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k a May Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
Yesterday at 11:16 PM
May is an exciting month! National MATHCOUNTS is the second week of May in Washington D.C. and our Founder, Richard Rusczyk will be presenting a seminar, Preparing Strong Math Students for College and Careers, on May 11th.

Are you interested in working towards MATHCOUNTS and don’t know where to start? We have you covered! If you have taken Prealgebra, then you are ready for MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics. Already aiming for State or National MATHCOUNTS and harder AMC 8 problems? Then our MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced course is for you.

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[*]May 21st, 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Mathcamp 2025 Qualifying Quiz Part 2 Math Jam, Problems 5 and 6, Canada/USA Mathcamp staff will discuss solutions to Problems 5 and 6 of the 2025 Mathcamp Qualifying Quiz![/list]
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0 replies
jlacosta
Yesterday at 11:16 PM
0 replies
k i Adding contests to the Contest Collections
dcouchman   1
N Apr 5, 2023 by v_Enhance
Want to help AoPS remain a valuable Olympiad resource? Help us add contests to AoPS's Contest Collections.

Find instructions and a list of contests to add here: https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c40244h1064480_contests_to_add
1 reply
dcouchman
Sep 9, 2019
v_Enhance
Apr 5, 2023
k i Zero tolerance
ZetaX   49
N May 4, 2019 by NoDealsHere
Source: Use your common sense! (enough is enough)
Some users don't want to learn, some other simply ignore advises.
But please follow the following guideline:


To make it short: ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE IF POSTING!
If you don't have common sense, don't post.


More specifically:

For new threads:


a) Good, meaningful title:
The title has to say what the problem is about in best way possible.
If that title occured already, it's definitely bad. And contest names aren't good either.
That's in fact a requirement for being able to search old problems.

Examples:
Bad titles:
- "Hard"/"Medium"/"Easy" (if you find it so cool how hard/easy it is, tell it in the post and use a title that tells us the problem)
- "Number Theory" (hey guy, guess why this forum's named that way¿ and is it the only such problem on earth¿)
- "Fibonacci" (there are millions of Fibonacci problems out there, all posted and named the same...)
- "Chinese TST 2003" (does this say anything about the problem¿)
Good titles:
- "On divisors of a³+2b³+4c³-6abc"
- "Number of solutions to x²+y²=6z²"
- "Fibonacci numbers are never squares"


b) Use search function:
Before posting a "new" problem spend at least two, better five, minutes to look if this problem was posted before. If it was, don't repost it. If you have anything important to say on topic, post it in one of the older threads.
If the thread is locked cause of this, use search function.

Update (by Amir Hossein). The best way to search for two keywords in AoPS is to input
[code]+"first keyword" +"second keyword"[/code]
so that any post containing both strings "first word" and "second form".


c) Good problem statement:
Some recent really bad post was:
[quote]$lim_{n\to 1}^{+\infty}\frac{1}{n}-lnn$[/quote]
It contains no question and no answer.
If you do this, too, you are on the best way to get your thread deleted. Write everything clearly, define where your variables come from (and define the "natural" numbers if used). Additionally read your post at least twice before submitting. After you sent it, read it again and use the Edit-Button if necessary to correct errors.


For answers to already existing threads:


d) Of any interest and with content:
Don't post things that are more trivial than completely obvious. For example, if the question is to solve $x^{3}+y^{3}=z^{3}$, do not answer with "$x=y=z=0$ is a solution" only. Either you post any kind of proof or at least something unexpected (like "$x=1337, y=481, z=42$ is the smallest solution). Someone that does not see that $x=y=z=0$ is a solution of the above without your post is completely wrong here, this is an IMO-level forum.
Similar, posting "I have solved this problem" but not posting anything else is not welcome; it even looks that you just want to show off what a genius you are.

e) Well written and checked answers:
Like c) for new threads, check your solutions at least twice for mistakes. And after sending, read it again and use the Edit-Button if necessary to correct errors.



To repeat it: ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE IF POSTING!


Everything definitely out of range of common sense will be locked or deleted (exept for new users having less than about 42 posts, they are newbies and need/get some time to learn).

The above rules will be applied from next monday (5. march of 2007).
Feel free to discuss on this here.
49 replies
ZetaX
Feb 27, 2007
NoDealsHere
May 4, 2019
Familiar cyclic quad config
Rijul saini   11
N 3 minutes ago by ihategeo_1969
Source: India IMOTC Practice Test 1 Problem 2
Let $ABCD$ be a convex cyclic quadrilateral with circumcircle $\omega$. Let $BA$ produced beyond $A$ meet $CD$ produced beyond $D$, at $L$. Let $\ell$ be a line through $L$ meeting $AD$ and $BC$ at $M$ and $N$ respectively, so that $M,D$ (respectively $N,C$) are on opposite sides of $A$ (resp. $B$). Suppose $K$ and $J$ are points on the arc $AB$ of $\omega$ not containing $C,D$ so that $MK, NJ$ are tangent to $\omega$. Prove that $K,J,L$ are collinear.

