Problem

Source: Romania JBMO TST 2024 Day 4 P1

Tags: algebra, permutations



Let $n\geqslant 3$ be an integer and $a_1,a_2,\ldots,a_n$ be pairwise distinct positive real numbers with the property that there exists a permutation $b_1,b_2,\ldots,b_n$ of these numbers such that\[\frac{a_1}{b_1}=\frac{a_2}{b_2}=\cdots=\frac{a_{n-1}}{b_{n-1}}\neq 1.\]Prove that there exist $a,b>0$ such that $\{a_1,a_2,\ldots,a_n\}=\{ab,ab^2,\ldots,ab^n\}.$ Cristi Săvescu