{
  "index": "2016-B-5",
  "type": "ANA",
  "tag": [
    "ANA",
    "ALG"
  ],
  "difficulty": "",
  "question": "Find all functions $f$ from the interval $(1, \\infty)$ to $(1, \\infty)$ with the following property:\nif $x,y \\in (1, \\infty)$ and $x^2 \\leq y \\leq x^3$, then $(f(x))^2 \\leq f(y) \\leq (f(x))^3$.",
  "solution": "It is obvious that for any $c>0$, the function $f(x) = x^c$ has the desired property; we will prove that conversely, any function with the desired property has this form for some $c$.\n\nDefine the function $g: (0, \\infty) \\to (0, \\infty)$ given by\n$g(x) = \\log f(e^x)$; this function has the property that if $x,y \\in (0, \\infty)$\nand $2x \\leq y \\leq 3x$, then $2g(x) \\leq g(y) \\leq 3g(x)$. \nIt will suffice to show that there exists $c>0$ such that $g(x) = cx$ for all $x >0$.\n\nSimilarly, define the function $h: \\RR \\to \\RR$ given by\n$h(x) = \\log g(e^x)$; this function has the property that if $x,y \\in \\RR$\nand $x + \\log 2 \\leq y \\leq x + \\log 3$, then $h(x) + \\log 2 \\leq h(y) \\leq h(x) + \\log 3$. \nIt will suffice to show that there exists $c>0$ such that $h(x) = x + c$ for all $x \\in \\RR$\n(as then $h(x) = e^c x$ for all $x>0$).\n\nBy interchanging the roles of $x$ and $y$, we may restate the condition on $h$ as follows:\nif $x - \\log 3 \\leq y \\leq x - \\log 2$, then $h(x) - \\log 3 \\leq h(y) \\leq h(x) - \\log 2$. \nThis gives us the cases $a+b=0,1$ of the following statement, which we will establish in full by induction on $a+b$: for any nonnegative integers $a,b$, for all $x,y \\in \\RR$ such that\n\\[\nx + a \\log 2 - b \\log 3 \\leq y \\leq x + a \\log 3 - b \\log 2,\n\\]\nwe have\n\\[\nh(x) + a \\log 2 - b \\log 3 \\leq h(y) \\leq h(x) + a \\log 3 - b \\log 2.\n\\]\nTo this end, suppose that $a+b>0$ and that the claim is known for all smaller values of $a+b$. In particular, either $a>0$ or $b>0$; the two cases are similar, so we treat only the first one. Define the function\n\\[\nj(t) = \\frac{(a+b-1)t - b(\\log 2 + \\log 3)}{a+b},\n\\]\nso that\n\\begin{gather*}\nj(a \\log 2 - b \\log 3) = (a-1) \\log 2 - b \\log 3, \\\\\nj(a \\log 3 - b \\log 2) = (a-1) \\log 3 - b \\log 2.\n\\end{gather*}\nFor $t \\in [a \\log 2 - b \\log 3, a \\log 3 - b \\log 2]$ and $y = x+t$,\nwe have $\\log 2 \\leq t-j(t) \\leq \\log 3$ and hence\n\\begin{gather*}\n(a-1) \\log 2 - b \\log 3 \\leq h(x+j(t)) - h(x) \\leq (a-1) \\log 3 - b \\log 2 \\\\\n\\log 2 \\leq h(y)-h(x+j(t)) \\leq \\log 3; \n\\end{gather*}\nthis completes the induction.\n\nNow fix two values $x,y \\in \\RR$ with $x \\leq y$. Since $\\log 2$ and $\\log 3$ are linearly independent over $\\QQ$, the fractional parts of the nonnegative integer multiples of $\\log 3/\\log 2$ are dense in $[0,1)$. (This result is due to Kronecker; a stronger result of Weyl shows that the fractional parts are uniformly distributed in $[0,1)$.)\nIn particular, for any $\\epsilon > 0$ and any $N > 0$, we can find integers $a,b > N$ such that\n\\[\ny-x < a \\log 3 - b \\log 2 < y-x + \\epsilon.\n\\]\nBy writing\n\\begin{align*}\na \\log 2 - b \\log 3& = \\frac{\\log 2}{\\log 3}(a \\log 3 - b \\log 2) \\\\\n&\\,\\,- b \\frac{(\\log 3)^2 - (\\log 2)^2}{\\log 3},\n\\end{align*}\nwe see that this quantity tends to $-\\infty$ as $N \\to \\infty$; in particular, for $N$ sufficiently large we have that $a \\log 2 - b \\log 3 < y-x$. We thus have\n$h(y) \\leq h(x) + a \\log 2 - b \\log 3 < y-x + \\epsilon$; since $\\epsilon>0$ was chosen arbitrarily, we deduce that $h(y)-h(x) \\leq y-x$. A similar argument shows that $h(y)-h(x) \\geq y-x$; we deduce that $h(y) - h(x) = y-x$, or equivalently $h(y)-y = h(x) - x$. In other words, the function $x \\mapsto h(x) - x$ is constant, as desired.",
  "vars": [
    "f",
    "x",
    "y",
    "g",
    "h",
    "t",
    "a",
    "b",
    "N",
    "\\\\epsilon",
    "j"
  ],
  "params": [
    "c"
  ],
  "sci_consts": [