Proposed by Rijul Saini
11 replies
Rijul saini
May 31, 2024
ihategeo_1969
3 minutes ago
Inspired by Nice inequality
sqing   1
N 5 minutes ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $  a,b,c >0  $. Show that
$$\left(\frac{a}{b}+\frac{b}{c}+\frac{c}{a}+1\right)^2 \geq \frac{16}{k+3}\left(\frac{b}{a}+\frac{c}{b}+\frac{a}{c}+k\right)$$Where $ k\geq 1.$
$$\left(\frac{a}{b}+\frac{b}{c}+\frac{c}{a}+1\right)^2 \geq  \frac{b}{a}+\frac{c}{b}+\frac{a}{c}+13$$$$\left(\frac{a}{b}+\frac{b}{c}+\frac{c}{a}+1\right)^2 \geq \frac{16}{5}\left(\frac{b}{a}+\frac{c}{b}+\frac{a}{c}+2\right)$$
1 reply
1 viewing
sqing
5 hours ago
sqing
5 minutes ago
Hard inequality
ys33   5
N 13 minutes ago by sqing
Let $a, b, c, d>0$. Prove that
$\sqrt[3]{ab}+ \sqrt[3]{cd} < \sqrt[3]{(a+b+c)(b+c+d)}$.
5 replies
ys33
4 hours ago
sqing
13 minutes ago
China Northern MO 2009 p4 CNMO
parkjungmin   1
N 20 minutes ago by exoticc
Source: China Northern MO 2009 p4 CNMO
China Northern MO 2009 p4 CNMO

The problem is too difficult.
Is there anyone who can help me?
1 reply
parkjungmin
Apr 30, 2025
exoticc
20 minutes ago
Hojoo Lee problem 73
Leon   25
N 23 minutes ago by sqing
Source: Belarus 1998
Let $a$, $b$, $c$ be real positive numbers. Show that \[\frac{a}{b}+\frac{b}{c}+\frac{c}{a}\geq \frac{a+b}{b+c}+\frac{b+c}{a+b}+1\]
25 replies
Leon
Aug 21, 2006
sqing
23 minutes ago
Almost Squarefree Integers
oVlad   3
N 30 minutes ago by Primeniyazidayi
Source: Romania Junior TST 2025 Day 1 P1
A positive integer $n\geqslant 3$ is almost squarefree if there exists a prime number $p\equiv 1\bmod 3$ such that $p^2\mid n$ and $n/p$ is squarefree. Prove that for any almost squarefree positive integer $n$ the ratio $2\sigma(n)/d(n)$ is an integer.
3 replies
+1 w
oVlad
Apr 12, 2025
Primeniyazidayi
30 minutes ago
Math camp combi
ErTeeEs06   3
N 31 minutes ago by genius_007
Source: BxMO 2025 P2
Let $N\geq 2$ be a natural number. At a mathematical olympiad training camp the same $N$ courses are organised every day. Each student takes exactly one of the $N$ courses each day. At the end of the camp, every student has takes each course exactly once, and any two students took the same course on at least one day, but took different courses on at least one other day. What is, in terms of $N$, the largest possible number of students at the camp?
3 replies
ErTeeEs06
Apr 26, 2025
genius_007
31 minutes ago
Benelux fe
ErTeeEs06   10
N 40 minutes ago by genius_007
Source: BxMO 2025 P1
Does there exist a function $f:\mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R}$ such that $$f(x^2+f(y))=f(x)^2-y$$for all $x, y\in \mathbb{R}$?
10 replies
ErTeeEs06
Apr 26, 2025
genius_007
40 minutes ago
IMO Shortlist Problems
ABCD1728   0
an hour ago
Source: IMO official website
Where can I get the official solution for ISL before 2005? The official website only has solutions after 2006. Thanks :)
0 replies
ABCD1728
an hour ago
0 replies
Geometric inequality in quadrilateral
BBNoDollar   0
an hour ago
Source: Romanian Mathematical Gazette 2025
Let ABCD be a convex quadrilateral with angles BAD and BCD obtuse, and let the points E, F ∈ BD, such that AE ⊥ BD and CF ⊥ BD.
Prove that 1/(AE*CF) ≥ 1/(AB*BC) + 1/(AD*CD) .
0 replies
BBNoDollar
an hour ago
0 replies
A coincidence about triangles with common incenter
flower417477   2
N an hour ago by flower417477
$\triangle ABC,\triangle ADE$ have the same incenter $I$.Prove that $BCDE$ is concyclic iff $BC,DE,AI$ is concurrent
2 replies
flower417477
Wednesday at 2:08 PM
flower417477
an hour ago
Function equation
LeDuonggg   5
N 2 hours ago by luutrongphuc
Find all functions $f: \mathbb{R^+} \rightarrow \mathbb{R^+}$ , such that for all $x,y>0$:
\[ f(x+f(y))=\dfrac{f(x)}{1+f(xy)}\]
5 replies
LeDuonggg
Yesterday at 2:59 PM
luutrongphuc
2 hours ago
Consecutive sum of integers sum up to 2020
NicoN9   2
N 2 hours ago by NicoN9
Source: Japan Junior MO Preliminary 2020 P2
Let $a$ and $b$ be positive integers. Suppose that the sum of integers between $a$ and $b$, including $a$ and $b$, are equal to $2020$.
All among those pairs $(a, b)$, find the pair such that $a$ achieves the minimum.
2 replies
NicoN9
Today at 6:09 AM
NicoN9
2 hours ago
Range of a^3+b^3-3c
Kunihiko_Chikaya   1
N 2 hours ago by Mathzeus1024
Let $a,\ b,\ c$ be real numbers such that $b<\frac{1}{c}<a$ and

