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Contests & Programs AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
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Contests & Programs AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
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k a March Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
Mar 2, 2025
March is the month for State MATHCOUNTS competitions! Kudos to everyone who participated in their local chapter competitions and best of luck to all going to State! Join us on March 11th for a Math Jam devoted to our favorite Chapter competition problems! Are you interested in training for MATHCOUNTS? Be sure to check out our AMC 8/MATHCOUNTS Basics and Advanced courses.

Are you ready to level up with Olympiad training? Registration is open with early bird pricing available for our WOOT programs: MathWOOT (Levels 1 and 2), CodeWOOT, PhysicsWOOT, and ChemWOOT. What is WOOT? WOOT stands for Worldwide Online Olympiad Training and is a 7-month high school math Olympiad preparation and testing program that brings together many of the best students from around the world to learn Olympiad problem solving skills. Classes begin in September!

Do you have plans this summer? There are so many options to fit your schedule and goals whether attending a summer camp or taking online classes, it can be a great break from the routine of the school year. Check out our summer courses at AoPS Online, or if you want a math or language arts class that doesn’t have homework, but is an enriching summer experience, our AoPS Virtual Campus summer camps may be just the ticket! We are expanding our locations for our AoPS Academies across the country with 15 locations so far and new campuses opening in Saratoga CA, Johns Creek GA, and the Upper West Side NY. Check out this page for summer camp information.

Be sure to mark your calendars for the following events:
[list][*]March 5th (Wednesday), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, HCSSiM Math Jam 2025. Amber Verser, Assistant Director of the Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics, will host an information session about HCSSiM, a summer program for high school students.
[*]March 6th (Thursday), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Free Webinar on Math Competitions from elementary through high school. Join us for an enlightening session that demystifies the world of math competitions and helps you make informed decisions about your contest journey.
[*]March 11th (Tuesday), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, 2025 MATHCOUNTS Chapter Discussion MATH JAM. AoPS instructors will discuss some of their favorite problems from the MATHCOUNTS Chapter Competition. All are welcome!
[*]March 13th (Thursday), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Free Webinar about Summer Camps at the Virtual Campus. Transform your summer into an unforgettable learning adventure! From elementary through high school, we offer dynamic summer camps featuring topics in mathematics, language arts, and competition preparation - all designed to fit your schedule and ignite your passion for learning.[/list]
Our full course list for upcoming classes is below:
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0 replies
jlacosta
Mar 2, 2025
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
Gunn Math Competition
the_math_prodigy   15
N a minute ago by the_math_prodigy
Gunn Math Circle is excited to host the fourth annual Gunn Math Competition (GMC)! GMC will take place at Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California on Sunday, March 30th. Gather a team of up to four and compete for over $7,500 in prizes! The contest features three rounds: Individual, Guts, and Team. We welcome participants of all skill levels, with separate Beginner and Advanced divisions for all students.

Registration is free and now open at compete.gunnmathcircle.org. The deadline to sign up is March 27th.

Special Guest Speaker: Po-Shen Loh!!!
We are honored to welcome Po-Shen Loh, a world-renowned mathematician, Carnegie Mellon professor, and former coach of the USA International Math Olympiad team. He will deliver a 30-minute talk to both students and parents, offering deep insights into mathematical thinking and problem-solving in the age of AI!

View competition manual, schedule, prize pool at compete.gunnmathcircle.org . For any questions, reach out at ghsmathcircle@gmail.com or ask in Discord.
15 replies
the_math_prodigy
Mar 8, 2025
the_math_prodigy
a minute ago
Scary Binomial Coefficient Sum
EpicBird08   36
N 7 minutes ago by deduck
Source: USAMO 2025/5
Determine, with proof, all positive integers $k$ such that $$\frac{1}{n+1} \sum_{i=0}^n \binom{n}{i}^k$$is an integer for every positive integer $n.$
36 replies
+1 w
EpicBird08
Friday at 11:59 AM
deduck
7 minutes ago
Red Mop Chances
imagien_bad   21
N an hour ago by giratina3
What are my chances of making red mop with a 35 on jmo?
21 replies
+1 w
imagien_bad
Yesterday at 8:27 PM
giratina3
an hour ago
USAPhO Exam
happyhippos   1
N an hour ago by RYang2
Every other thread on this forum is for USA(J)MO lol.

Anyways, to other USAPhO students, what are you doing to prepare? It seems too close to the test date (April 10) to learn new content, so I am just going through past USAPhO and BPhO exams to practice (untimed for now). How about you? Any predictions for what will be on the test this year? I'm completely cooked if there are any circuitry questions.
1 reply
happyhippos
Yesterday at 3:14 AM
RYang2
an hour ago
Points in general position
AshAuktober   2
N 2 hours ago by Bata325
Source: 2025 Nepal ptst p1 of 4
Shining tells Prajit a positive integer $n \ge 2025$. Prajit then tries to place n points such that no four points are concyclic and no $3$ points are collinear in Euclidean plane, such that Shining cannot find a group of three points such that their circumcircle contains none of the other remaining points. Is he always able to do so?

(Prajit Adhikari, Nepal and Shining Sun, USA)
2 replies
AshAuktober
Mar 15, 2025
Bata325
2 hours ago
Interesting inequality
sqing   1
N 2 hours ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $ a,b,c\geq 0,(ab+c)(ac+b)\neq 0 $ and $ a+b+c=3 . $ Prove that
$$ \frac{1}{ab+kc}+\frac{1}{ac+kb} \geq\frac{4}{3k} $$Where $ k\geq 3. $
$$ \frac{1}{ab+2c}+\frac{1}{ac+2b} \geq\frac{16}{25} $$$$ \frac{1}{ab+3c}+\frac{1}{ac+3b} \geq\frac{4}{9} $$$$ \frac{1}{ab+4c}+\frac{1}{ac+4b} \geq\frac{1}{3} $$

1 reply
sqing
2 hours ago
sqing
2 hours ago
Problem 2
delegat   145
N 2 hours ago by Marcus_Zhang
Source: 0
Let $n\ge 3$ be an integer, and let $a_2,a_3,\ldots ,a_n$ be positive real numbers such that $a_{2}a_{3}\cdots a_{n}=1$. Prove that
\[(1 + a_2)^2 (1 + a_3)^3 \dotsm (1 + a_n)^n > n^n.\]