    "e"
  ],
  "variants": {
    "descriptive_long": {
      "map": {
        "f": "funcvalue",
        "x": "varxaxis",
        "y": "varyingy",
        "g": "loghelper",
        "h": "shiftfunc",
        "t": "tempvar",
        "a": "coeffalfa",
        "b": "coeffbeta",
        "N": "largeindex",
        "\\epsilon": "smallerror",
        "j": "linearfunc",
        "c": "exponent"
      },
      "question": "Find all functions $funcvalue$ from the interval $(1, \\infty)$ to $(1, \\infty)$ with the following property:\nif $varxaxis,varyingy \\in (1, \\infty)$ and $varxaxis^2 \\leq varyingy \\leq varxaxis^3$, then $(funcvalue(varxaxis))^2 \\leq funcvalue(varyingy) \\leq (funcvalue(varxaxis))^3$.",
      "solution": "It is obvious that for any $exponent>0$, the function $funcvalue(varxaxis) = varxaxis^{exponent}$ has the desired property; we will prove that conversely, any function with the desired property has this form for some $exponent$.\n\nDefine the function $loghelper: (0, \\infty) \\to (0, \\infty)$ given by\n$loghelper(varxaxis) = \\log funcvalue(e^{varxaxis})$; this function has the property that if $varxaxis,varyingy \\in (0, \\infty)$\nand $2varxaxis \\leq varyingy \\leq 3varxaxis$, then $2loghelper(varxaxis) \\leq loghelper(varyingy) \\leq 3loghelper(varxaxis)$. \nIt will suffice to show that there exists $exponent>0$ such that $loghelper(varxaxis) = exponent\\,varxaxis$ for all $varxaxis >0$.\n\nSimilarly, define the function $shiftfunc: \\RR \\to \\RR$ given by\n$shiftfunc(varxaxis) = \\log loghelper(e^{varxaxis})$; this function has the property that if $varxaxis,varyingy \\in \\RR$\nand $varxaxis + \\log 2 \\leq varyingy \\leq varxaxis + \\log 3$, then $shiftfunc(varxaxis) + \\log 2 \\leq shiftfunc(varyingy) \\leq shiftfunc(varxaxis) + \\log 3$. \nIt will suffice to show that there exists $exponent>0$ such that $shiftfunc(varxaxis) = varxaxis + exponent$ for all $varxaxis \\in \\RR$\n(as then $shiftfunc(varxaxis) = e^{exponent}\\,varxaxis$ for all $varxaxis>0$).\n\nBy interchanging the roles of $varxaxis$ and $varyingy$, we may restate the condition on $shiftfunc$ as follows:\nif $varxaxis - \\log 3 \\leq varyingy \\leq varxaxis - \\log 2$, then $shiftfunc(varxaxis) - \\log 3 \\leq shiftfunc(varyingy) \\leq shiftfunc(varxaxis) - \\log 2$. \nThis gives us the cases $coeffalfa+coeffbeta=0,1$ of the following statement, which we will establish in full by induction on $coeffalfa+coeffbeta$: for any nonnegative integers $coeffalfa,coeffbeta$, for all $varxaxis,varyingy \\in \\RR$ such that\n\\[\nvarxaxis + coeffalfa \\log 2 - coeffbeta \\log 3 \\leq varyingy \\leq varxaxis + coeffalfa \\log 3 - coeffbeta \\log 2,\n\\]\nwe have\n\\[\nshiftfunc(varxaxis) + coeffalfa \\log 2 - coeffbeta \\log 3 \\leq shiftfunc(varyingy) \\leq shiftfunc(varxaxis) + coeffalfa \\log 3 - coeffbeta \\log 2.\n\\]\nTo this end, suppose that $coeffalfa+coeffbeta>0$ and that the claim is known for all smaller values of $coeffalfa+coeffbeta$. In particular, either $coeffalfa>0$ or $coeffbeta>0$; the two cases are similar, so we treat only the first one. Define the function\n\\[\nlinearfunc(tempvar) = \\frac{(coeffalfa+coeffbeta-1)tempvar - coeffbeta(\\log 2 + \\log 3)}{coeffalfa+coeffbeta},\n\\]\nso that\n\\begin{gather*}\nlinearfunc(coeffalfa \\log 2 - coeffbeta \\log 3) = (coeffalfa-1) \\log 2 - coeffbeta \\log 3, \\\\\nlinearfunc(coeffalfa \\log 3 - coeffbeta \\log 2) = (coeffalfa-1) \\log 3 - coeffbeta \\log 2.\n\\end{gather*}\nFor $tempvar \\in [coeffalfa \\log 2 - coeffbeta \\log 3, coeffalfa \\log 3 - coeffbeta \\log 2]$ and $varyingy = varxaxis+tempvar$,\nwe have $\\log 2 \\leq tempvar-linearfunc(tempvar) \\leq \\log 3$ and hence\n\\begin{gather*}\n(coeffalfa-1) \\log 2 - coeffbeta \\log 3 \\leq shiftfunc(varxaxis+linearfunc(tempvar)) - shiftfunc(varxaxis) \\leq (coeffalfa-1) \\log 3 - coeffbeta \\log 2 \\\\\n\\log 2 \\leq shiftfunc(varyingy)-shiftfunc(varxaxis+linearfunc(tempvar)) \\leq \\log 3; \n\\end{gather*}\nthis completes the induction.