Related papers: A note on the largest sum-free sets of integers

$S \subseteq \mathbb{Z}_{2n}$ is said to be sum-free if $S$ has no solution to the equation $a+b=c$. The sum-free process on $\mathbb{Z}_{2n}$ starts with $S:=\emptyset$, and iteratively inserts elements of $\mathbb{Z}_{2n}$, where each…

Erd\H{o}s showed that every set of $n$ positive integers contains a subset of size at least $n/(k+1)$ containing no solutions to $x_1 + \cdots + x_k = y$. We prove that the constant $1/(k+1)$ here is best possible by showing that if $(F_m)$…

Let $A$ be a subset of a finite field $\mathbb{F}$. When $\mathbb{F}$ has prime order, we show that there is an absolute constant $c > 0$ such that, if $A$ is both sum-free and equal to the set of its multiplicative inverses, then $|A| <…

There exists a set $A$ of positive integers such that the number of representations of a large positive integer $m$ as a sum of two elements of $A$ grows with a lower bound of order $\log m$, but for which there is no subset $D$ of $A$…

We present a variety of new results on finite sets A of integers for which the sumset A+A is larger than the difference set A-A, so-called MSTD (more sums than differences) sets. First we show that there is, up to affine transformation, a…

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…

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…

In this paper we rectify two previous results found in the literature. Our work leads to a new upper bound for the largest sum-free subset of $[1,n]$ with lowest value in $\left [\frac{n}{3},\frac{n}{2}\right ]$, and the identification of…

For a set $A \subset \mathbb{N}$ we characterize in terms of its density when there exists an infinite set $B \subset \mathbb{N}$ and $t \in \{0,1\}$ such that $B+B \subset A-t$, where $B+B : =\{b_1+b_2\colon b_1,b_2 \in B\}$. Specifically,…

Motivated by questions asked by Erdos, we prove that any set $A\subset{\mathbb N}$ with positive upper density contains, for any $k\in{\mathbb N}$, a sumset $B_1+\cdots+B_k$, where $B_1,\dots,B_k\subset{\mathbb N}$ are infinite. Our proof…

The sumset is one of the most basic and central objects in additive number theory. Many of the most important problems (such as Goldbach's conjecture and Fermat's Last theorem) can be formulated in terms of the sumset $S + S = \{x+y :…

For $p$ being a large prime number, and $A \subset \mathbb{F}_p$ we prove the following: $(i)$ If $A(A+A)$ does not cover all nonzero residues in $\mathbb{F}_p$, then $|A| < p/8 + o(p)$. $(ii)$ If $A$ is both sum-free and satisfies $A =…

A conjecture of Freiman gives an exact formula for the largest volume of a finite set $A$ of integers with given cardinality $k = |A|$ and doubling $T = |2A|$. The formula is known to hold when $T \le 3k-4$, for some small range over $3k-4$…

A recent conjecture by C. Carlet on the sum-freedom of the binary multiplicative inverse function can be stated as follows: For each pair of positive integers $(n,k)$ with $3\le k\le n-3$, there is a $k$-dimensional $\Bbb F_2$-subspace $E$…

We discuss several questions concerning sum-free sets in groups, raised by Erd\H{o}s in his survey "Extremal problems in number theory" (Proceedings of the Symp. Pure Math. VIII AMS) published in 1965. Among other things, we give a…

Sumsets are central objects in additive combinatorics. In 2007, Granville asked whether one can efficiently recognize whether a given set $S$ is a sumset, i.e. whether there is a set $A$ such that $A+A=S$. Granville suggested an algorithm…

We investigate additive properties of sets $A,$ where $A=\{a_1,a_2,\ldots ,a_k\}$ is a monotone increasing set of real numbers, and the differences of consecutive elements are all distinct. It is known that $|A+B|\geq c|A||B|^{1/2}$ for any…

A finite set of integers $A$ is a sum-dominant (also called an More Sums Than Differences or MSTD) set if $|A+A| > |A-A|$. While almost all subsets of $\{0, \dots, n\}$ are not sum-dominant, interestingly a small positive percentage are. We…

We consider the possible sizes of large sumfree sets contained in the discrete hypercube $\{1,...,n\}^k$, and we determine upper and lower bounds for the maximal size as $n$ becomes large. We also discuss a continuous analogue in which our…

We prove new lower bounds on the maximum size of sets $A\subseteq \mathbb{F}_p^n$ or $A\subseteq \mathbb{Z}_m^n$ not containing three-term arithmetic progressions (consisting of three distinct points). More specifically, we prove that for…