Proposed by Angelo Di Pasquale, Australia
145 replies
delegat
Jul 10, 2012
Marcus_Zhang
2 hours ago
CMJ 1284 (Crazy Concyclic Circumcenter Circus)
kgator   0
2 hours ago
Source: College Mathematics Journal Volume 55 (2024), Issue 4: https://doi.org/10.1080/07468342.2024.2373015
1284. Proposed by Tran Quang Hung, High School for Gifted Students, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam. Let quadrilateral $ABCD$ not be a trapezoid such that there is a circle centered at $I$ that is tangent to the four sides $\overline{AB}$, $\overline{BC}$, $\overline{CD}$, and $\overline{DA}$. Let $X$, $Y$, $Z$, and $W$ be the circumcenters of the triangles $IAB$, $IBC$, $ICD$, and $IDA$, respectively. Prove that there is a circle containing the circumcenters of the triangles $XAB$, $YBC$, $ZCD$, and $WDA$.
0 replies
kgator
2 hours ago
0 replies
euler-totient function
Laan   3
N 2 hours ago by top1vien
Proof that there are infinitely many positive integers $n$ such that
$\varphi(n)<\varphi(n+1)<\varphi(n+2)$
3 replies
Laan
Friday at 7:13 AM
top1vien
2 hours ago
Loop of Logarithms
scls140511   12
N 2 hours ago by yyhloveu1314
Source: 2024 China Round 1 (Gao Lian)
Round 1

1 Real number $m>1$ satisfies $\log_9 \log_8 m =2024$. Find the value of $\log_3 \log_2 m$.
12 replies
scls140511
Sep 8, 2024
yyhloveu1314
2 hours ago
A cyclic inequality
JK1603JK   1
N 2 hours ago by jokehim
Source: unknown
Let a,b,c be real numbers. Prove that a^6+b^6+c^6\ge 2(a+b+c)(ab+bc+ca)(a-b)(b-c)(c-a).
1 reply
JK1603JK
4 hours ago
jokehim
2 hours ago
bank accounts
cloventeen   1
N 3 hours ago by jkim0656
edgar has three bank accounts, each with an integer amount of dollars in it. He is only allowed to transfer money from one account to another if, by doing so, the latter ends up with double the money it had previously. Prove that edgar can always transfer all of his money into two accounts. Will he always be able to transfer all of his money into a single account?
1 reply
cloventeen
3 hours ago
jkim0656
3 hours ago
Divisibility
RenheMiResembleRice   0
3 hours ago
Source: Byer
Prove that for all n ∈ ℕ, 133|($11^{\left(n+2\right)}+12^{\left(2n+1\right)}$).
0 replies
RenheMiResembleRice
3 hours ago
0 replies
2 var inquality
sqing   3
N 3 hours ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $ a,b>0 $ and $ 3a+4b=a^3b^2. $ Prove that
$$2a+b+\dfrac{2}{a}+\dfrac{3}{b}\geq \frac{11}{\sqrt2}$$$$a+\dfrac{2}{a}+\dfrac{3}{b}\geq 4\sqrt[4]{\frac23}$$$$\dfrac{2}{a}+\dfrac{3}{b}\geq 2\sqrt[4]3$$$$3a+\dfrac{2}{a}+\dfrac{3}{b}\geq  \sqrt[4]{354+66\sqrt{33}}$$
3 replies
sqing
Mar 4, 2025
sqing
3 hours ago
Scary Binomial Coefficient Sum
G H J
G H BBookmark kLocked kLocked NReply
Source: USAMO 2025/5
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EpicBird08
1740 posts
#1 • 1 Y
Y by KevinYang2.71
Determine, with proof, all positive integers $k$ such that $$\frac{1}{n+1} \sum_{i=0}^n \binom{n}{i}^k$$is an integer for every positive integer $n.$
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by EpicBird08, Friday at 12:06 PM
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EpicBird08
1740 posts
#2 • 1 Y
Y by KevinYang2.71
We claim that the answer is $\boxed{\text{all even integers}}.$

Proof that odd $k$ fail: Just take $n = 2$ and get $2^k + 2$ is divisible by $3,$ which implies $2^k \equiv 1 \pmod{3}$ This can only happen if $k$ is even.

Proof that even $k$ work: Substitute $n-1$ in place for $n$ in the problem; we then must prove that $$\frac{1}{n} \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \binom{n-1}{i}^k$$is an integer for all positive integers $n.$ Call $n$ $k$-good if $n$ satisfies this condition. Letting $\omega(n)$ denote the number of not necessarily distinct prime factors of $n,$ we will prove that all positive integers $n$ are $k$-good by induction on $\omega(n).$ The base case is trivial since if $\omega(n) = 0,$ then $n = 1,$ which vacuously works.

Now suppose that the result was true for all $n$ such that $\omega(n) \le a.$ Let the prime factorization of $n$ be $p_1^{e_1} \cdot p_2^{e_2} \cdots p_m^{e_m},$ where $p_1, \dots, p_m$ are distinct primes and $e_1, \dots, e_m \in \mathbb{N}$ such that $e_1 + \dots + e_m = a+1.$ We will show that $$\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \binom{n-1}{i}^k \equiv 0 \pmod{p_l^{e_l}}$$for all $1 \le l \le m,$ which finishes the inductive step by CRT.

We compute
\begin{align*}
\binom{n-1}{i} &= \frac{(n-1)!}{i! (n-i-1)!} \\
&= \frac{(n-1)(n-2)\cdots (n-i)}{i!} \\
&= \prod_{j=1}^i \frac{n-j}{j},
\end{align*}so $$\binom{n-1}{i}^k = \prod_{j=1}^i \left(\frac{n-j}{j}\right)^k.$$If $p_l \nmid j,$ then $p_l \nmid n-j$ as well since $p_l \mid n.$ Thus $j$ has a modular inverse modulo $p_l^{e_k},$ so we can say $$\left(\frac{n-j}{j}\right)^k \equiv \left(\frac{-j}{j}\right)^k \equiv (-1)^k \equiv 1 \pmod{p_l^{e_k}}$$because $k$ is even. Hence the terms in this product for which $p_l \nmid j$ contribute nothing to the binomial coefficient.

If $p_l \mid j,$ then we have $$\frac{n-j}{j} = \frac{\frac{n}{p_l} - \frac{j}{p_l}}{\frac{j}{p_l}}.$$Reindexing the product in terms of $\frac{j}{p_l},$ we get $$\binom{n-1}{i}^k \equiv \prod_{j'=1}^{\lfloor i/p_l \rfloor} \left(\frac{n/p_l - j'}{j'}\right)^k \equiv \binom{n/p_l}{\lfloor i/p_l \rfloor}^k \pmod{p_l^{e_l}}.$$Therefore, plugging back into our sum gives $$\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \binom{n-1}{i}^k \equiv p_l \sum_{i=0}^{n/p_l - 1} \binom{n/p_l - 1}{i}^k \pmod{p_l^{e_l}}.$$By the inductive hypothesis, the sum on the right-hand side is divisible by $p_l^{e_l - 1},$ so the entire sum is divisible by $p_l^{e_l}.$ This completes our inductive step.

Therefore, we have proven that all positive integers $n$ are $k$-good, and we are done.

Click to reveal hidden text
This post has been edited 3 times. Last edited by EpicBird08, Friday at 2:07 PM
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KevinYang2.71
407 posts
#3
Y by
original statement says "for every positive integer $n$"

We claim that $k$ is $\boxed{\mathrm{even}}$.

