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differentiability in functions (Posted on 2021-02-19) Difficulty: 3 of 5
a) Prove that there exists a differentiable function f:(0, ∞)->(0, ∞) such that f(f'(x))=x, for all x>0.

b) Prove that there is no differentiable function f:R->R such that f(f'(x))=x, for all x∈R.

No Solution Yet Submitted by Danish Ahmed Khan    
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Part a -- spoiler | Comment 1 of 3
I guess that the function is of the form f(x) = ax^b.

Then f'(x) = abx^(b-1).
     f(f'(x)) = a(abx^(b-1))^b = a^(b+1) * b^b * x^(b^2 - b)
     
If f(f'(x)) = x, then (b^2 - b) = 1, so b = Phi, the golden ratio, which is a pleasant surprise.
                 also, a^(b+1) * b^b = 1, so a = b^(-b/(b+1)) which probably simplifies.
                 
Hope I did not make a math mistake.
But this is an existence proof that an f(x) exists

  Posted by Steve Herman on 2021-02-19 09:11:42
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