IMO 1998 · Problem 1

In the convex quadrilateral \(ABCD\), the diagonals \(AC\) and \(BD\) are perpendicular and the opposite sides \(AB\) and \(DC\) are not parallel. Suppose that the point \(P\), where the perpendicular bisectors of \(AB\) and \(DC\) meet, is inside \(ABCD\). Prove that \(ABCD\) is a cyclic quadrilateral if and only if the triangles \(ABP\) and \(CDP\) have equal areas.

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

Solution

Write \([XYZ]\) for the area of triangle \(XYZ\). Take the intersection of the diagonals as the origin and the perpendicular diagonals as the coordinate axes. Since the quadrilateral is convex, we can write \[ A=(a,0),\qquad B=(0,b),\qquad C=(-c,0),\qquad D=(0,-d), \] where \(a,b,c,d>0\). Let \(P=(x,y)\).

By the definition of \(P\), \[ PA^2=PB^2=r^2,\qquad PC^2=PD^2=s^2. \] Set \(t=r^2-s^2\). Subtracting squared distances gives \[ t=PA^2-PC^2=(a+c)(a-c-2x) \] and \[ t=PB^2-PD^2=(b+d)(b-d-2y). \] Consequently, \[ x=\frac{a-c}{2}-\frac{t}{2(a+c)},\qquad y=\frac{b-d}{2}-\frac{t}{2(b+d)}. \]

Because \(P\) is inside the quadrilateral, it lies on the same side of \(AB\) as \(C\), and on the same side of \(CD\) as \(A\). Thus the coordinate formulas for the areas give \[ [ABP]=\frac{ab-bx-ay}{2},\qquad [CDP]=\frac{cd+dx+cy}{2}. \] Substituting the expressions for \(x,y\), we obtain \[ \begin{aligned} 4\bigl([ABP]-[CDP]\bigr) &=2\bigl(ab-cd-(b+d)x-(a+c)y\bigr)\\ &=t\left(\frac{b+d}{a+c}+\frac{a+c}{b+d}\right), \end{aligned} \] where we used \[ (b+d)(a-c)+(a+c)(b-d)=2(ab-cd). \] The coefficient of \(t\) is strictly positive. Therefore \[ [ABP]=[CDP]\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad r^2=s^2. \]

If \(r^2=s^2\), all four vertices are at the same distance from \(P\), so \(ABCD\) is cyclic.

Conversely, if \(ABCD\) is cyclic, its circumcenter lies on the perpendicular bisectors of both \(AB\) and \(DC\). Since these sides are not parallel, their perpendicular bisectors have the unique intersection \(P\). Hence \(P\) is the circumcenter, so \(r^2=s^2\), and the two triangle areas are equal. \(\square\)

The solution was checked against Evan Chen's published IMO solution notes.