From $n=2$ we get $3\mid 2+2^n$ so clearly $k$ is even.

Now suppose $k$ is even.

Claim 1. If $\alpha=\nu_2(n+1)$, then $2^\alpha$ divides
\[
\sum_{i=0}^n\binom{n}{i}^k.
\]Proof. We proceed by induction on $\alpha$ with the base case $\alpha=0$ trivial.

Assume the statement for $\alpha-1$. Let $n+1=:2^\alpha m$ and let us work in $\mathbb{Z}/2^\alpha\mathbb{Z}$. Note that if $r$ is even, $(r+1)^{-1}$ exists so
\[
\binom{n}{r+1}=\frac{n-r}{r+1}\binom{n}{r}=\frac{2^\alpha m-(r+1)}{r+1}\binom{n}{r}=-\binom{n}{r}.
\]We prove that $\binom{n}{2r}=(-1)^r\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r}$ for $r=0,\,1,\,\ldots,\,\frac{n-1}{2}$ by induction on $r$ with the base case $r=0$ trivial.

Assume $\binom{n}{2r}=(-1)^r\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r}$. We have
\begin{align*}
\binom{n}{2r+2}&=\frac{n-2r-1}{2r+2}\binom{n}{2r+1}\\
&=-\frac{\frac{n-1}{2}-r}{r+1}\binom{n}{2r}\\
&=(-1)^{r+1}\frac{\frac{n-1}{2}-r}{r+1}\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r}\\
&=(-1)^{r+1}\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r+1},
\end{align*}completing the induction step.

Thus,
\begin{align*}
\sum_{i=0}^n\binom{n}{i}^k&=\sum_{r=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\left(\binom{n}{2r}+\binom{n}{2r+1}\right)^k\\
&=2\sum_{r=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\binom{n}{2r}^k\\
&=2\sum_{r=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\binom{n}{2r}^k\\
&=2\sum_{r=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\left((-1)^r\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r}\right)^k\\
&=2\sum_{r=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r}^k.
\end{align*}Since $\nu_2\left(\frac{n+1}{2}\right)=\alpha-1$, by the induction hypothesis with $n':=\frac{n-1}{2}$, $2^{\alpha-1}$ divides
\[
\sum_{r=0}^{n'}\binom{n'}{r}^k.
\]Thus
\[
\sum_{i=0}^n\binom{n}{i}^k=2\sum_{r=0}^{n'}\binom{n'}{r}^k=0,
\]as desired. $\square$

Odd $p$ case is the same except there is no $(-1)^r$ in the proof. Since all prime powers dividing $n+1$ divide $\sum_{i=0}^n\binom{n}{i}^k$, $n+1$ divides $\sum_{i=0}^n\binom{n}{i}^k$. $\square$

How many point dock for dropping ^k in Claim 1 but doing the odd $p$ case correctly (I wrote a Claim 2 that was basically identical to Claim 1 but modified for odd $p$). Also by dropping the ^k, I did not induct on $\alpha$ in Claim 1 because the last summation (wrongly) becomes $0$ directly.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by KevinYang2.71, Friday at 12:17 PM
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arfekete
246 posts
#4
Y by
Will I get docked if I just said it was sufficient to prove that the term is divisible by $p^{v_p{(n + 1)}}$ for any arbitrary $p | n + 1$ and didn't mention CRT? (I defined p-adic notation)
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Countmath1
176 posts
#5
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this is the one thing i started on before i had to leave. i got that all odd k fail and k=2 works by vandermonde's + catalan. 0/21 day 2 baby
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balllightning37
382 posts
#7
Y by
Nice, solution was same as #2.

Do we get docked for not defining $v_p$? I was in a hurry...
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plang2008
328 posts
#8
Y by
Bruh I interpreted this as “For each positive integer $n$, find all positive integers $k$ such that this expression is a positive integer”

Then the answer should be all positive integers if $n + 1$ is a power of $2$ and all even positive integers otherwise
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Sleepy_Head
562 posts
#9
Y by
how many points for correct answer (no proof), odd $k$ doesn't work, and $k=2$ works?
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HamstPan38825
8857 posts
#10
Y by
nvm this solution is actually wrong you have to induct it :/
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bachkieu
130 posts
#11
Y by
dnw vp moment??
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Pear222
5 posts
#12
Y by
sniped by @2above

We claim that the answer is $\boxed{\text{all even positive integers}}$. To show that odd doesn't work, just look at $n=2$.

The main part of the problem is proving that $n+1$ divides \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni ^{2k}.\]Pick a prime $p$ dividing $n+1$, and let $\nu_p(n+1) = e \ge 1$ so that $p^e$ is the maximal power of $p$ dividing $n+1$. Let $n = mp^e-1$ with $\gcd(m,p) = 1$ The key claim is as follows:

Claim 1: For each $0 \le a < e$, we have that \[\sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^a}\right\rfloor} \binom{n}{ip^a}^{2k} \equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^{a+1}}\right\rfloor} \binom{n}{ip^{a+1}}^{2k}\bmod{p^{e-a}}\]
Proof: Consider the values \[\binom{n}{0}^2, \binom{n}{p^a}^2, \dots, \binom{n}{(mp^{e-a}-1)p^a}^2.\]We claim that these values can be blocked into consecutive groups of $p$ such that the values in each block are equal modulo $p^{e-a}$. Specifically, for $p\nmid i+1$, we claim that \[\binom{n}{ip^a} \equiv \binom{n}{(i+1)p^a} \pmod p^{e-a}.\]Indeed, we have that
\begin{align*}
\binom{n}{(i+1)p^a}^2 &= \left(\frac{n}{1}\cdot \frac{n-1}{2} \cdots \frac{n+1-j}{j} \cdots \frac{n+1 - (i+1)p^a}{(i+1)p^a}\right)^2 \\
&= \binom{n}{ip^a}^2 \prod_{j = ip^a + 1}^{(i+1)p^a} \left(\frac{n+1}j - 1\right)^2
\end{align*}But for every $ip^a + 1 < j \le (i+1)p^a$, $\nu_p(j) \le a$ since $p\nmid i+1$. Therefore $\frac{n+1}{j} \equiv 0 \bmod{p^{e-a}}$, so the entire product is equal to $1\pmod{p^{e-a}}$; thus the subclaim is true. Therefore we have that
\begin{align*}
\sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^a} \right\rfloor} \binom{n}{ip^a}^{2k} &=\sum_{i=0}^{\frac 1p\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^a} \right\rfloor} \sum_{j= ip}^{ip+p-1} \left(\binom{n}{jp^a}^2\right)^k\\
& \equiv \sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^{a+1}} \right\rfloor} p\left(\binom{n}{ip(p^a)}^2\right)^k \pmod{ p^{e-a}}\\
& \equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^{a+1}} \right\rfloor} \binom{n}{ip^{a+1}}^{2k}
\end{align*}and the claim is proven.

