Dr Timothy Corbett‑Clark

CTO, Researcher, Developer

Problem 2

Given x^5=1 and x \neq 1, find

a = \left( {1 \over x^2+x+1} + {1 \over x^2-x+1} \right)^5

I posted an answer on Twitter/X, here.

Solution here, which also discusses generalising to other roots of unity (i.e. x^n=1, x \neq 1).