IMO 1973 · Problem 1

Point \(O\) lies on line \(g\); \(\overrightarrow{OP_1}, \overrightarrow{OP_2}, \ldots, \overrightarrow{OP_n}\) are unit vectors such that points \(P_1, P_2, \ldots, P_n\) all lie in a plane containing \(g\) and on one side of \(g\). Prove that if \(n\) is odd, \[ \left|\overrightarrow{OP_1}+\overrightarrow{OP_2}+\cdots+\overrightarrow{OP_n}\right|\geq 1 \] Here \(\left|\overrightarrow{OM}\right|\) denotes the length of vector \(\overrightarrow{OM}\).

Official text of the problem. Official problem paper (PDF)

Solution

Write \(n=2m+1\). Choose orthonormal coordinates in the given plane with origin \(O\) and horizontal axis \(g\), so that all the points lie in the closed upper half-plane. Relabel the unit vectors as \[ v_i=\overrightarrow{OP_i}=(\cos\theta_i,\sin\theta_i), \qquad 0\leq\theta_1\leq\cdots\leq\theta_{2m+1}\leq\pi. \] Let \(u=v_{m+1}\), the vector with the median angle. We will show that the projection of the sum onto \(u\) is at least \(1\).

For each \(i=1,\ldots,m\), put \[ \alpha_i=\theta_{m+1}-\theta_i, \qquad \beta_i=\theta_{2m+2-i}-\theta_{m+1}. \] Then \(\alpha_i,\beta_i\geq0\) and \[ \alpha_i+\beta_i =\theta_{2m+2-i}-\theta_i\leq\pi. \] Consequently, \[ \begin{aligned} u\cdot(v_i+v_{2m+2-i}) &=\cos\alpha_i+\cos\beta_i\\ &=2\cos\frac{\alpha_i+\beta_i}{2} \cos\frac{\alpha_i-\beta_i}{2} \geq0. \end{aligned} \] Indeed, the first cosine has argument in \([0,\pi/2]\), and the second has argument in \([-\pi/2,\pi/2]\), because \(\lvert\alpha_i-\beta_i\rvert\leq\alpha_i+\beta_i\leq\pi\).

The pairs account for every vector except \(u\). Thus, writing \(S=\sum_{i=1}^{2m+1}v_i\), we obtain \[ u\cdot S =u\cdot u+\sum_{i=1}^{m}u\cdot(v_i+v_{2m+2-i}) \geq1. \] Since \(|u|=1\), the Cauchy–Schwarz inequality gives \[ |S|\geq u\cdot S\geq1, \] as required.

When \(n=1\), the pair sum is empty and the same argument applies. Equal angles and points on \(g\) are also covered by the non-strict inequalities above.

The solution was checked against John Scholes' IMO solution archive (Kalva).