MathDB
Putnam 2019 A3

Source:

December 10, 2019
PutnamPutnam 2019

Problem Statement

Given real numbers b0,b1,,b2019b_0,b_1,\ldots, b_{2019} with b20190b_{2019}\neq 0, let z1,z2,,z2019z_1,z_2,\ldots, z_{2019} be the roots in the complex plane of the polynomial P(z)=k=02019bkzk. P(z) = \sum_{k=0}^{2019}b_kz^k. Let μ=(z1++z2019)/2019\mu = (|z_1|+ \cdots + |z_{2019}|)/2019 be the average of the distances from z1,z2,,z2019z_1,z_2,\ldots, z_{2019} to the origin.  Determine the largest constant MM such that μM\mu\geq M for all choices of b0,b1,,b2019b_0,b_1,\ldots, b_{2019} that satisfy 1b0<b1<b2<<b20192019. 1\leq b_0 < b_1 < b_2 < \cdots < b_{2019} \leq 2019.