\n\nNow fix two values $varxaxis,varyingy \\in \\RR$ with $varxaxis \\leq varyingy$. Since $\\log 2$ and $\\log 3$ are linearly independent over $\\QQ$, the fractional parts of the nonnegative integer multiples of $\\log 3/\\log 2$ are dense in $[0,1)$. (This result is due to Kronecker; a stronger result of Weyl shows that the fractional parts are uniformly distributed in $[0,1)$.)\nIn particular, for any $smallerror > 0$ and any $largeindex > 0$, we can find integers $coeffalfa,coeffbeta > largeindex$ such that\n\\[\nvaryingy-varxaxis < coeffalfa \\log 3 - coeffbeta \\log 2 < varyingy-varxaxis + smallerror.\n\\]\nBy writing\n\\begin{align*}\ncoeffalfa \\log 2 - coeffbeta \\log 3& = \\frac{\\log 2}{\\log 3}(coeffalfa \\log 3 - coeffbeta \\log 2) \\\\\n&\\,\\,- coeffbeta \\frac{(\\log 3)^2 - (\\log 2)^2}{\\log 3},\n\\end{align*}\nwe see that this quantity tends to $-\\infty$ as $largeindex \\to \\infty$; in particular, for $largeindex$ sufficiently large we have that $coeffalfa \\log 2 - coeffbeta \\log 3 < varyingy-varxaxis$. We thus have\n$shiftfunc(varyingy) \\leq shiftfunc(varxaxis) + coeffalfa \\log 2 - coeffbeta \\log 3 < varyingy-varxaxis + smallerror$; since $smallerror>0$ was chosen arbitrarily, we deduce that $shiftfunc(varyingy)-shiftfunc(varxaxis) \\leq varyingy-varxaxis$. A similar argument shows that $shiftfunc(varyingy)-shiftfunc(varxaxis) \\geq varyingy-varxaxis$; we deduce that $shiftfunc(varyingy) - shiftfunc(varxaxis) = varyingy-varxaxis$, or equivalently $shiftfunc(varyingy)-varyingy = shiftfunc(varxaxis) - varxaxis$. In other words, the function $varxaxis \\mapsto shiftfunc(varxaxis) - varxaxis$ is constant, as desired."
    },
    "descriptive_long_confusing": {
      "map": {
        "f": "quadrangle",
        "x": "dragonfly",
        "y": "buttercup",
        "g": "milepost",
        "h": "driftwood",
        "t": "sandstorm",
        "a": "paintbrush",
        "b": "nightingale",
        "N": "underbrush",
        "\\epsilon": "snowflake",
        "j": "starfruit",
        "c": "goldsmith"
      },
      "question": "Find all functions $quadrangle$ from the interval $(1, \\infty)$ to $(1, \\infty)$ with the following property:\nif $dragonfly,buttercup \\in (1, \\infty)$ and $dragonfly^2 \\leq buttercup \\leq dragonfly^3$, then $(quadrangle(dragonfly))^2 \\leq quadrangle(buttercup) \\leq (quadrangle(dragonfly))^3$.",
      "solution": "It is obvious that for any $goldsmith>0$, the function $quadrangle(dragonfly) = dragonfly^{goldsmith}$ has the desired property; we will prove that conversely, any function with the desired property has this form for some $goldsmith$.\n\nDefine the function $milepost: (0, \\infty) \\to (0, \\infty)$ given by\n$milepost(dragonfly) = \\log quadrangle(e^{dragonfly})$; this function has the property that if $dragonfly,buttercup \\in (0, \\infty)$\nand $2dragonfly \\leq buttercup \\leq 3dragonfly$, then $2milepost(dragonfly) \\leq milepost(buttercup) \\leq 3milepost(dragonfly)$. \nIt will suffice to show that there exists $goldsmith>0$ such that $milepost(dragonfly) = goldsmith\\,dragonfly$ for all $dragonfly >0$.\n\nSimilarly, define the function $driftwood: \\RR \\to \\RR$ given by\n$driftwood(dragonfly) = \\log milepost(e^{dragonfly})$; this function has the property that if $dragonfly,buttercup \\in \\RR$\nand $dragonfly + \\log 2 \\leq buttercup \\leq dragonfly + \\log 3$, then $driftwood(dragonfly) + \\log 2 \\leq driftwood(buttercup) \\leq driftwood(dragonfly) + \\log 3$. \nIt will suffice to show that there exists $goldsmith>0$ such that $driftwood(dragonfly) = dragonfly + goldsmith$ for all $dragonfly \\in \\RR$\n(as then $driftwood(dragonfly) = e^{goldsmith} \\, dragonfly$ for all $dragonfly>0$).