English

Venn diagrams as forbidden hypergraph traces

Combinatorics 2026-07-19 v1

Abstract

We study the maximum size of a set system that contains no kk-Venn diagram, denoted by VDkVD_k, as a trace. For every fixed k3k\ge 3, we prove extr(n,VDk)=Ok(n2k2k+1)\text{ex}_{tr}(n,VD_k)=O_k(n^{2^k-2k+1}), improving the direct Sauer-Shelah bound Ok(n2k1)O_k(n^{2^k-1}). In particular, for k=4k=4 the exponent decreases from 1515 to 99. The proof starts from the theorem of Keevash, Leader, Long and Wagner for VD3VD_3 and uses induction on kk in which two new Venn regions are forced for free at each added edge. We also record lower-bound constructions for Venn diagrams in fixed uniformity, explicit bounds for the 44-uniform 33-Venn problem, and a fixed uniformity trace result for the loose triangle.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.17355,
  title  = {Venn diagrams as forbidden hypergraph traces},
  author = {Adam Džavoronok and Tymofii Reizin and Jakub Šošovička},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.17355},
  year   = {2026}
}