English

On product representations of squares

Number Theory 2024-10-25 v3

Abstract

Fix k2k \geq 2. For any N1N \geq 1, let Fk(N)F_k(N) denote the cardinality of the largest subset of {1,,N}\{1,\dots,N\} that does not contain kk distinct elements whose product is a square. Erd\H{o}s, S\'ark\H{o}zy, and S\'os showed that F2(N)=(6π2+o(1))NF_2(N) = (\frac{6}{\pi^2}+o(1)) N, F3(N)=(1o(1))NF_3(N) = (1-o(1))N, Fk(N)N/logNF_k(N) \asymp N/\log N for even k4k \geq 4, and Fk(N)NF_k(N) \asymp N for odd k5k \geq 5. Erd\H{o}s then asked whether Fk(N)=(1o(1))NF_k(N) = (1-o(1)) N for odd k5k \geq 5. Using a probabilistic argument, we answer this question in the negative.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2405.11610,
  title  = {On product representations of squares},
  author = {Terence Tao},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.11610},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

13 pages, one figure. This is the final version, incorporating referee comments (and slightly more numerical data)