$$\begin{cases}a+b+c=1 \ \\ a^2+b^2+c^2=23	

\end{cases}$$
Find the range of $a^3+b^3-3c.$


Proposed by Kunihiko Chikaya/September 23, 2020
1 reply
Kunihiko_Chikaya
Sep 23, 2020
Mathzeus1024
2 hours ago
Fun.... polynomial divisors
DottedCaculator   12
N Apr 29, 2025 by bin_sherlo
Source: USEMO 2022/5
Let $\tau(n)$ denote the number of positive integer divisors of a positive integer $n$ (for example, $\tau(2022) = 8$). Given a polynomial $P(X)$ with integer coefficients, we define a sequence $a_1, a_2,\ldots$ of nonnegative integers by setting
\[a_n =\begin{cases}\gcd(P(n), \tau (P(n)))&\text{if }P(n) > 0\\0 &\text{if }P(n) \leq0\end{cases}\]for each positive integer $n$. We then say the sequence has limit infinity if every integer occurs in this sequence only finitely many times (possibly not at all).

Does there exist a choice of $P(X)$ for which the sequence $a_1$, $a_2$, . . . has limit infinity?

Jovan Vuković
12 replies
DottedCaculator
Oct 23, 2022
bin_sherlo
Apr 29, 2025
Fun.... polynomial divisors
G H J
Source: USEMO 2022/5
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DottedCaculator
7345 posts
#1 • 6 Y
Y by LLL2019, rama1728, Kingsbane2139, centslordm, Mango247, Mango247
Let $\tau(n)$ denote the number of positive integer divisors of a positive integer $n$ (for example, $\tau(2022) = 8$). Given a polynomial $P(X)$ with integer coefficients, we define a sequence $a_1, a_2,\ldots$ of nonnegative integers by setting
\[a_n =\begin{cases}\gcd(P(n), \tau (P(n)))&\text{if }P(n) > 0\\0 &\text{if }P(n) \leq0\end{cases}\]for each positive integer $n$. We then say the sequence has limit infinity if every integer occurs in this sequence only finitely many times (possibly not at all).

Does there exist a choice of $P(X)$ for which the sequence $a_1$, $a_2$, . . . has limit infinity?

Jovan Vuković
This post has been edited 8 times. Last edited by DottedCaculator, Oct 24, 2022, 12:29 AM
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CANBANKAN
1301 posts
#2 • 2 Y
Y by Sross314, LLL2019
Solution
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by CANBANKAN, Oct 24, 2022, 12:55 AM
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v_Enhance
6877 posts
#4 • 6 Y
Y by ApraTrip, bjump, HamstPan38825, PROA200, levimpcbranco, Kingsbane2139
We claim the answer is no, such $P$ does not exist.

Clearly we may assume $P$ is nonconstant with positive leading coefficient. Fix $P$ and fix constants $n_0, c > 0$ such that $c = P(n_0) > 0$. We are going to prove that infinitely many terms of the sequence are at most $c$.