\n\nBy interchanging the roles of $dragonfly$ and $buttercup$, we may restate the condition on $driftwood$ as follows:\nif $dragonfly - \\log 3 \\leq buttercup \\leq dragonfly - \\log 2$, then $driftwood(dragonfly) - \\log 3 \\leq driftwood(buttercup) \\leq driftwood(dragonfly) - \\log 2$. \nThis gives us the cases $paintbrush+nightingale=0,1$ of the following statement, which we will establish in full by induction on $paintbrush+nightingale$: for any nonnegative integers $paintbrush,nightingale$, for all $dragonfly,buttercup \\in \\RR$ such that\n\\[\ndragonfly + paintbrush \\, \\log 2 - nightingale \\, \\log 3 \\leq buttercup \\leq dragonfly + paintbrush \\, \\log 3 - nightingale \\, \\log 2,\n\\]\nwe have\n\\[\ndriftwood(dragonfly) + paintbrush \\, \\log 2 - nightingale \\, \\log 3 \\leq driftwood(buttercup) \\leq driftwood(dragonfly) + paintbrush \\, \\log 3 - nightingale \\, \\log 2.\n\\]\nTo this end, suppose that $paintbrush+nightingale>0$ and that the claim is known for all smaller values of $paintbrush+nightingale$. In particular, either $paintbrush>0$ or $nightingale>0$; the two cases are similar, so we treat only the first one. Define the function\n\\[\nstarfruit(sandstorm) = \\frac{(paintbrush+nightingale-1)sandstorm - nightingale(\\log 2 + \\log 3)}{paintbrush+nightingale},\n\\]\nso that\n\\begin{gather*}\nstarfruit(paintbrush \\, \\log 2 - nightingale \\, \\log 3) = (paintbrush-1) \\, \\log 2 - nightingale \\, \\log 3, \\\\\nstarfruit(paintbrush \\, \\log 3 - nightingale \\, \\log 2) = (paintbrush-1) \\, \\log 3 - nightingale \\, \\log 2.\n\\end{gather*}\nFor $sandstorm \\in [paintbrush \\, \\log 2 - nightingale \\, \\log 3, \\; paintbrush \\, \\log 3 - nightingale \\, \\log 2]$ and $buttercup = dragonfly+sandstorm$,\nwe have $\\log 2 \\leq sandstorm-starfruit(sandstorm) \\leq \\log 3$ and hence\n\\begin{gather*}\n(paintbrush-1) \\, \\log 2 - nightingale \\, \\log 3 \\leq driftwood(dragonfly+starfruit(sandstorm)) - driftwood(dragonfly) \\leq (paintbrush-1) \\, \\log 3 - nightingale \\, \\log 2 \\\\\n\\log 2 \\leq driftwood(buttercup)-driftwood(dragonfly+starfruit(sandstorm)) \\leq \\log 3; \n\\end{gather*}\nthis completes the induction.\n\nNow fix two values $dragonfly,buttercup \\in \\RR$ with $dragonfly \\leq buttercup$. Since $\\log 2$ and $\\log 3$ are linearly independent over $\\QQ$, the fractional parts of the nonnegative integer multiples of $\\log 3/\\log 2$ are dense in $[0,1)$. (This result is due to Kronecker; a stronger result of Weyl shows that the fractional parts are uniformly distributed in $[0,1)$.)\nIn particular, for any $snowflake > 0$ and any $underbrush > 0$, we can find integers $paintbrush,nightingale > underbrush$ such that\n\\[\nbuttercup-dragonfly < paintbrush \\, \\log 3 - nightingale \\, \\log 2 < buttercup-dragonfly + snowflake.\n\\]\nBy writing\n\\begin{align*}\npaintbrush \\, \\log 2 - nightingale \\, \\log 3& = \\frac{\\log 2}{\\log 3}(paintbrush \\, \\log 3 - nightingale \\, \\log 2) \\\\\n&\\,\\,- nightingale \\, \\frac{(\\log 3)^2 - (\\log 2)^2}{\\log 3},\n\\end{align*}\nwe see that this quantity tends to $-\\infty$ as $underbrush \\to \\infty$; in particular, for $underbrush$ sufficiently large we have that $paintbrush \\, \\log 2 - nightingale \\, \\log 3 < buttercup-dragonfly$. We thus have\n$driftwood(buttercup) \\leq driftwood(dragonfly) + paintbrush \\, \\log 2 - nightingale \\, \\log 3 < buttercup-dragonfly + snowflake$; since $snowflake>0$ was chosen arbitrarily, we deduce that $driftwood(buttercup)-driftwood(dragonfly) \\leq buttercup-dragonfly$. A similar argument shows that $driftwood(buttercup)-driftwood(dragonfly) \\geq buttercup-dragonfly$; we deduce that $driftwood(buttercup) - driftwood(dragonfly) = buttercup-dragonfly$, or equivalently $driftwood(buttercup)-buttercup = driftwood(dragonfly) - dragonfly$. In other words, the function $dragonfly \\mapsto driftwood(dragonfly) - dragonfly$ is constant, as desired."