To finish, note that a quick induction implies that \[p^{e-a} \mid \sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^a}\right\rfloor} \binom{n}{ip^a}^{2k}\]for all $0\le a \le e$. Taking $a = 0$ gives that \[p^e \mid \sum_{i=0}^{n} \binom ni^k\]for any prime power $p^e$ dividing $n+1$. This means that \[\frac 1{n+1} \sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^{2k}\]is an integer for any $k\in \mathbb{N}$, so we are done.
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pianoboy
320 posts
#13
Y by
I noticed (by taking powers over first 10 rows of Pascal triangle) that (n choose k)^4 = (n choose k)^2 mod (n+1). Is that always true?

If we prove that the problem is basically solved.
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YaoAOPS
1497 posts
#14
Y by
$n = 215, k = 54$ is a counterexample.
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NoSignOfTheta
1686 posts
#15
Y by
No its not
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YaoAOPS
1497 posts
#16
Y by
yes it is????????
Attachments:
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pianoboy
320 posts
#17
Y by
What ? This false conjecture with an absurdly high counterexample?
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OronSH
1727 posts
#18 • 1 Y
Y by centslordm
Answer is even $k$. Odd $k$ fail at $n=2$.

Let $m=n+1$ and set $\nu_p(m)=s$. The main idea is that \begin{align*}\binom{pm-1}{pi+j}&=\frac{(pm-1)(pm-2)\cdots(pm-pi-j)}{1\cdot 2\cdots(pi+j)}\\&=\left(\frac{pm-1}1\cdot\frac{pm-2}2\cdots\frac{pm-p+1}{p-1}\cdot\frac{pm-p-1}{p+1}\cdots\right)\cdot\frac{(m-1)(m-2)\cdots(m-i)}{1\cdot 2\cdots i}\\&\equiv\pm\binom{m-1}i\pmod{p^{s+1}}.\end{align*}Then \[\sum_{i=0}^{pm-1}\binom{pm-1}i^k\equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{m-1}\binom{m-1}i^k\pmod{p^{s+1}}\]so inducting on $\nu_p(m)$ works.
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OronSH
1727 posts
#19
Y by
pianoboy wrote:
What ? This false conjecture with an absurdly high counterexample?

$n=8,k=3$ is a counterexample
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NoSignOfTheta
1686 posts
#20
Y by
YaoAOPS wrote:
yes it is????????

ohhh I thought u were talking about the actual problem
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Ilikeminecraft
302 posts
#21
Y by
how many points will proving the case for $\operatorname{rad}(n) = n$(prime exponents are 1)
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awesomeguy856
7263 posts
#22 • 2 Y
Y by OronSH, bjump
OronSH wrote:
Answer is even $k$. Odd $k$ fail at $n=2$.

Let $m=n+1$ and set $\nu_p(m)=s$. The main idea is that \begin{align*}\binom{pm-1}{pi+j}&=\frac{(pm-1)(pm-2)\cdots(pm-pi-j)}{1\cdot 2\cdots(pi+j)}\\&=\left(\frac{pm-1}1\cdot\frac{pm-2}2\cdots\frac{pm-p+1}{p-1}\cdot\frac{pm-p-1}{p+1}\cdots\right)\cdot\frac{(m-1)(m-2)\cdots(m-i)}{1\cdot 2\cdots i}\\&\equiv\pm\binom{m-1}i\pmod{p^{s+1}}.\end{align*}Then \[\sum_{i=0}^{pm-1}\binom{pm-1}i^k\equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{m-1}\binom{m-1}i^k\pmod{p^{s+1}}\]so inducting on $\nu_p(m)$ works.

more like pmo
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krithikrokcs
146 posts
#23
Y by
if i wrote my solution backwards will i get points off?
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v_Enhance
6869 posts
#24 • 2 Y
Y by Curious_Droid, jkim0656
The answer is all even $k$.
Let's abbreviate $S(n) \coloneq \binom n0^k + \dots + \binom nn^k$ for the sum in the problem.
Proof that even $k$ is necessary. Choose $n=2$. We need $3 \mid S(2) = 2+2^k$, which requires $k$ to be even.

Remark: It's actually not much more difficult to just use $n = p-1$ for prime $p$, since $\binom{p-1}{i} \equiv (-1)^i \pmod p$. Hence $S(p-1) \equiv 1 + (-1)^k + 1 + (-1)^k + \dots + 1 \pmod p$, and this also requires $k$ to be even. This special case is instructive in figuring out the proof to follow.

Proof that $k$ is sufficient. From now on we treat $k$ as fixed, and we let $p^e$ be a prime fully dividing $n+1$. The basic idea is to reduce from $n+1$ to $(n+1)/p$ by an induction.

Remark: Here is a concrete illustration that makes it clear what's going on. Let $p = 5$. When $n = p-1 = 4$, we have \[ S(4) = 1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k \equiv 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 \equiv 0 \pmod 5. \]When $n = p^2-1 = 24$, the $25$ terms of $S(24)$ in order are, modulo $25$, \begin{align*} S(24) &\equiv 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k\\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k \\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k \\ &= 5(1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k). \end{align*}The point is that $S(24)$ has five copies of $S(4)$, modulo $25$.
To make the pattern in the remark explicit, we prove the following lemma on each individual binomial coefficient.
Lemma: Suppose $p^e$ is a prime power which fully divides $n+1$. Then \[ \binom{n}{i} \equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor} \pmod{p^e}. \]Proof. [Proof of lemma] It's easiest to understand the proof by looking at the cases $\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor \in \{0,1,2\}$ first.
  • For $0 \le i < p$, since $n \equiv -1 \mod p^e$, we have \[ \binom{n}{i} = \frac{n(n-1) \dots (n-i+1)}{1 \cdot 2 \cdot \dots \cdot i} \equiv \frac{(-1)(-2) \dots (-i)}{1 \cdot 2 \cdot \dots \cdot i} \equiv \pm 1 \pmod{p^e}. \]
  • For $p \le i < 2p$ we have \begin{align*} \binom{n}{i} &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-p+1}{p} \cdot \frac{(n-p)(n-p-1) \dots (n-i+1)}{(p+1)(p+2) \dots i} \\ &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{\frac{n-p+1}{p}}{1} \cdot \pm 1 \\ &\equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{1} \pmod{p^e}. \end{align*}
  • For $2p \le i < 3p$ the analogous reasoning gives \begin{align*} \binom ni &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-p+1}{p} \cdot \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-2p+1}{2p} \cdot \pm 1 \\ &\equiv \pm \frac{\left(\frac{n+1}{p}-1\right)\left( \frac{n+1}{p}-2 \right) }{1 \cdot 2} \\ &\equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{2} \pmod{p^e}. \end{align*}
\dots And so on. The point is that in general, if we write \[ \binom ni = \prod_{0 \le j \le i} \frac{n-(j-1)}{j} \]then the fractions for $p \nmid j$ are all $\pm 1 \pmod{p^e}$. So only considers those $j$ with $p \mid j$; in that case one obtains the claimed $\binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor}$ exactly (even without having to take modulo $p^e$). $\blacksquare$
From the lemma, it follows if $p^e$ is a prime power which fully divides $n+1$, then \[ S(n) \equiv p \cdot S\left( \frac{n+1}{p}-1 \right) \pmod{p^e} \]by grouping the $n+1$ terms (for $0 \le i \le n$) into consecutive ranges of length $p$ (by the value of $\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor$).
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Mathandski
720 posts
#25
Y by
I initially fakesolved this problem writing a proof that was somewhat a convoluted way of saying $\binom{n}{i} \equiv \binom{-1}{i} \pmod{n}$. Realized this with 2 hours left and had to start over. 25AMO5 gave me the exact same feeling as 24JMO4. It took another 1:15 to solve correctly - easily the most stressful hour of my life. I measured my heart rate with roughly an hour left and it was at 50 beats / 20 seconds = 150 BPM.
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v_Enhance
6869 posts
#26 • 1 Y
Y by NaturalSelection
Realized this with 2 hours left and had to start over. In total it took 1:15 to solve correctly; the most stressful hour of my life. I measured my heart rate with 45 minutes left and it was at 50 beats / 20 seconds = 150 BPM
I remember that experience as a student too. In my case, the problem was USAMO 2014/4, but I only had 20 minutes to fix my wrong solution.
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peppapig_
279 posts
#27 • 5 Y
Y by YaoAOPS, OronSH, KnowingAnt, golue3120, centslordm
Haven't seen this solution yet! Pure manipulation, no induction on $p$.

