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For positive real numbers $x_1,x_2,\ldots,x_n$ and any $1\leq r\leq n$ let $A_r$ and $G_r$ be , respectively, the arithmetic mean and geometric mean of $x_1,x_2,\ldots,x_r$.

Is it true that the arithmetic mean of $G_1,G_2,\ldots,G_n$ is never greater then the geometric mean of $A_1,A_2,\ldots,A_n$ ?

It is obvious for $n=2$, and i have a (rather cumbersome) proof for $n=3$.

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    similar to : http://mathoverflow.net/questions/25249/another-mixed-mean-inequality2012-07-03

2 Answers 2

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It's a special case ($r=0$, $s=1$) of the mixed means inequality $ M_n^s[M^r[\bar a]]\le M_n^r[M^s[\bar a]], \quad r,s\in \mathbb R,\ r where $M^s$ is the power mean with exponent $s$, see Survey on Classical Inequalities, p. 32, theorem 2.

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    Thanks Andrew, and I noticed that the result actually appears in this exact formulation as theorem 1 on page 31.2012-07-03
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Here's a proof for $n=2$. Apply the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality to the vectors $(\sqrt{a},\sqrt{b})$ and $(1/2,1/2)$ to get ${\sqrt{a}+\sqrt{b}\over 2}\leq\sqrt{a+b\over 2}.$ Multiply by $\sqrt{a}$ to obtain ${a+\sqrt{ab}\over 2}\leq \sqrt{a\left({a+b\over 2}\right)}.$

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    no problem. we all make mistakes!2012-06-26