    },
    "descriptive_long_misleading": {
      "map": {
        "f": "constantvalue",
        "x": "outputspot",
        "y": "inputspot",
        "g": "randomizer",
        "h": "unstablemap",
        "t": "staticvar",
        "a": "immobile",
        "b": "restless",
        "N": "smallnumber",
        "\\epsilon": "fatmargin",
        "j": "nonlinear",
        "c": "variableval"
      },
      "question": "Find all functions $constantvalue$ from the interval $(1, \\infty)$ to $(1, \\infty)$ with the following property:\nif $outputspot,inputspot \\in (1, \\infty)$ and $outputspot^2 \\leq inputspot \\leq outputspot^3$, then $(constantvalue(outputspot))^2 \\leq constantvalue(inputspot) \\leq (constantvalue(outputspot))^3$.",
      "solution": "It is obvious that for any $variableval>0$, the function $constantvalue(outputspot) = outputspot^{variableval}$ has the desired property; we will prove that conversely, any function with the desired property has this form for some $variableval$.\n\nDefine the function $randomizer: (0, \\infty) \\to (0, \\infty)$ given by\n$randomizer(outputspot) = \\log constantvalue(e^{outputspot})$; this function has the property that if $outputspot,inputspot \\in (0, \\infty)$\nand $2outputspot \\leq inputspot \\leq 3outputspot$, then $2randomizer(outputspot) \\leq randomizer(inputspot) \\leq 3randomizer(outputspot)$. \nIt will suffice to show that there exists $variableval>0$ such that $randomizer(outputspot) = variableval\\,outputspot$ for all $outputspot >0$.\n\nSimilarly, define the function $unstablemap: \\RR \\to \\RR$ given by\n$unstablemap(outputspot) = \\log randomizer(e^{outputspot})$; this function has the property that if $outputspot,inputspot \\in \\RR$\nand $outputspot + \\log 2 \\leq inputspot \\leq outputspot + \\log 3$, then $unstablemap(outputspot) + \\log 2 \\leq unstablemap(inputspot) \\leq unstablemap(outputspot) + \\log 3$. \nIt will suffice to show that there exists $variableval>0$ such that $unstablemap(outputspot) = outputspot + variableval$ for all $outputspot \\in \\RR$\n(as then $unstablemap(outputspot) = e^{variableval}\\,outputspot$ for all $outputspot>0$).\n\nBy interchanging the roles of $outputspot$ and $inputspot$, we may restate the condition on $unstablemap$ as follows:\nif $outputspot - \\log 3 \\leq inputspot \\leq outputspot - \\log 2$, then $unstablemap(outputspot) - \\log 3 \\leq unstablemap(inputspot) \\leq unstablemap(outputspot) - \\log 2$. \nThis gives us the cases $immobile+restless=0,1$ of the following statement, which we will establish in full by induction on $immobile+restless$: for any nonnegative integers $immobile,restless$, for all $outputspot,inputspot \\in \\RR$ such that\n\\[\noutputspot + immobile \\log 2 - restless \\log 3 \\leq inputspot \\leq outputspot + immobile \\log 3 - restless \\log 2,\n\\]\nwe have\n\\[\nunstablemap(outputspot) + immobile \\log 2 - restless \\log 3 \\leq unstablemap(inputspot) \\leq unstablemap(outputspot) + immobile \\log 3 - restless \\log 2.\n\\]\nTo this end, suppose that $immobile+restless>0$ and that the claim is known for all smaller values of $immobile+restless$. In particular, either $immobile>0$ or $restless>0$; the two cases are similar, so we treat only the first one. Define the function\n\\[\nnonlinear(staticvar) = \\frac{(immobile+restless-1)staticvar - restless(\\log 2 + \\log 3)}{immobile+restless},\n\\]\nso that\n\\begin{gather*}\nnonlinear(immobile \\log 2 - restless \\log 3) = (immobile-1) \\log 2 - restless \\log 3, \\\\\nnonlinear(immobile \\log 3 - restless \\log 2) = (immobile-1) \\log 3 - restless \\log 2.