We claim that the answer is all even $k$, odd $k$ dies to $n=2$.

For even $k$, let $k=2m$ for $m\in \mathbb{Z}^+$, note that
\[\binom{n}{i}^{2m}=\binom{n}{0}^{2m}+\left(\binom{n}{1}^{2m}-\binom{n}{0}^{2m}\right)+\left(\binom{n}{2}^{2m}-\binom{n}{1}^{2m}\right)+\dots+\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right).\]Now, summing this up over all $1\le i\le n$, we have
\[\sum_{i=0}^{n}\binom{n}{i}^{2m}=(n+1)\binom{n}{0}^{2m}+\sum_{i=1}^{n}(n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right).\]
It now suffices to show that
\[(n+1)\mid (n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right),\]for all $1\le i\le n$. However, note that since $2m$ is even, we have that
\[(n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}+\binom{n}{i-1}\right) \mid (n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right).\]But we also have that
\[(n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}+\binom{n}{i-1}\right)=(n+1-i)\binom{n+1}{i}=(n+1-i)\cdot \frac{(n+1)!}{(n+1-i)!i!}=(n+1)\cdot \frac{n!}{(n-i)!i!},\]which is just $(n+1)\binom{n}{i}$. This is clearly divisible by $n+1$, proving that
\[(n+1)\mid (n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right),\]for all $1\le i\le n$.

Summing this over all $i$, this means that
\[(n+1)\mid \sum_{i=1}^{n}(n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right),\]so
\[(n+1)\mid (n+1)\binom{n}{0}^{2m}+\sum_{i=1}^{n}(n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right)=\sum_{i=0}^{n}\binom{n}{i}^{2m},\]as desired. Therefore all even $k$ work, completing our proof.
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ihatemath123
3440 posts
#28 • 1 Y
Y by peace09
theres no way this problem hasnt already been posted somewhere in hso or math overflow 20 years ago or smth
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solasky
1566 posts
#29
Y by
v_Enhance wrote:
The answer is all even $k$.
Let's abbreviate $S(n) \coloneq \binom n0^k + \dots + \binom nn^k$ for the sum in the problem.
Proof that even $k$ is necessary. Choose $n=2$. We need $3 \mid S(2) = 2+2^k$, which requires $k$ to be even.

Remark: It's actually not much more difficult to just use $n = p-1$ for prime $p$, since $\binom{p-1}{i} \equiv (-1)^i \pmod p$. Hence $S(p-1) \equiv 1 + (-1)^k + 1 + (-1)^k + \dots + 1 \pmod p$, and this also requires $k$ to be even. This special case is instructive in figuring out the proof to follow.

Proof that $k$ is sufficient. From now on we treat $k$ as fixed, and we let $p^e$ be a prime fully dividing $n+1$. The basic idea is to reduce from $n+1$ to $(n+1)/p$ by an induction.

Remark: Here is a concrete illustration that makes it clear what's going on. Let $p = 5$. When $n = p-1 = 4$, we have \[ S(4) = 1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k \equiv 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 \equiv 0 \pmod 5. \]When $n = p^2-1 = 24$, the $25$ terms of $S(24)$ in order are, modulo $25$, \begin{align*} S(24) &\equiv 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k\\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k \\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k \\ &= 5(1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k). \end{align*}The point is that $S(24)$ has five copies of $S(4)$, modulo $25$.
To make the pattern in the remark explicit, we prove the following lemma on each individual binomial coefficient.
Lemma: Suppose $p^e$ is a prime power which fully divides $n+1$. Then \[ \binom{n}{i} \equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor} \pmod{p^e}. \]Proof. [Proof of lemma] It's easiest to understand the proof by looking at the cases $\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor \in \{0,1,2\}$ first.
  • For $0 \le i < p$, since $n \equiv -1 \mod p^e$, we have \[ \binom{n}{i} = \frac{n(n-1) \dots (n-i+1)}{1 \cdot 2 \cdot \dots \cdot i} \equiv \frac{(-1)(-2) \dots (-i)}{1 \cdot 2 \cdot \dots \cdot i} \equiv \pm 1 \pmod{p^e}. \]
  • For $p \le i < 2p$ we have \begin{align*} \binom{n}{i} &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-p+1}{p} \cdot \frac{(n-p)(n-p-1) \dots (n-i+1)}{(p+1)(p+2) \dots i} \\ &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{\frac{n-p+1}{p}}{1} \cdot \pm 1 \\ &\equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{1} \pmod{p^e}. \end{align*}
  • For $2p \le i < 3p$ the analogous reasoning gives \begin{align*} \binom ni &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-p+1}{p} \cdot \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-2p+1}{2p} \cdot \pm 1 \\ &\equiv \pm \frac{\left(\frac{n+1}{p}-1\right)\left( \frac{n+1}{p}-2 \right) }{1 \cdot 2} \\ &\equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{2} \pmod{p^e}. \end{align*}
\dots And so on. The point is that in general, if we write \[ \binom ni = \prod_{0 \le j \le i} \frac{n-(j-1)}{j} \]then the fractions for $p \nmid j$ are all $\pm 1 \pmod{p^e}$. So only considers those $j$ with $p \mid j$; in that case one obtains the claimed $\binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor}$ exactly (even without having to take modulo $p^e$). $\blacksquare$
From the lemma, it follows if $p^e$ is a prime power which fully divides $n+1$, then \[ S(n) \equiv p \cdot S\left( \frac{n+1}{p}-1 \right) \pmod{p^e} \]by grouping the $n+1$ terms (for $0 \le i \le n$) into consecutive ranges of length $p$ (by the value of $\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor$).

