Solving Systems of Symmetric Equations

Aaron Doman

Abstract
This paper will illustrate a simple yet effective method for solving systems of symmet-
ric equations involving rational functions. By manipulating the given equations, one can
construct a polynomial whose roots are the desired solutions.
Suppose we are given two rational functions f and g with the following conditions:
(1) f is a rational function in one variable;
(2) g is a symmetric rational function in n − 1 variables for some integer n ≥ 2; and we wish to
find all distinct complex numbers x1 , x2 , ..., xn such that

f (x1 ) = g(x2 , x3 , ..., xn−1 , xn )

f (x2 ) = g(x3 , x4 , ..., xn , x1 )
.
.
.
f (xn ) = g(x1 , x2 , ..., xn−2 , xn−1 ).

By expressing the right hand-side of the ith equation in terms of xi and the symmetric sums of
the variables, we can find a polynomial with roots x1 , x2 , ..., xn . This technique is illustrated in
the following examples.

Problem 1: Find all distinct complex x, y, z such that


3 3
x = y + z

y = z 3 + x3

z = x3 + y 3 .


Solution: Let s1 = x + y + z, s2 = xy + yz + zx, s3 = xyz. Then by a well-known identity,

x3 + y 3 + z 3 = 3xyz + (x + y + z)(x2 + y 2 + z 2 − xy − yz − zx)

= 3s3 + s1 (s21 − 3s2 ) = s31 − 3s1 s2 + 3s3 .

Thus, we can rewrite the equations as

3 3
x = s1 − 3s1 s2 + 3s3 − x

y = s31 − 3s1 s2 + 3s3 − y 3

z = s31 − 3s1 s2 + 3s3 − z 3 .


Since x, y, z are distinct, they must be the three solutions of the equation

t = s31 − 3s1 s2 + 3s3 − t3

or equivalently
t3 + t − (s31 − 3s1 s2 + 3s3 ) = 0.
By Vieta’s relations (that is, equating the coefficients of t3 + t − (s31 − 3s1 s2 + 3s3 ) and t3 − s1 t2 +
s2 t − s3 ) we have 
s1 = 0

s2 = 1

s3 = s31 − 3s1 s2 + 3s3 .


Substituting s1 = 0, s2 = 1 into the third equation yields s3 = 3s3 , so s3 = 0. It follows that

x, y, z are the roots of t3 + t = 0, so the solutions are (0, i, −i) and permutations.

Problem 2: Find all distinct complex numbers a, b, c, d satisfying

 4

 a = bcd + 1
b4 = acd + 1




 c4 = abd + 1
 4
d = abc + 1.

Solution: Let s4 = abcd. Multiplying the first equation by a, the second by b, the third by c
and the fourth by d, we obtain the equations
 5
a = a + s4

b5 = b + s

4
.
c5 = c + s4


 5
d = d + s4 .

Thus a, b, c, d are roots of the polynomial t5 − t − s4 . Unfortunately, this polynomial has an

additional root, say r, that we do not want; however, it is possible to get rid of this root by
noting that abcdr = s4 = abcd. Therefore, either r = 1 or abcd = s4 = 0. If r = 1, then

15 − 1 − s4 = 0 ⇒ s4 = 0.

Thus in all cases s4 = 0 and a, b, c, d, 1 are the roots of

t5 − t = t(t − 1)(t + 1)(t2 + 1).

Hence, the solutions are (0, −1, i, −i) and permutations (r = 1 and s4 = 0 are equivalent state-
ments).

It may not be too difficult to eliminate one unneeded root, as shown in the previous example.
When there is more than one extra root, however, even the simplest equations rarely give "nice"
answers. The following problem demonstrates the technique for solving symmetric systems of
rational functions.

Problem 3: Find all distinct complex x, y, z such that

y 2 +z 2

3 2
x + x = yz−1

2
+x2
y 3 + y 2 = zzx−1
2
+y 2
z + z 2 = xxy−1

 3

Mathematical Reflections 1 (2014) 2

 Solution: Suppose that xyz = 0, say x = 0. Then the equations easily yield y = 0, a
contradiction with x 6= y. Thus xyz 6= 0.
Let s1 , s2 , s3 be the symmetric sums in x, y, z. Then x2 + y 2 + z 2 = s21 − 2s2 and the system
shows that x, y, z are solutions of the equation
s21 − 2s2 − t2
t3 + t2 = ,
s3 /t − 1
which is equivalent to
−t3 + (s3 − 1)t2 + s3 t = s21 − 2s2 − t2
and then
t3 − s3 t2 − s3 t + s21 − 2s2 = 0.
Using again Vieta’s relations, we obtain

s1 = s3

s2 = −s3 .

s3 = −s21 + 2s2 .


Using the first two equations, the third becomes s23 + 3s3 = 0. If s3 = 0, then s1 = s2 = 0, so
x = y = z = 0, impossible. Thus s3 = −3 and x, y, z are the roots of
t3 + 3t2 + 3t + 3 = 0 or (t + 1)3 + 2 = 0.
√ √ √
Therefore, the solutions are (−1 − 3 2, −1 − 3 2ω, −1 − 3 2ω 2 ), where ω is a primitive cube root
of unity, and permutations.

The final problem will illustrate a possible extension of the method from solving equations in-
volving rational functions to ones containing other types of functions.

Problem 4: Find all distinct real x, y, z such that


x y z
2 = 2 + 2 − yz

y z x
2 = 2 + 2 − zx

 z
2 = 2x + 2y − xy.

Solution: Let a = 2x + 2y + 2z , b = xyz. Then

b
2t = a − 2t −
t
for t = x, y, z. This becomes
t(2t+1 − a) + b = 0.
It follows that x, y, z are zeros of the map f : R → R defined by
f (t) = t(2t+1 − a) + b.
Since x, y, z are distinct and f (x) = f (y) = f (z) = 0, we deduce that the derivative f 0 has at
least two distinct real zeros. However the equation f 0 (t) = 0 is equivalent to
(t ln 2 + 1)2t+1 = a or t ln 2 + 1 − a2−t−1 = 0.
The map t 7→ t ln 2 + 1 − a2−t−1 is increasing, since a > 0, thus it has at most one zero. Thus
f 0 can vanish at most once and the system has no solutions.

Mathematical Reflections 1 (2014) 3

Concluding Remarks
While this method does in principle allow one to solve practically any symmetric system of ratio-
nal functions, it has some disadvantages. The technique can be used only in very limited cases,
since the equations must be symmetric and the desired solutions must be distinct. Furthermore,
when the polynomials have two or more unwanted roots, it is tedious to discard these roots and
often the solutions will be quite ugly. However, it is possible that the method could be gener-
alized to find non-distinct solutions to symmetric systems of rational functions or even systems
that do not involve rational functions.

Aaron Doman, University of California, Berkeley

Email address: adoman95@gmail.com

Mathematical Reflections 1 (2014) 4