We start with the following lemma.
Claim: For each integer $n \ge 2$, there exists an integer $r = r(n)$ such that
  • For any prime $p$ which is at most $n$, we have $\nu_p(P(r)) = \nu_p(c)$.
  • We have \[ c \cdot \prod_{\text{prime }p \le n} 			\le r \le 2c \cdot \prod_{\text{prime }p \le n} p. \]
Proof. This follows by the Chinese remainder theorem: for each $p \le n$ we require $r \equiv n_0 \pmod{p^{\nu_p(c)+1}}$, which guarantees $\nu_p(P(r)) = \nu_p(P(n_0)) = \nu_p(c)$. Then there exists such an $r$ modulo $\prod_{p \le n} p^{\nu_p(c)+1}$ as needed. $\blacksquare$
Assume for contradiction that all $a_i$ are eventually larger than $c$. Take $n$ large enough that $n > c$ and $r = r(n)$ has $a_r > c$. Then consider the term $a_r$:
  • Using the conditions in the lemma it follows there exists a prime $p_n > n$ which divides $a_r = \gcd(P(r), \tau(P(r)))$ (otherwise $a_r$, which divides $P(r)$, is at most $c$).
  • As $p_n$ divides $\tau(P(r))$, this forces $P(r)$ to be divisible by (at least) $q_n^{p_n-1}$ for some prime $q_n$.
  • For the small primes $p$ at most $n$, we have $\nu_p(P(r)) = \nu_p(c) < c < n \le p_n - 1$. It follows that $q_n > n$.
  • Ergo, \[ P(r) \ge q_r^{p_r-1} > n^n. \]
In other words, for large enough $n$, we have the asymptotic estimate \begin{align*} 	n^n &< P(r) = O(1) \cdot r^{\deg P} \\ 	&= O(1) \cdot c^{\deg P} \cdot \prod_{\text{prime } p \le n} p^{\deg p} \\ 	&< O(1) \cdot n^{\deg P \cdot \pi(n)} \end{align*}where $\pi(n)$ denotes the number of primes less than $n$. For large enough $n$ this is impossible since the primes have zero density: \[ \lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{\pi(n)}{n} = 0. \]
Remark: For completeness, we outline a short elementary proof that $\lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{\pi(n)}{n} = 0$. For integers $M > 0$ define \[ \delta(M) \coloneqq \prod_{p \le M} \left( 1 - \frac 1p  \right). \]Then $\pi(n) < \delta(M)n + O(M)$, so it suffices to check that $\lim_{M \to \infty} \delta(M) = 0$. But \[ 		\frac{1}{\delta(M)} 		= \prod_{p \le M} \left( 1 - \frac 1p  \right)^{-1} 		= \prod_{p \le M} \left( 1 + \frac1p + \frac{1}{p^2} + \dots \right) 		\ge 1 + \frac 12 + \dots + \frac 1M 	\]which diverges for large $M$.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by v_Enhance, Oct 24, 2022, 12:31 AM
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Remon
20 posts
#5 • 1 Y
Y by Mango247
https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c6h539544p3104308 6floor ,this method can help us find n such that almost all the prime factors of P(n) are large.
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SnowPanda
186 posts
#6
Y by
Solution
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by SnowPanda, Oct 24, 2022, 12:02 PM
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primesarespecial
364 posts
#8 • 1 Y
Y by PRMOisTheHardestExam
Solution attached below..(The second pic is useless basically, I don't know why I even wrote bezout,the existence for (M+1) is obvious anyways and for primes greater than p_n,the existence of non roots mod p,is obvious by lagrange.
Attachments:
This post has been edited 3 times. Last edited by primesarespecial, Nov 7, 2022, 12:23 PM
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CahitArf
80 posts
#9
Y by
Please someone can check my solution?
Attachments:
USEMO 2022 P5.pdf (87kb)
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blackbluecar
302 posts
#10 • 1 Y
Y by IAmTheHazard
We will prove the general result for any $P \colon \mathbb{Z} \to \mathbb{Z}$ but not necessarily $P \in \mathbb{Z}[X]$

Suppose $d$ divides $P(n)$ for all $n \in \mathbb{Z}$. Thus, we let $P(x) = d \cdot Q(x)$ where $Q \colon \mathbb{Z} \to \mathbb{Z}$. By CRT on the prime divisors of $d$ there exists a positive integer $a$ where $\gcd(d, Q(dn+a))=1$ for every $n \in \mathbb{Z}$. So, we will let $f(x)=Q(dx+a)$.