Wait I proved the lemma in-contest but I didn’t realize you can just induct on that to finish :sob: I didn’t even write it down b/c I thought it was a dead end, oh well
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Mathandski
720 posts
#30 • 2 Y
Y by solasky, GrantStar
v_Enhance wrote:
Remark: Here is a concrete illustration that makes it clear what's going on. Let $p = 5$. When $n = p-1 = 4$, we have \[ S(4) = 1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k \equiv 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 \equiv 0 \pmod 5. \]When $n = p^2-1 = 24$, the $25$ terms of $S(24)$ in order are, modulo $25$, \begin{align*} S(24) &\equiv 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k\\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k \\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k \\ &= 5(1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k). \end{align*}The point is that $S(24)$ has five copies of $S(4)$, modulo $25$.

These are the exact numbers I used to motivate my solve as well :O
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golue3120
54 posts
#31 • 3 Y
Y by GrantStar, OronSH, centslordm
well, I guess I have to post this

Answer is all even $k$, necessity follows from setting $n=2$. Henceforth assume $k$ is even.

Lemma. Let $p^e$ be a prime power. Then $\textstyle (1+x)^{p^e}\equiv (1+x^p)^{p^{e-1}}\pmod p^e$.
Proof. When $e=1$, $\textstyle(1+x)^p=1+x^p+\sum_{i=1}^{p-1}\binom pix^i\equiv 1+x^p\pmod p$. Now we induct on $e$. Suppose $\textstyle (1+x)^{p^e}\equiv (1+x^p)^{p^{e-1}}\pmod p^e$. Then $\textstyle (1+x)^{p^e}=(1+x^p)^{p^{e-1}}+p^eQ$ where $Q$ is some integer polynomials. Raising both sides to the power of $p$, we have $\textstyle (1+x)^{p^{e+1}}=(1+x^p)^{p^e}+\text{terms divisible by }p^{e+1}$, as desired.

We now prove that for every positive integer $m$, prime $p$, and nonnegative integer $e$,
\[p^e\mid\sum_{i=0}^{mp^e-1}\binom{mp^e-1}i^k.\]
We induct on $e$. If $e=0$, this is trivial. Now suppose it holds for $e$. Working modulo $p^{e+1}$, we have
\[(1-x)^{mp^{e+1}-1}=\frac{(1-x)^{mp^{e+1}}}{1-x}=\frac{(1+(-x)^p)^{mp^e}}{1-x}=\frac{1+(-x)^p}{1-x}(1+(-x)^p)^{mp^e-1}=(1+(-x)^p)^{mp^e-1}\sum_{i=0}^{p-1}x^i.\]Thus by comparing coefficients, $\textstyle\binom{mp^{e+1}-1}{qp+r}\equiv\pm\binom{mp^e-1}{q}$ for $0\le q<mp^e$, $0\le r<p$. Therefore, modulo $p^{e+1}$,
\[\sum_{i=0}^{mp^{e+1}-1}\binom{mp^{e+1}-1}{i}^k=\sum_{q=0}^{mp^e-1}\sum_{r=0}^{p-1}\binom{mp^e-1}{q}=p\sum_{q=0}^{mp^e-1}\binom{mp^e-1}{q}.\]By the inductive hypothesis, the last sum is a multiple of $p^e$, hence the first sum is a multiple of $p^{e+1}$.
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Curious_Droid
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#32 • 1 Y
Y by peppapig_
Here is my solution which I stumbled upon after four hours of feverish grinding. I cannot make up my mind whether it is beautiful or just incredibly ugly. Scariest thing is, I still don't know if its correct :blush:

Lemma: If $\nu_p(c) = \nu_p(m) \ge 1$, then $p^k \mid {m-1 \choose c\cdot p^k -1}$ for any $k \ge 1$.

Proof: Kummers Theorem.

Corollary: Take positive integers $i, n$. Define $g = \gcd(i, n+1)$ and $i = g\cdot a\cdot b$ where $\gcd(b, n+1) = 1$ and $b$ is maximal. Then $a \mid {n \choose i-1}$.

Proof: Take one prime exponent $p^k \mid a$, where $k = \nu_p(a)$. By maximality of $b$, $p \mid n+1$. Obviously $p \nmid b$, and we must have $p \nmid \frac{n+1}{g}$. Thus $\nu_p(n+1) = \nu_p(g) = \nu_p\left(\frac{i}{p^k}\right)$, all $\ge 1$, and the desired follows by applying the Lemma. $\Box$

The case where $k$ is odd is easy, so we assume $k$ is even and show the desired conclusion.

Now consider the following process: Start with $n+1$ ones lined up in a row. Then on step $i$, multiply the central $n+1-2i$ terms by $\frac{n+1-i}{i}$. Obviously, we eventually construct the sequence of all binomial coefficients, and after step $i$, the sequence will be

$$1, {n \choose 1}, {n \choose 2}, \dots, {n \choose i-1}, \underbrace{{n \choose i}, \dots, {n \choose i}}_{\text{$n+1-2i$ copies}}, {n \choose i-1}, \dots, {n \choose 2}, {n \choose 1}, 1$$
Let $S_i$ be the sum of the $k$th powers of these terms after step $i$. As a result, $S_0 = n+1$. We claim that $S_i$ is invariant throughout the process.

Proof: First, note that $S_i - S_{i-1} = (n+1-2i)\left( {n \choose i}^k - {n \choose i-1}^k \right) =(n+1-2i){n \choose i-1}^k\left( \left(\frac{n+1-i}{i}\right)^k -1 \right) $. Now define $g = \gcd(i, n+1)$ and $i = g\cdot a\cdot b$ where $\gcd(b, n+1) = 1$ and $b$ is maximal. Further, let $n+1 = gd$. By the Corollary, $a \mid {n \choose i-1}$. Thus, we may set $X = \left(\frac{{n \choose i-1}}{a}\right)^k \in \mathbb Z$. Now
\begin{align*}
{n \choose i-1}^k\left( \left(\frac{n+1-i}{i}\right)^k -1 \right) &= X \cdot a^k \cdot \left( \left(\frac{gd-gab}{gab}\right)^k -1 \right)\\
&= X \cdot \left( \left(\frac{d-ba}{b}\right)^k -a^k \right)\\
&\equiv X \cdot \left( \left(\frac{-ba}{b}\right)^k -a^k \right)\\
&\equiv X \cdot \left( (-a)^k -a^k \right)\\
&\equiv 0 \pmod{d},
\end{align*}where division by $b$ was allowed because $\gcd(b, d) = 1$. Further, it is obvious that $g \mid n+1-2i$, so in conclusion, $n+1 = gd \mid S_i - S_{i-1}$. $\Box$

It is clear to see how we finish from here.

