English

On generalizing the Van der Waerden theorem to some symmetric functions

Number Theory 2025-11-12 v2 Combinatorics

Abstract

Let n,mn,m be positive integers and cZnc \in \mathbb{Z}_n, where Zn\mathbb{Z}_n is the ring of integers modulo nn. We almost complete providing the answer to the following problem, partially solved by N. Alon. Does any infinite sequence over Zn\mathbb{Z}_n contain mm same-length consecutive blocks B1,,BmB_1, \ldots, B_m s.t. Bj+cBj=0\sum B_j + c \prod B_j = 0 for every j=1,,mj=1,\ldots,m (where B\sum B and B\prod B denote, respectively, the sum and the product of the elements in block BB)? In the case of c=0c=0, this problem is equivalent to the Van der Waerden theorem. After investigating BB+cBB \mapsto \sum B + c\prod B, we provide other examples of generalizing the Van der Waerden theorem.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2502.07921,
  title  = {On generalizing the Van der Waerden theorem to some symmetric functions},
  author = {Arie Bialostocki and Vladyslav Oles},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.07921},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T21:40:49.938Z