\n\\end{gather*}\nFor $staticvar \\in [immobile \\log 2 - restless \\log 3, immobile \\log 3 - restless \\log 2]$ and $inputspot = outputspot+staticvar$,\nwe have $\\log 2 \\leq staticvar-nonlinear(staticvar) \\leq \\log 3$ and hence\n\\begin{gather*}\n(immobile-1) \\log 2 - restless \\log 3 \\leq unstablemap(outputspot+nonlinear(staticvar)) - unstablemap(outputspot) \\leq (immobile-1) \\log 3 - restless \\log 2 \\\\\n\\log 2 \\leq unstablemap(inputspot)-unstablemap(outputspot+nonlinear(staticvar)) \\leq \\log 3; \n\\end{gather*}\nthis completes the induction.\n\nNow fix two values $outputspot,inputspot \\in \\RR$ with $outputspot \\leq inputspot$. Since $\\log 2$ and $\\log 3$ are linearly independent over $\\QQ$, the fractional parts of the nonnegative integer multiples of $\\log 3/\\log 2$ are dense in $[0,1)$. (This result is due to Kronecker; a stronger result of Weyl shows that the fractional parts are uniformly distributed in $[0,1)$.)\nIn particular, for any $fatmargin > 0$ and any $smallnumber > 0$, we can find integers $immobile,restless > smallnumber$ such that\n\\[\ninputspot-outputspot < immobile \\log 3 - restless \\log 2 < inputspot-outputspot + fatmargin.\n\\]\nBy writing\n\\begin{align*}\nimmobile \\log 2 - restless \\log 3& = \\frac{\\log 2}{\\log 3}(immobile \\log 3 - restless \\log 2) \\\\\n&\\,\\,- restless \\frac{(\\log 3)^2 - (\\log 2)^2}{\\log 3},\n\\end{align*}\nwe see that this quantity tends to $-\\infty$ as $smallnumber \\to \\infty$; in particular, for $smallnumber$ sufficiently large we have that $immobile \\log 2 - restless \\log 3 < inputspot-outputspot$. We thus have\n$unstablemap(inputspot) \\leq unstablemap(outputspot) + immobile \\log 2 - restless \\log 3 < inputspot-outputspot + fatmargin$; since $fatmargin>0$ was chosen arbitrarily, we deduce that $unstablemap(inputspot)-unstablemap(outputspot) \\leq inputspot-outputspot$. A similar argument shows that $unstablemap(inputspot)-unstablemap(outputspot) \\geq inputspot-outputspot$; we deduce that $unstablemap(inputspot) - unstablemap(outputspot) = inputspot-outputspot$, or equivalently $unstablemap(inputspot)-inputspot = unstablemap(outputspot) - outputspot$. In other words, the function $outputspot \\mapsto unstablemap(outputspot) - outputspot$ is constant, as desired."
    },
    "garbled_string": {
      "map": {
        "f": "vzxwqpte",
        "x": "jqmsrlda",
        "y": "pkdfrsme",
        "g": "hqvnlmze",
        "h": "wczmstal",
        "t": "xgrbnkva",
        "a": "bqtrslom",
        "b": "nspqdzvm",
        "N": "kjlpwdra",
        "\\\\epsilon": "urmnksev",
        "j": "lxczdkrp",
        "c": "zvhkmsda"
      },
      "question": "Find all functions $vzxwqpte$ from the interval $(1, \\infty)$ to $(1, \\infty)$ with the following property:\nif $jqmsrlda,pkdfrsme \\in (1, \\infty)$ and $jqmsrlda^2 \\leq pkdfrsme \\leq jqmsrlda^3$, then $(vzxwqpte(jqmsrlda))^2 \\leq vzxwqpte(pkdfrsme) \\leq (vzxwqpte(jqmsrlda))^3$.",
      "solution": "It is obvious that for any $zvhkmsda>0$, the function $vzxwqpte(jqmsrlda) = jqmsrlda^{zvhkmsda}$ has the desired property; we will prove that conversely, any function with the desired property has this form for some $zvhkmsda$.\n\nDefine the function $hqvnlmze: (0, \\infty) \\to (0, \\infty)$ given by\n$hqvnlmze(jqmsrlda) = \\log vzxwqpte(e^{jqmsrlda})$; this function has the property that if $jqmsrlda,pkdfrsme \\in (0, \\infty)$\nand $2jqmsrlda \\leq pkdfrsme \\leq 3jqmsrlda$, then $2hqvnlmze(jqmsrlda) \\leq hqvnlmze(pkdfrsme) \\leq 3hqvnlmze(jqmsrlda)$. \nIt will suffice to show that there exists $zvhkmsda>0$ such that $hqvnlmze(jqmsrlda) = zvhkmsda jqmsrlda$ for all $jqmsrlda >0$.\n\nSimilarly, define the function $wczmstal: \\RR \\to \\RR$ given by\n$wczmstal(jqmsrlda) = \\log hqvnlmze(e^{jqmsrlda})$; this function has the property that if $jqmsrlda,pkdfrsme \\in \\RR$\nand $jqmsrlda + \\log 2 \\leq pkdfrsme \\leq jqmsrlda + \\log 3$, then $wczmstal(jqmsrlda) + \\log 2 \\leq wczmstal(pkdfrsme) \\leq wczmstal(jqmsrlda) + \\log 3$. \nIt will suffice to show that there exists $zvhkmsda>0$ such that $wczmstal(jqmsrlda) = jqmsrlda + zvhkmsda$ for all $jqmsrlda \\in \\RR$\n(as then $wczmstal(jqmsrlda) = e^{zvhkmsda} jqmsrlda$ for all $jqmsrlda>0$).