The structure of critical sets for F_p arithmetic progressions
Combinatorics
2008-02-19 v3 Number Theory
Abstract
Fix a prime p and a density 0 < d <= 1. Among all functions f : F_p -> [0,1], what can one say about those which assign minimal weight to three-term arithmetic progressions -- that is, the sum of f(a)f(a+x)f(a+2x) is minimal as we sum over all a and x -- subject to the density constraint that the expected value of f equals d? In the present paper we show three things about them: 1) Such f are nearly indicator functions; 2) They enjoy a certain ``local minimal'' property; and, 3) They are approximately indicator functions for certain sumsets A+B.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0712.1611,
title = {The structure of critical sets for F_p arithmetic progressions},
author = {Ernie Croot},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0712.1611},
year = {2008}
}
Comments
Light corrections, some more commentary in a few places. 20 pages