the left at A and the circle on the right at B, then one obtains A by
−2a −2a λ
writing x2 + λ2 x2 + 2a x = 0 and x 6= 0, so that x = 1+λ 2 and y = 1+λ2 , and one obtains B by replacing

a by −b, so that going from A to B corresponds to an homothetic transformation of ratio −b a . Then, an

homothetic transformation transforms any line, like AP , into a parallel line.
VTRMC 5: Since B 6= 0, its range is at least one dimensional, and as A is 0 on it, the kernel of A is not
reduced to 0, so that one eigenvalue of A is 0. The characteristic polynomial P (λ) = det(A − λ I) has a root
equal to 0, so that P (λ) = λ Q(λ) for a polynomial Q of degree 2, and one may choose D = Q(A), since
A D = D A = P (A) = 0 by Cayley–Hamilton theorem.
VTRMC 6: One has (n2 + 1)2 − (3n)2 = n4 − 7n2 + 1 = m2 , so that m2 + (3n)2 = x2 , with x = n2 + 1.
One has (m, n) = 1, since a common prime divisor of m and n would divide n4 − 7n2 − m2 = 1, and 3 does
not divide m, since it would imply that 3 divides n2 + 1, but 2 is not a quadratic residue modulo 3. Since
(m, 3n) = 1, one may apply the theory of Pythagorean triples, and one notices that m is odd, and that
n2 + 1 is odd so that n is even, and it gives the existence of a ≤ b such that m = b2 − a2 , 3n = 2a b and

2
x = a2 + b2 . Since x = n2 + 1, one obtains a2 + b2 = 2a3 b + 1, and 3 must divide a or b, but at this point
the situation is symmetric in a and b, so that assuming that a = 3c one deduces that 9c2 + b2 = 4b2 c2 + 1.
The case b = 0 gives no solution, and the case |b| = 1 gives c = 0, and the case |b| ≥ 2 gives c2 < 0.
VTRMC 7: One defines g by g(x) = ex f (x), so that g 0 (x) = ex f 0 (x) + f (x) = ex f (x + 1) = 1e g(x + 1).

One constructs a C ∞ function g satisfying g 0 (x) = 1e g(x + 1), or g(y) = e g 0 (y − 1), with g 00 (0) 6= 0.
One starts from any C ∞ function g defined on (0, 1) and such that g(x) = x2 for 0 ≤ x ≤ 31 (so that
00
g (0) = 2) and g(x) = 2e (x − 1) for 32 ≤ x ≤ 1, and one defines by induction the function g on (1, ∞) by
the formula g(y) = e g 0 (y − 1), and this defines a C ∞ function in each interval (n, n + 1) for positive integers
4
n, and one must check that there is no problem of regularity near n. For 1 ≤
y ≤ 43 and x = y − 1, one has
2
g(y) = e 2x = 2e (y − 1), which is the same formula as on the interval 3 , 1 ; for 3 ≤ 2 and x = y − 1, one
has g(y) = e 2e =
2e2 ; for 2 ≤ z ≤ 73 and y = z − 1, one has g(z) = e 2e, which is the same formula as on
the interval 35 , 2 ; for
83 ≤ z ≤ 3 and y = z − 1, one has g(z) = 0; after that, one finds that g = 0 on any
interval n − 13 , n + 31 for n ≥ 3.
Once g is C ∞ on (0, ∞), one extends it on (−∞, 0) by g 0 (x) = 1e g(x + 1), with g(0) = 0. For −1 3 ≤z ≤0
and x = z + 1, one has g 0 (z) = 1e 2e z, which gives g(z) = z 2 , so that g is C ∞ in (−1, +∞), and then one
deduces that g is C ∞ on all R by induction: assuming that g is C ∞ on (−m, +∞) for a negative integer
m, one deduces that g 0 is C ∞ on (−m − 1, +∞), since it is 1e g(x + 1), and g is continuous at −m by the
differential equation, so that g is C ∞ on (−m − 1, +∞).