Related papers: Solving $a\pm b=2c$ in the elements of finite sets
For a set $A$, let $P(A)$ be the set of all finite subset sums of $A$. In this paper, for a sequence of integers $B=\{1<b_1<b_2<\cdots\}$ and $3b_1+5\leq b_2\leq 6b_1+10$, we determine the critical value for $b_3$ such that there exists an…
Let $A, B\subseteq \mathbb{R}^2$ be finite, nonempty subsets, let $s\geq 2$ be an integer, and let $h_1(A,B)$ denote the minimal number $t$ such that there exist $2t$ (not necessarily distinct) parallel lines,…
For relatively prime integers $a$ and $b$ both greater than one and odd integer $c$, there are at most two solutions in positive integers $(x,y,z)$ to the equation $a^x + b^y = c^z$. There are an infinite number of $(a,b,c)$ giving exactly…
Let $A$ be a set of natural numbers. A set $B$, a set of natural numbers, is said to be an additive complement of the set $A$ if all sufficiently large natural numbers can be represented in the form $x+y$, where $x\in A$ and $y\in B$. This…
In this note we investigate the problem of finding pairs of Pythagorean triangles $(a, b, c), (A, B, C)$, with given catheti ratios $A/a, B/b$. In particular, we prove that there are infinitely many essentially different ("non-similar")…
We obtain an essentially optimal estimate for the moment of order 32/3 of the exponential sum having argument $\alpha x^3+\beta x^2$. Subject to modest local solubility hypotheses, we thereby establish that pairs of diagonal Diophantine…
Using ultrafilter techniques we show that in any partition of $\mathbb{N}$ into 2 cells there is one cell containing infinitely many exponential triples, i.e. triples of the kind $a,b,a^b$ (with $a,b>1$). Also, we will show that any…
We show that for a subset $A$ of the cyclic group of prime order $p>3$, if the sumset $A+A-2A$ is not the whole group, then $|A|\le \frac27\,p$. Besides combinatorial arguments, we utilize a general technique involving linear programming.
Fix a positive real number $\theta$. The natural numbers $m$ with largest square-free divisor not exceeding $m^\theta$ form a set $\mathscr{A}$, say. It is shown that whenever $\theta>1/2$ then all large natural numbers $n$ are the sum of…
We study the number of $s$-element subsets $J$ of a given abelian group $G$, such that $|J+J|\leq K|J|$. Proving a conjecture of Alon, Balogh, Morris and Samotij, and improving a result of Green and Morris, who proved the conjecture for $K$…
We prove that a nonsymmetric normal entry pattern of order $n$ ($n\ge 3$) has at most $n(n-3)/2+3$ distinct indeterminates and up to permutation similarity this number is attained by a unique pattern which is explicitly described.
Let A be a subset of an abelian group G. We say that A is sum-free if there do not exist x,y and z in A satisfying x + y = z. We determine, for any G, the cardinality of the largest sum-free subset of G. This equals c(G)|G| where c(G) is a…
Let $F$ be a group whose abelianization is $\Z^k$, $k\geq 2.$ An element of $F$ is called visible if its image in the abelianization is visible, that is, the greatest common divisor of its coordinates is 1. In this paper we compute three…
We show that the maximum number of triples on $n$~points, if no three triples span at most five points, is $(1\pm o(1))n^2/5$. More generally, let $f^{(r)}(n;k,s)$ be the maximum number of edges of an $r$-uniform hypergraph on $n$~vertices…
Let ${\rm rad}(n)$ denote the product of distinct prime factors of an integer $n\geq 1$. The celebrated $abc$ conjecture asks whether every solution to the equation $a+b=c$ in triples of coprime integers $(a,b,c)$ must satisfy ${\rm…
We consider cubic forms $\phi_{a,b}(x,y,z) = ax^3 + by^3 - z^3$ with coefficients $a,b \in \mathbb{Z}$. We give an asymptotic formula for how many of these forms are locally soluble everywhere, i.e. we give an asymptotic formula for the…
Denoting by Sigma(S) the set of subset sums of a subset S of a finite abelian group G, we prove that |Sigma(S)| >= |S|(|S|+2)/4-1 whenever S is symmetric, |G| is odd and Sigma(S) is aperiodic. Up to an additive constant of 2 this result is…
Let $T: A\to B$ be a (not necessarily surjective) linear isometry between two real JB$^*$-triples. Then for each $a\in A$ there exists a tripotent $u_a$ in the bidual, $B'',$ of $B$ such that \begin{enumerate}[$(a)$] \item…
Let $(\mathcal{P},\leqslant)$ be a finite poset. Define the numbers $a_1,a_2,\ldots$ (respectively, $c_1,c_2,\ldots$) so that $a_1+\ldots+a_k$ (respectively, $c_1+\ldots+c_k$) is the maximal number of elements of $\mathcal{P}$ which may be…
Let $A$ be a finite set of integers. We show that if $k$ is a prime power or a product of two distinct primes then $$|A+k\cdot A|\geq(k+1)|A|-\lceil k(k+2)/4\rceil$$ provided $|A|\geq (k-1)^{2}k!$, where $A+k\cdot A=\{a+kb:\ a,b\in A\}$. We…