Note: Just a worse, more convoluted version of peppapig_'s solution.
This post has been edited 7 times. Last edited by Curious_Droid, Yesterday at 2:25 AM
Reason: clown
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john0512
4171 posts
#33
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Clearly, $k$ is even as $n=2$ gives $3\mid 2+2^k$. Now, we show that all even $k$ work. Let $k=2m$.

Main Claim: If $p^r$ is a prime power such that $n\equiv -1\pmod{p^r}$, then
$${n\choose i}^{2m} \equiv {\lfloor n/p\rfloor \choose \lfloor i/p\rfloor}^{2m} \pmod{p^r}.$$
Consider the equation

$${n\choose i}=(\frac{n}{1})(\frac{n-1}{2})(\frac{n-2}{3})\dots(\frac{n-i+1}{i}).$$
Denote the "$k$th slot" as the fraction $\frac{n-k+1}{k}$. Considering just the slots that are multiples of $p$,

$$\frac{n-p+1}{p}\cdot \frac{n-2p+1}{2p}\cdots \frac{n-p\lfloor i/p \rfloor+1}{p\lfloor i/p\rfloor}$$$$=\frac{\lfloor n/p\rfloor}{1}\cdot \frac{\lfloor n/p\rfloor-1}{2}\cdots \frac{\lfloor n/p\rfloor-\lfloor i/p \rfloor +1}{\lfloor i/p\rfloor}$$$$={\lfloor n/p \rfloor \choose \lfloor i/p \rfloor}.$$
However, if $p\nmid k$, then the $k$th slot is
$$\frac{n-k+1}{k}\equiv \frac{-k}{k}\equiv -1\pmod{p^r},$$so if the exponent is even, the slots that are not multiples of $p$ do not affect the residue mod $p^r$ at all, which shows the claim.

Let $f(n)= \sum_{i=0}^n {n\choose i}^{2m}$. Then, if $n\equiv -1\pmod{p^r}$, then by the above claim,

$$f(n)={n\choose 0}^{2m} + {n\choose 1}^{2m}+\dots+{n\choose n}^{2m}$$$$\equiv {\lfloor n/p\rfloor \choose \lfloor 0/p\rfloor}^{2m}+{\lfloor n/p\rfloor \choose \lfloor 1/p\rfloor}^{2m}+\dots+{\lfloor n/p\rfloor \choose \lfloor n/p\rfloor}^{2m}$$$$\equiv p \left [ {\lfloor n/p \rfloor \choose 0}^{2m}+{\lfloor n/p \rfloor \choose 1}^{2m}+\dots+{\lfloor n/p \rfloor \choose \lfloor n/p \rfloor}^{2m}  \right ] \pmod{p^r}$$$$f(n) \equiv pf(\lfloor n/p \rfloor)\pmod{p^r}.$$
Finally we induct on the number of trailing $p-1$'s in the base $p$ representation of $n$ to show that $n\equiv -1\pmod{p^r}$ implies $p^r\mid f(n)$. If there is one trailing $p-1$, then clearly the above implies $p\mid f(n)$. Then, if $n$ has $r$ trailing $p-1$'s, then $\lfloor n/p \rfloor$ has $r-1$ trailing $p-1$'s. Thus, if $p^{r-1}\mid f(\lfloor n/p\rfloor)$, then $p^r\mid f(n)$, as desired.

Since $p^r\mid n+1$ implies $p^r\mid f(n)$, we are done.
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by john0512, Yesterday at 5:16 AM
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plang2008
328 posts
#34
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I misread it. The answer is all $k$ if $n + 1$ is a power of $2$ and all even $k$ otherwise.


Consider a prime $p \mid n + 1$, and let $a = \nu_p(n + 1)$. Notice that by definition we have $\binom ni = \prod_{j=1}^i \frac{n+1-j}{j}$. Since $p \mid n + 1$, we have $p \mid n + 1 - j$ if $p \mid j$ and $p\nmid n + 1 - j$ otherwise, so for each term, either both the numerator are divisible by $p$, or neither are. Let $M$ be the number of terms in the denominator that are not divisible by $p$.

For each term such that $p \nmid j$, we have $n + 1 - j \equiv -j$, so $\frac{n + 1 - j}{j} \equiv -1 \pmod {p^a}$. For each term such that $p \mid j$, we can divide out a $p$ from both the numerator and the denominator. Notice that what's left is simply $\binom{\lfloor n/p \rfloor}{\lfloor i/p \rfloor}$. Thus, we conclude that \[\boxed{\binom ni \equiv (-1)^M \binom{\lfloor n/p \rfloor}{\lfloor i/p \rfloor}}.\]

Proof that $k$ even works for all $p$: For $n = p - 1$, we clearly have \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^n (-1)^{Mk} \equiv p \equiv 0 \pmod p.\]
Now consider $n = p(d + 1) - 1$ where $\nu_p(n) = a$, and suppose that $n = d$ satisfies the induction hypothesis for the prime $p$. Clearly $\nu_p(d + 1) = a - 1$. Then we have \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^n (-1)^{Mk} \binom{\lfloor n/p \rfloor}{\lfloor i/p \rfloor}^k \equiv p\sum_{i=0}^d \binom di^k \pmod {p^a}\]By the induction hypothesis, $p^{a-1}$ divides the inner binomial sum, so since we are multiplying it by $p$, $p^a$ must divide $\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k$.


Proof that $k$ odd fails for $p \neq 2$: For $n = p - 1$, we clearly have \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^n (-1)^{Mk} \equiv 1 \pmod p.\]
Now consider $n = p(d + 1) - 1$ where $\nu_p(n) = a$, and suppose that $n = d$ satisfies the induction hypothesis for the prime $p$. Since $p - 1$ is even, there exists one more $(-1)^M = 1$ than $(-1)^M = -1$ for each block of $p$ such that $\lfloor i/p \rfloor$ remains constant. Then we have \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^n (-1)^{Mk} \binom{\lfloor n/p \rfloor}{\lfloor i/p \rfloor}^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^d \binom di^k \pmod {p^a}.\]By the induction hypothesis, $p^{a-1}$ does not divide this sum, so $p^a$ does not divide it either.


Proof that $k$ odd works for $n + 1$ a power of $2$: Let $p = 2$. For $n = 1$, clearly odd $k$ work as $1^k + 1^k \equiv 0 \pmod 2$. Now suppose odd $k$ works for $n = 2^d - 1$. If we let $n = 2^{d+1} - 1$, then we have \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^n (-1)^{Mk} \binom{\lfloor n/p \rfloor}{\lfloor i/p \rfloor}^k \pmod{2^{d+1}}.\]
Notice that the since for each block of $p = 2$ such that $\lfloor i/p \rfloor$ remains constant, there is exactly one odd $M$ and one even $M$. Thus, the sum simply vanishes $\bmod~2^{d+1}$.


