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arxiv: 1011.4495 · v2 · pith:7AXPXE7Lnew · submitted 2010-11-19 · 🧮 math.NT · math.CO

(k+1)-sums versus k-sums

classification 🧮 math.NT math.CO
keywords sumswedgefracnumberratioaboveanswersattained
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A $k$-sum of a set $A\subseteq \mathbb{Z}$ is an integer that may be expressed as a sum of $k$ distinct elements of $A$. How large can the ratio of the number of $(k+1)$-sums to the number of $k$-sums be? Writing $k\wedge A$ for the set of $k$-sums of $A$ we prove that \[ \frac{|(k+1)\wedge A|}{|k\wedge A|}\, \le \, \frac{|A|-k}{k+1} \] whenever $|A|\ge (k^{2}+7k)/2$. The inequality is tight -- the above ratio being attained when $A$ is a geometric progression. This answers a question of Ruzsa.

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