So, there is no number $>1$ dividing every $f(n)$. Let $p_1<p_2< \cdots$ be all the primes dividing at least one $f(n)$. If we let $N$ be a sufficiently large positive integer, then by CRT there is an $M<p_1p_2 \cdots p_N$ where $p_i$ does not divide $f(M)$ for any $i \leq N$. Thus, let $f(M)=q_1^{\alpha_1}q_2^{\alpha_2} \cdots q_k^{\alpha_k}$. We should see that \[ \gcd(q_1^{\alpha_1}q_2^{\alpha_2} \cdots q_k^{\alpha_k},(\alpha_1+1)(\alpha_2+1) \cdots (\alpha_k+1)) \]becomes unbounded. So, there must be some $\alpha_i$ and $q_j$ where $\alpha_1 > q_j$. This clearly implies that \[ f(M) > q_1^{q_1} > p_N^{p_N}\]but this gets too big by prime number theorem. We look back at $d \cdot f$ by realizing $\tau(d \cdot f(n)) = \tau(d) \cdot \tau(f(n))$ so \[ \gcd(n,\tau(d) \cdot f(n))<\tau(d) \cdot \gcd(n,f(n)) \]Which we proved cannot grow at a sufficient speed. Done.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by blackbluecar, Apr 4, 2023, 11:46 PM
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IAmTheHazard
5001 posts
#11 • 1 Y
Y by centslordm
Here is a... suboptimal solution in terms of elegance


The answer is no. Suppose otherwise; clearly $P$ is nonconstant, so let $\deg P=d>0$.

Write
$$P=f_1^{e_1}\ldots f_k^{e_k}$$where for all $1 \leq i \leq k$, $f_i$ is an irreducible integer polynomial, $e_i\geq 1$, and all the $f_i$ are pairwise distinct (hence coprime). We will construct (by CRT) a positive integer $m$ satisfying a number of desirable properties. Consider massive positive integers $A<B<C$ with $B$ and $C$ to be selected later, such that
  • For all $n\geq A$, $P(A)>0$,
  • For all (finitely many) primes $p$ dividing every value of $P(n)$, $p<A$,
  • By Bezout's, for all $n \geq A$ and all $i$, we have $\gcd(f_i(n),f_i'(n))<A$, since $f_i$ and $f_i'$ are coprime,
  • By Bezout's, for all $n \geq A$ and all $i \neq j$, we have $\gcd(f_i(n),f_j(n))<A$,
  • By Dirichlet, there exists some prime $Q \equiv 1 \pmod{e_1\ldots e_k}$ such that $Q<A$ and $Q$ does not divide every value of $P(n)$.
Let the primes (less than $A$) be $r_1,\ldots,r_a$ (this includes $Q$) and let $g_1,\ldots,g_a$ be nonnegative integers such that for all $i$, $r_i^{g_i}$ divides $P(n)$ for all $n$, but $r_i^{g_i+1}$ doesn't always divide $P(n)$. Therefore, for each $i$, we can impose a modulo-$r_i^{g_i+1}$ condition on $m$ to ensure that $\nu_{r_i}(P(m))=g_i$.

Now let $q_1,\ldots,q_b$ be the primes in $[A,B)$. Since none of these divide every value of $P(n)$, for each $i$ we can impose a modulo-$q_i$ condition on $m$ to ensure that $q_i \nmid P(m)$.

Finally let $p_1,\ldots,p_c$ be the primes in $[B,C)$ which divide some value of $P(n)$. For any $i,j$, we have $p_i \mid f_j(n) \implies p_i \nmid f_j'(n)$, so for Hensel lifting-related reasons, for any $k$ we can impose a modulo-$p_i^{k+1}$ condition on $m$ so that $\nu_{p_i}(f_i(m))=k$. Therefore, for each $i$, pick some $j$ such that $p_i$ divides some value of $f_j(n)$, and impose a modulo-$p_i^{\frac{Q-1}{e_j}+1}$ condition on $m$ such that $\nu_{p_i}(f_j(m))=\tfrac{Q-1}{e_j}$. Since $p_i$ won't divide $f_h(n)$ for any $h \neq j$ since $p_i>A$, it follows that $\nu_{p_i}(P(m))=Q-1$.

Observe that we can evidently find some $m$ satisfying these conditions which is $O((q_1\ldots q_b)(p_1\ldots p_c)^Q)$ but also arbitrarily large (by taking $B$ large and selecting the second-smallest possibility for $m$), since the product of $r_i^{g_i+1}$ is a constant. Then $P(m)$ is $O((q_1\ldots q_b)^d(p_1\ldots p_c)^{Qd})$. Separate $P(m)$ into the product of two "parts": one consisting of the product of primes less than $C$, which equals
$$\left(\prod_{i=1}^a r_i^{g_i}\right)\left(\prod_{i=1}^c p_i^{Q-1}\right),$$and the other, which is the product of primes at least $C$. Hence the "other part" of $P(m)$ is $O((q_1\ldots q_b)^d(p_1\ldots p_c)^{Q(d-1)+1})$. Now consider the contribution of each part to $\gcd(P(m),\tau(P(m)))$: specifically, for the first part, the contribution from $\tau(r_i^{g_i})=g_i+1$ is bounded for each $i$, so we can ignore it, and the contribution from $\tau(p_i^{Q-1})=Q$ is zero, since $Q \nmid P(m)$. Therefore, if $\gcd(P(m),\tau(P(m)))$ is unbounded as $m$ grows large (by making $B$ large), we will need some prime $p \geq C$ such that $\tau(p^{\nu_p(P(m))})$ contributes arbitrarily large quantities to $\gcd(P(m),\tau(P(m)))$. This means that we must be able to find some $p$ with $p_i \mid \nu_p(P(m))$ for some $i$, since if $\nu_p(P(m))$ has prime factors in $[A,B)$ they don't matter, and the contribution of any primes smaller than $A$ is bounded by the product of $r_i^{g_i}$ (i.e. the "$<A$ part" of $P(m)$), which is finite.