\n\nBy interchanging the roles of $jqmsrlda$ and $pkdfrsme$, we may restate the condition on $wczmstal$ as follows:\nif $jqmsrlda - \\log 3 \\leq pkdfrsme \\leq jqmsrlda - \\log 2$, then $wczmstal(jqmsrlda) - \\log 3 \\leq wczmstal(pkdfrsme) \\leq wczmstal(jqmsrlda) - \\log 2$. \nThis gives us the cases $bqtrslom+nspqdzvm=0,1$ of the following statement, which we will establish in full by induction on $bqtrslom+nspqdzvm$: for any nonnegative integers $bqtrslom,nspqdzvm$, for all $jqmsrlda,pkdfrsme \\in \\RR$ such that\n\\[\njqmsrlda + bqtrslom \\log 2 - nspqdzvm \\log 3 \\leq pkdfrsme \\leq jqmsrlda + bqtrslom \\log 3 - nspqdzvm \\log 2,\n\\]\nwe have\n\\[\nwczmstal(jqmsrlda) + bqtrslom \\log 2 - nspqdzvm \\log 3 \\leq wczmstal(pkdfrsme) \\leq wczmstal(jqmsrlda) + bqtrslom \\log 3 - nspqdzvm \\log 2.\n\\]\nTo this end, suppose that $bqtrslom+nspqdzvm>0$ and that the claim is known for all smaller values of $bqtrslom+nspqdzvm$. In particular, either $bqtrslom>0$ or $nspqdzvm>0$; the two cases are similar, so we treat only the first one. Define the function\n\\[\nlxczdkrp(xgrbnkva) = \\frac{(bqtrslom+nspqdzvm-1)xgrbnkva - nspqdzvm(\\log 2 + \\log 3)}{bqtrslom+nspqdzvm},\n\\]\nso that\n\\begin{gather*}\nlxczdkrp(bqtrslom \\log 2 - nspqdzvm \\log 3) = (bqtrslom-1) \\log 2 - nspqdzvm \\log 3, \\\\\nlxczdkrp(bqtrslom \\log 3 - nspqdzvm \\log 2) = (bqtrslom-1) \\log 3 - nspqdzvm \\log 2.\n\\end{gather*}\nFor $xgrbnkva \\in [bqtrslom \\log 2 - nspqdzvm \\log 3, bqtrslom \\log 3 - nspqdzvm \\log 2]$ and $pkdfrsme = jqmsrlda+xgrbnkva$,\nwe have $\\log 2 \\leq xgrbnkva-lxczdkrp(xgrbnkva) \\leq \\log 3$ and hence\n\\begin{gather*}\n(bqtrslom-1) \\log 2 - nspqdzvm \\log 3 \\leq wczmstal(jqmsrlda+lxczdkrp(xgrbnkva)) - wczmstal(jqmsrlda) \\leq (bqtrslom-1) \\log 3 - nspqdzvm \\log 2 \\\\\n\\log 2 \\leq wczmstal(pkdfrsme)-wczmstal(jqmsrlda+lxczdkrp(xgrbnkva)) \\leq \\log 3; \n\\end{gather*}\nthis completes the induction.\n\nNow fix two values $jqmsrlda,pkdfrsme \\in \\RR$ with $jqmsrlda \\leq pkdfrsme$. Since $\\log 2$ and $\\log 3$ are linearly independent over $\\QQ$, the fractional parts of the nonnegative integer multiples of $\\log 3/\\log 2$ are dense in $[0,1)$. (This result is due to Kronecker; a stronger result of Weyl shows that the fractional parts are uniformly distributed in $[0,1)$.)\nIn particular, for any $urmnksev > 0$ and any $kjlpwdra > 0$, we can find integers $bqtrslom,nspqdzvm > kjlpwdra$ such that\n\\[\npkdfrsme-jqmsrlda < bqtrslom \\log 3 - nspqdzvm \\log 2 < pkdfrsme-jqmsrlda + urmnksev.\n\\]\nBy writing\n\\begin{align*}\nbqtrslom \\log 2 - nspqdzvm \\log 3& = \\frac{\\log 2}{\\log 3}(bqtrslom \\log 3 - nspqdzvm \\log 2) \\\\\n&\\,\\,- nspqdzvm \\frac{(\\log 3)^2 - (\\log 2)^2}{\\log 3},\n\\end{align*}\nwe see that this quantity tends to $-\\infty$ as $kjlpwdra \\to \\infty$; in particular, for $kjlpwdra$ sufficiently large we have that $bqtrslom \\log 2 - nspqdzvm \\log 3 < pkdfrsme-jqmsrlda$. We thus have\n$wczmstal(pkdfrsme) \\leq wczmstal(jqmsrlda) + bqtrslom \\log 2 - nspqdzvm \\log 3 < pkdfrsme-jqmsrlda + urmnksev$; since $urmnksev>0$ was chosen arbitrarily, we deduce that $wczmstal(pkdfrsme)-wczmstal(jqmsrlda) \\leq pkdfrsme-jqmsrlda$. A similar argument shows that $wczmstal(pkdfrsme)-wczmstal(jqmsrlda) \\geq pkdfrsme-jqmsrlda$; we deduce that $wczmstal(pkdfrsme) - wczmstal(jqmsrlda) = pkdfrsme-jqmsrlda$, or equivalently $wczmstal(pkdfrsme)-pkdfrsme = wczmstal(jqmsrlda) - jqmsrlda$. In other words, the function $jqmsrlda \\mapsto wczmstal(jqmsrlda) - jqmsrlda$ is constant, as desired."