Since all even $k$ work for all primes $p$, it follows by CRT that all even $k$ work. For $n + 1$ not a power of $2$, there exists an odd prime $p$ such that $p \mid n + 1$, which can be easily used to show that all odd $k$ fail.
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awesomeming327.
1671 posts
#35
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Define
\begin{align*}
f_k(n,i) &= \binom{n-1}{i}^k \\
F_k(n) &= \sum_{i=0}^{n-1}f_k(n,i)
\end{align*}We want to find all $k$ such that $n\mid F_k(n)$ for all positive integers $n\ge 2$. Clearly, letting $n=3$, we have
\[3\mid F_k(n,i)=1^k+2^k+1^k\]which forces $k$ to be even.

Now we show that when $k$ is even, $n\mid F_k(n)$. Let $\nu_p(n)=a\ge 1$. First, we prove a claim.

Claim 1: $f_k(n,ip+j)\equiv f_k(n,ip+j+1)\pmod{p^a}$ for all $0\le j\le p-2$.
Note that we have
\begin{align*}
f_k(n,ip+j+1) &= \left(\frac{(n-1)!}{(ip+j+1)!(n-ip-j-2)!}\right)^k \\
&= \left(\frac{(n-1)!}{(ip+j)!(n-ip-j-1)!}\right)^k\cdot \left(\frac{n-ip-j-1}{ip+j+1}\right)^k \\
&\equiv f_k(n,ip+j)\cdot 1\pmod {p^a}
\end{align*}
This implies that $f_k(n,i)\pmod {p^a}$ is constant given that $\lfloor i/p\rfloor$ is constant. Therefore,
\[F_k(n)\equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{n/p-1}f_k(n,ip)\pmod {p^a}\]We now continue to our second claim.

Claim 2: Then $f_k(n,ip)\equiv f_k(n/p,i)\pmod{p^{a-1}}$ for all $0\le i\le p-1$.
We proceed by induction on $i$. Note that if $i=0$ this simply says $1\equiv 1\pmod {p^{a-1}}$ which is trivially true. Now assume
\[f_k(n/p,i)\equiv f_k(n,ip)\equiv f_k(n,ip+p-1)\pmod {p^{a-1}}\]and we have
\begin{align*}
f_k(n,(i+1)p)&\equiv f_k(n,ip+p-1)\cdot \frac{(n-(i+1)p)}{(i+1)p} \\ 
&\equiv f_k(n/p,i)\cdot \left(\frac{n/p-i-1}{i+1}\right)^k \\
&\equiv f_k(n/p,i+1) \pmod {p^{a-1}}
\end{align*}Which completes the induction step.
Now we have
\[F_k(n)\equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{n/p-1}f_k(n,ip)\equiv pF_k(n/p)\pmod {p^a}\]so if $p^{a-1}\mid F_k(n/p)$ then $p^a\mid F_k(n)$. By induction we are done.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by awesomeming327., Yesterday at 9:27 PM
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MathLuis
1463 posts
#36 • 1 Y
Y by KevinYang2.71
If $k$ is odd then $n=2$ fails, now if $k$ is even then from CRT all we need is to prove that $p^{\ell} \mid \sum_{i=0}^{m \cdot p^{\ell}-1} \binom{m \cdot p^{\ell}-1}{i}^k$.
For this matter notice that (for $y<p$) and some positive integer $x$ such that $m \cdot p^{\ell}-1>xp+y$ that:
\[ \binom{m \cdot p^{\ell}-1}{xp+y}=\left( \frac{(m \cdot p^{\ell}-1) \cdots (m \cdot p^{\ell}-p+1)(m \cdot p^{\ell}-p-1) \cdots )}{1 \cdots (p-1)(p+1) \cdots} \right) \cdot \frac{(mp^{\ell-1}-1) \cdots (mp^{\ell-1}-x)}{1 \cdots x} \equiv \pm \binom{m \cdot p^{\ell-1}-1}{x} \pmod{p^{\ell}} \]So now using this notice that we have $\sum_{i=0}^{m \cdot p^{\ell}-1} \binom{m \cdot p^{\ell}-1}{i}^k \equiv p \cdot \sum_{i=0}^{m \cdot p^{\ell-1}-1} \binom{m \cdot p^{\ell-1}-1}{i}^k \pmod{p^{\ell}}$ so we can induct down and throw CRT until we get a degenerate case of the divisibility prompt in which case it is a trivial result thus we are done :cool:.
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deduck
173 posts
#37
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The answer is even only.

Odds fail because of $n=2$.

Now let $n+1 = \Pi p_a^{e_a}$. To show that evens work, we will induct by taking mod $p_a^{e_a}$, then CRT finishes.

We want to prove $$\sum_{i=0}^n \binom{n}{i}^k = 0 (\text{mod } p_a^{e_a})$$.

We will proceed by induction based on $v_{p_a}(n)$. When $v_{p_a}(n) = 0$ it's obvious.

For the inductive step, let's look at each $\binom{n}{i}^k$ individually. Note that $\binom{n}{i}^k = \Pi \frac{(n+1)-x}{x}$. Therefore, if $p_a \nmid x$, then both the numerator and denominator of $\frac{(n+1)-x}{x}$ are relatively prime, therefore it's $-1$. But since $k$ is even $(-1)^k=1$ and it does nothing. So just ignore all $x$ with $p_a \nmid x$.

Therefore $$\binom{n}{i}^k = \Pi \frac{(n+1)-x}{x} = \Pi_{p_a | x} \frac{\frac{n+1}{p_a} - \frac{x}{p_a}}{\frac{x}{p_a}} = \binom{\frac{n+1}{p_a}-1}{\lfloor \frac{i}{p_a} \rfloor}^k.$$
Therefore $$\sum_{i=0}^n \binom{n}{i}^k = \sum_{i=0}^n \binom{\frac{n+1}{p_a} - 1}{\lfloor \frac{i}{p_a} \rfloor}^k (\text{mod } p_a^{e_a})$$
Finishes by inductive assumption
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deduck
173 posts
#38
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Motivation:
We can see that to move from $\binom{n}{i}$ to $\binom{n}{i+1}$ we see that we multiply by $\frac{n-i}{i+1}$, and this fraction is $-1$ when $n$ and $i$ are relatively prime. So that eliminates all odd cases in general no matter which $n$ u picked (i just said n=2 because it takes less explanation). Because if it's odd then $(-1)^k = -1$ and it breaks but we need $(-1)^k=1$.

However the issue is what if $i$ and $n$ aren't relatively prime?

Obviously first take a prime $p^e$ from $n$ to make it easier because CRT duh

But then everything is divisible by whichever prime $p$ that we picked and then it's easy to see we can use induction after shrink the binomial coefficient by $p$ on the top and bottom

i fakesolved it first in like 10 min then i was like sus i did not think about $i$ and $n$ aren't relatively prime, im simple minded lmao
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