On the other hand, if we take $C \approx B\sqrt{\log B}$, then by PNT the the "other part" of $P(m)$ is $O\left(B^{\frac{B}{\log B}d}(B\sqrt{\log B})^{\frac{B}{\sqrt{\log B}}(Q(d-1)+1)}\right)$, since $\frac{B\sqrt{\log B}}{\log(B\sqrt{\log B})} \leq \frac{B\sqrt{\log B}}{\log B}$, but if $p_i \mid \nu_p(P(m))$ for some $i$, then we need $P(m) \geq p^{p_i}$ which is $\Omega((B\sqrt{\log B})^B)$, which dominates as $B \to \infty$: contradiction. $\blacksquare$


Edit: Wait shoot $C$ (and everything related to it) isn't necessary lmao. If we drop everything related to $C$ then $P(m)$ will be $O(B^{\frac{B}{\log B}d})$, but we will need some prime $p \geq B$ such that $\nu_p(P(m))$ is divisible by a prime at least $B$, hence we need $P(m) \geq B^B$, which is a contradiction. This is the same as the other solutions
This post has been edited 3 times. Last edited by IAmTheHazard, Aug 19, 2023, 12:17 AM
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Krish230905
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I don't know whether this is correct or not. Can someone please check.

We claim that the answer is no.
Let $\deg P(n)=t$ Then, $$P(n)=\sum_{i=1}^t a_i x^i$$Evaluate $P(\alpha)$ for $n=p_1p_2\dots p_k$ where $p_1,p_2, \dots p_k$ are the smallest $n$ primes. For large enough $k$, we have that $P(\alpha) < (a_t+1)\alpha^t$ . Also, note that $P(n)$ doesn't have any prime divisors $< p_k$ except finitely many. Hence, $p^{kn} > P(\alpha)$ for any $p \vert P(n)$. From this, we can conclude that $\nu_p(P(n)) < kn$ for any $p$. We denote $\nu_p(P(n))$ by $e$

$\tau (P(n))$ is given by $\prod_{i=1}^n (e_i+1)$ where $e_i$ are the coefficients of the primes dividing $P(n)$. So, $\tau (P(n))$ is not divisible by any $p$ if $p>kn$ due to the fact proved earlier. So, $P(n)$ has prime factors $p>p_k$ (except finitely many) and $\tau (P(n))$ has prime factors $p<kn$. This forces that $\gcd(P(n), \tau (P(n)))$ is small for infinitely many $n$.
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YaoAOPS
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Fix a polynomial $P = c_0x^d + c_1x^{d-1} + \dots + c_{b}x^b$ with positive leading coefficient, as the result is immediately no for negative coefficients. Let $M = \operatorname{lcm}(c_0, c_1, \dots, c_d)$ and $m = \gcd(c_0, c_1, \dots, c_d)$. over nonzero coefficients. Let $c_b$ be the minimal nonzero coefficient.
FTSOC assume that $a_n$ steadily increases with $n$.

Define by CRT \begin{align*} &N \equiv a_p \pmod{p}, d < p < n \\ &N \equiv 0 \pmod{p^{\nu_p(M) + 1}}, p \le d \end{align*}Choose $a_p$ such that $p \nmid \frac{P(a_p)}{m}$, which is possible by Lagrange's theorem.

Take $N$ sufficiently large such that $P(N) < n^n$ which is possible by the prime number theorem and primorial growth rate.