    },
    "kernel_variant": {
      "question": "Let \n\nf:(e,\\infty)\\longrightarrow(e,\\infty)\n\nbe a function such that for all x,y>e that satisfy\n\nx^{2}\\le y\\le x^{5}, \\qquad (f(x))^{2}\\le f(y)\\le (f(x))^{5}.\n\nDetermine all such functions.",
      "solution": "We prove that the only functions fulfilling the requirement are the power functions\n\n           f(x)=x^{C}\\qquad (C\\ge 1).\n\nThe proof is divided into two parts.\n\n────────────────────────────────────\n1.  Every function f(x)=x^{C} with C\\ge 1 works.\n────────────────────────────────────\nFor x,y>e with x^{2}\\le y\\le x^{5},\n\n   (f(x))^{2}=x^{2C}\\le y^{C}=f(y)\\le x^{5C}=(f(x))^{5},\n\nso the inequality is satisfied.  Moreover, since C\\ge 1 and x>e, we have\nf(x)=x^{C}>x\\ge e, hence f\bigl((e,\\infty)\\bigr)\\subset (e,\\infty).\n\n────────────────────────────────────\n2.  Conversely, every admissible function is of the above form and has exponent C\\ge 1.\n────────────────────────────────────\n\nStep 1.  First logarithm.\nFor x>e write t=\\ln x>1 and define\n        g:(1,\\infty)\\to(0,\\infty), \\qquad g(t)=\\ln f(e^{t}).\n\nThe hypothesis becomes      2t\\le s\\le5t \\;\\Longrightarrow\\; 2g(t)\\le g(s)\\le5g(t).       (★)\n\nStep 2.  Second logarithm.\nPut h:(0,\\infty)\\to\\mathbb R,  h(u)=\\ln g(e^{u}).  From (★) we obtain\n        u+\\ln2\\le v\\le u+\\ln5 \\;\\Longrightarrow\\; h(u)+\\ln2\\le h(v)\\le h(u)+\\ln5.      (†)\n\nStep 3.  Arbitrary integer scales.\nFor integers a,b\\ge0 let P(a,b) be the statement\n        u+a\\ln2-b\\ln5\\le v\\le u+a\\ln5-b\\ln2\n        \\;\\Longrightarrow\\;\n        h(u)+a\\ln2-b\\ln5\\le h(v)\\le h(u)+a\\ln5-b\\ln2.\n(†) gives P(1,0); exchanging u and v gives P(0,1).  A straightforward induction on a+b using these two cases yields P(a,b) for all a,b\\ge0.\n\nStep 4.  A density argument.\nBecause \\ln2/\\ln5 is irrational, the set {a\\ln5-b\\ln2:a,b\\in\\mathbb Z} is dense in \\mathbb R.  Given u<v and \\varepsilon>0 choose a,b\\ge0 with\n        v-u< a\\ln5-b\\ln2< v-u+\\varepsilon.\nBy P(a,b) we then have\n        h(v)-h(u)\\le a\\ln5-b\\ln2< v-u+\\varepsilon.\nLetting \\varepsilon\\to0 gives h(v)-h(u)\\le v-u.  Reversing the roles of u,v we also get the reverse inequality, hence h(v)-h(u)=v-u for all u<v.  Therefore\n                h(u)=u+c \\quad (u>0),\nfor some constant c\\in\\mathbb R.\n\nStep 5.  Unwinding the logarithms.\nFrom h(u)=u+c we find\n        g(e^{u})=e^{h(u)}=e^{c}e^{u},\nso for x>e,\n        \\ln f(x)=e^{c}\\,\\ln x,      whence      f(x)=x^{C}, \\; C:=e^{c}>0.\n\nStep 6.  The codomain condition forces C\\ge1.\nWe still have to impose f\\bigl((e,\\infty)\\bigr)\\subset(e,\\infty).  For x>e we need x^{C}>e.  Letting x\\downarrow e^{+} gives the necessary condition e^{C}\\ge e, i.e. C\\ge1.  Conversely, if C\\ge1 then for every x>e we have x^{C}\\ge x>e, so the codomain requirement holds.\n\nHence the only admissible functions are\n                     f(x)=x^{C}\\qquad(C\\ge1).",
      "_meta": {
        "core_steps": [
          "Take two logarithms to convert x^A≤y≤x^B into an additive bound x+ln A ≤ y ≤ x+ln B for h(x)=ln ln f(e^x).",
          "Use induction to extend this bound from one step to all integer combinations a·ln A − b·ln B and a·ln B − b·ln A.",
          "Invoke Kronecker density (irrational ln A/ln B) to approximate any real gap by such combinations, forcing |h(y)−h(x)|≤|y−x|.",
          "Deduce h(y)−y is constant, hence h(x)=x+c, so g(t)=c t and finally f(x)=x^c."
        ],
        "mutable_slots": {
          "slot_exponents": {
            "description": "the two distinct exponents that bound y in terms of x and f(y) in terms of f(x); must give irrational ratio of their logarithms",
            "original": "(2, 3)"
          },
          "slot_lower_bound": {
            "description": "the common lower endpoint of the domain and codomain intervals for f (any positive number large enough so x^A stays in the domain)",
            "original": "1"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "checked": true,
  "problem_type": "proof",
  "iteratively_fixed": true
}