TITLE: If $x$ and $y$ are rational numbers and $x^5+y^5=2x^2y^2,$ then $1-xy$ is a perfect square. 
QUESTION [15 upvotes]: Prove that if $x, y$ are rational numbers and
$$ x^5 +y^5 = 2x^2y^2$$
then $1-xy$ is a perfect square.

REPLY [4 votes]: Here is a proof I really like: 
Using "polar coordinates", we have $x=r \cos\theta$ and $y=r\sin\theta$, where $r\geq 0$ and $\theta\in [0,2\pi)$. If $xy=0$, then $1-xy=1$ which is clearly a perfect square of a rational number. Therefore, we assume that $xy\neq 0$, which implies that $x^5 +y^5\neq 0$ thanks to  $x^5 +y^5 = 2x^2y^2$. In particular, we have $r>0$ and $\cos^5\theta+\sin^5\theta\neq 0$. Therefore, from the equation $x^5 +y^5 = 2x^2y^2$, we get
$$r=\frac{2\cos^2\theta \sin^2\theta}{\cos^5 \theta+\sin^5\theta}.$$
Hence
$$1-xy=1-r^2\cos\theta\sin\theta=1-\left(\frac{2\cos^2\theta\sin^2\theta}{\cos^5\theta+\sin^5\theta}\right)^2\cos\theta\sin\theta=1-\frac{4\cos^5\theta\sin^5\theta}{(\cos^5\theta+\sin^5\theta)^2}=\frac{(\cos^5\theta-\sin^5\theta)^2}{(\cos^5\theta+\sin^5\theta)^2}=\left(\frac{\cos^5\theta-\sin^5\theta}{\cos^5\theta+\sin^5\theta}\right)^2
=\left(\frac{(r\cos\theta)^5-(r\sin\theta)^5}{(r\cos\theta)^5+(r\sin\theta)^5}\right)^2=\left(\frac{x^5-y^5}{x^5+y^5}\right)^2$$
which is a perfect square of a rational number, since $x$ and $y$ are rational by assumption.