Claim: For $p < n$ and some fixed $K$ independent of $N$, either $b = 0$ and $\nu_p(P(N))$ is fixed over $N$, or $b \ge 1$ and $\nu_p(P(N)) = b \cdot \nu_p(N) = b \cdot (\nu_p(M) + 1)$.
Proof. Follows by construction. $\blacksquare$
Hence, since primes $p \le d$ are bounded in $P(N)$, primes $d < p < n$ aren't present in $P(N)$, and primes $p > n$ aren't present in $\tau(P(N))$, the result follows.
This post has been edited 10 times. Last edited by YaoAOPS, Aug 22, 2023, 6:56 PM
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dgrozev
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The answer is NO. The plan is the same as in #2 with different realization. We will show that for infinitely many $ n\in\mathbb{N}$ the prime factorization of $ P(n)$ consists of primes with small exponents. We prove it by counting the number of $ n$'s for which $ p^s\mid P(n)$ for a prime $ p$ and sufficiently large $ s$. Here the Hensel's lemma will do the job. This allows us to show existence of a bounded subsequence of $ (a_n)$.

Proposition 1. For each polynomial $ P(x)$ with integer coefficients there exists a constant $ M>0$ such that for infinitely many $ n\in\mathbb{N}$ all the exponents of the prime factoring of $ P(n)$ are less than $ M$.

Let us first see how this claim helps. Indeed, suppose
$$ \displaystyle P(n)=p_1^{\alpha_1}p_2^{\alpha_2}\cdots p_k^{\alpha_k} \text{ and }  \alpha_i< M,i=1,2,\dots,k.$$Then $ \tau(P(n))=(\alpha_1+1)\cdots(\alpha_k+1)$ and the prime factors of it are less or equal to $ M$. Each of them can participate in the factoring of $ P(n)$ with degree at most $ M$, hence $ a_n\le M^M$ and it holds for infinitely many $ n$.

The proof of Proposition 1. is based on an interesting and important fact (Korea 2016 TST ), so we formulate it as a standalone claim.

Proposition 2. Let $ P(x)$ be an irreducible polynomial with integer coefficients and $ p$ be a prime number. Then there exists a constant $ M>0$ such that for sufficiently large $ m$ the number of the solutions of the congruence
$$ \displaystyle P(x)\equiv 0\pmod {p^m}$$is exactly $ M$.

Proof (of Proposition 2). The proof is based on Hensel's lemma. First, let us see that for sufficiently large $ N$ if
$$ \displaystyle P(x_0)\equiv 0\pmod{p^N}$$then
$$ \displaystyle P'(x_0)\not\equiv 0\pmod{p^N}.$$Indeed, since $ P$ is irreducible, $ P(x)$ and $ P'(x)$ are coprime as polynomials, hence
$$ \displaystyle a(x)P(x)+b(x)P'(x)=c$$where $ a(x),b(x)\in \mathbb{Z}[X], c\in\mathbb{Z}, c\neq 0.$ We take $ N$ so that $ 2^N>c.$ So, if $ p^N\mid P(x_0)$ it follows $ p^N\nmid P'(x_0).$
Now, let $ x_1,x_2,\dots,x_M$ be the roots of
$$ \displaystyle P(x)\equiv 0\pmod{p^N}.$$It follows by Hensel's lemma that for any $ m\ge N$ each of $ x_i, i=1,2,\dots,x_M$ is "lifted" uniquely to a root $ x'_i$ modulo $ p^m$ with $ x'_i\equiv x_i\pmod {p^N}$ and these are the only roots of $ P(x)\equiv\pmod {p^m}$. $ \square$

Remark. Note that we actually proved as a bonus that there is a constant $ N$ which depends only on the polynomial $ P$ such that for any prime $ p$ and any $ m>N$ the number of solutions of
$$ \displaystyle P(x)\equiv 0\pmod{p^m}$$is at most $ p^N$. We are ready to prove Proposition 1.

Proof (of Proposition 1). Let us first consider the case when $ P(x)$ is an irreducible polynomial. Let $ p_1,p_2,\dots,p_k$ be the first $ k$ prime numbers, where $ k\in \mathbb{N}$. According to the remark after the Proposition 1.2, for any $ s\in\mathbb{N}, s\ge N$ each congruence
$$ \displaystyle P(x)\equiv 0 \pmod{p^s}\,,\,i=1,2,\dots, k$$has at most $ p^N$ solutions. Let us now count the numbers of $ n$'s $ 1\le n\le p_k$ for which $ P(n)$ is multiple of $ p_i^s$ for some $ i, 1\le i\le k$. This number is at most $ \varepsilon\cdot p_k$ where
\begin{align*}\varepsilon&:= \frac{p_1^N}{p_1^s}+\frac{p_2^N}{p_2^s}+\dots+\frac{p_k^N}{p_k^s} \\
    &= \frac{1}{p_1^{s-N}}+\frac{1}{p_2^{s-N}}+\dots+\frac{1}{p_k^{s-N}}\\
    &< \sum_{j=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{p_j^{s-N}}\qquad(1).
\end{align*}Since $ N$ depends only on the polynomial $ P(x)$, we can take $ M$ sufficiently large such that $ \varepsilon<1/2$ for $ s\ge M$ and all $ k\in \mathbb{N}$. It means that there is $ n\in[p_k/2, p_k]$ such that $ P(n)$ is not multiple of $ p_i^M, i=1,2,\dots, k$. But in this case $ P(n)$ is also not multiple of any $ p^M$ for a prime $ p>p_k$ since $ P(n)<n^M<p^M$ if we choose $ M$ be larger than $ \deg(P)$ and $ p_k$ is large enough.
Thus, we found $ n\ge p_k/2$ that satisfies the requirements of Proposition 1 for some $ M>0$ (not depending on $ k$). We can consecutively choose $ k$ bigger and bigger thus finding infinitely many $ n$ satisfying the statement of Proposition 1.

