Prove that the roots of a quadratic are integers
Source: INMO 2007 Question 3
November 2, 2009
quadraticsinequalitiesnumber theory unsolvednumber theory
Problem Statement
Let and be positive integers such that x^2 \minus{} mx \plus{}n \equal{} 0 has real roots and .
Prove that and are integers if and only if [m\alpha] \plus{} [m\beta] is the square of an integer.
(Here denotes the largest integer not exceeding )