English

On Additive Representations of Integers by Binomial Coefficients

Combinatorics 2026-04-29 v1

Abstract

For a fixed integer k0k \ge 0, consider representations of positive integers as sums of binomial coefficients of the form (nk)\binom{n}{k}. While exact minimal bounds for the number of required summands are known only in a few low-dimensional cases, general existence results have received less explicit treatment. This paper provides: \bullet explicit elementary proofs for the cases (k=2k=2) and (k=3k=3), \bullet a comparison with classical polygonal number theory, \bullet an explanation of why naive counting arguments fail for general (kk), \bullet conditional and unconditional existence results for general (kk), \bullet and a discussion of quantitative bounds and computational evidence. Together these give a unified and transparent framework for understanding additive representations by binomial coefficients.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.24828,
  title  = {On Additive Representations of Integers by Binomial Coefficients},
  author = {Alexander Povolotsky},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.24828},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T12:37:52.370Z