Let us now consider the case when $ P(x)$ is reducible polynomial with integer coefficients. It can be represented as
$$ \displaystyle P(x)=P_1(x)P_2(x)\cdots P_{\ell}(x)$$where $ P_i(x), i=1,2,\dots,\ell$ are irreducible polynomials with integer coefficients. We apply the same argument to each of these polynomials, but with $ \displaystyle \varepsilon<\frac{1}{2\ell},$ and conclude that there is $ n\in [p_k/2,p_k]$ such that $ p_j^M\nmid P_i(n), j=1,2,\dots,k;i=1,2,\dots,\ell$. Hence $ p_j^{\ell M}\nmid P(n)$.
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bin_sherlo
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Hope this is true :blush:
There does not exist such polynomial. Suppose that the leading coefficient of $P$ is positive. Let $\deg P=d$. Call a prime special iff it divides $P(x)$ for some integer $x$. Let $p_1<p_2<\dots<p_m<\dots $ be all special primes. By Chinese Remainder Theorem we can pick $P(t)=p_1^{a_1}\dots p_m^{a_m}r_1^{b_1}\dots r_x^{b_x}$ where $t,m$ are sufficiently large. Suppose that $x\geq C$ implies $(P(x),\tau(P(x)))>P(t)$. For a sufficiently large $k>C$ that we will choose later, pick
\[a\equiv t(mod \ p_i^{a_i+1}) \forall i\leq m, \ \ a\equiv t(mod \ r_i^{b_i+1}),\ \ a\equiv w(mod \ \frac{p_{m+1}\dots p_k}{r_1\dots r_x})\]Where $p_k>P(w)>0$. Let $a$ be the second smallest positive integer holding these modulo restrictions. This yields $a<2P(t).rad P(t)p_{m+1}\dots p_k$.
$P(t)|P(a)$ and any prime divisor of $\frac{P(a)}{P(t)}$ is larger than $p_k$. Notice that $a>p_k>C$ hence $(P(a),\tau(P(a)))>P(t)$. Let $P(a)=p_1^{a_1}\dots p_m^{a_m}r_1^{b_1}\dots r_x^{b_x}p_{k+1}^{c_{k+1}}\dots p_l^{c_l}$ where $c_i$ are nonnegative. $k$ is sufficiently large such that $p_k>(a_1+1)\dots (b_x+1)$ hence $(p_i, (a_j+1)(b_j+1))=1$ for $i\geq k+1$. Since $(x,yz)\leq z(x,y)$ we have
\begin{align*}
P(t)< (P(a),(\tau(P(a)) &= (p_1^{a_1}\dots r_x^{b_x}\dots p_l^{c_l},(a_1+1)\dots (b_x+1)\dots (c_l+1)) \\
&\leq p_1^{a_1}\dots p_m^{a_m}r_1^{b_1}\dots r_x^{b_x}(p_{k+1}^{c_{k+1}}\dots p_l^{c_l},(a_1+1)\dots (b_x+1)\dots (c_l+1)) \\
& =P(t) (p_{k+1}^{c_{k+1}}\dots p_l^{c_l},(c_{k+1}+1)\dots (c_l+1))
\end{align*}Thus, $(p_{k+1}^{c_{k+1}}\dots p_l^{c_l},(c_{k+1}+1)\dots (c_l+1))>1$ which implies $p_i|c_j+1$ for some $i,j\geq k+1$.
\[(2P(t)^2)^{d+1}.(p_k)^{(k-m)(d+1)}>(2P(t)^2p_{m+1}\dots p_k)^{d+1}>a^{d+1}>P(a)>P(t)p_{k+1}^{p_k}>p_k^{p_k}\]Since $(2P(t)^2)^{d+1}=\ell $ is a constant, this requires $\ell>(p_k)^{p_k-(k-m)(d+1)}$ or $p_k<(k-m)(d+1)$ however this is not true since primes have density zero as desired.$\blacksquare$
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