English

Optimal bounds for an Erd\H{o}s problem on matching integers to distinct multiples

Combinatorics 2026-03-31 v1 Number Theory

Abstract

Let f(m)f(m) be the largest integer such that for every set A={a1<<am}A = \{a_1 < \cdots < a_m\} of mm positive integers and every open interval II of length 2am2a_m, there exist at least f(m)f(m) disjoint pairs (a,b)(a, b) with aAa \in A dividing bIb \in I. Solving a problem of Erd\H{o}s, we determine f(m)f(m) exactly, and show f(m)=min(m,2m) f(m)=\min\bigl(m,\lceil 2\sqrt{m}\,\rceil\bigr) for all mm. The proof was obtained through an AI-assisted workflow: the proof strategy was first proposed by ChatGPT, and the detailed argument was subsequently made fully rigorous and formally verified in Lean by Aristotle. The exposition and final proofs presented here are entirely human-written. [This paper solves Problem #650 on Bloom's website "Erd\H{o}s problems".]

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2603.28636,
  title  = {Optimal bounds for an Erd\H{o}s problem on matching integers to distinct multiples},
  author = {Wouter van Doorn and Yanyang Li and Quanyu Tang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.28636},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

8 pages. Comments and suggestions are welcome