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Combinatorics Difficulty 6.2 National olympiad Prove it China

A non-empty set A{1,2,3,,n}A \subseteq \{1, 2, 3, \dots, n\} is called a good set of degree nn if AminxAx|A| \le \min_{x \in A} x. Denote by ana_n the number of good sets of degree nn. Prove that an+2=an+1+an+1a_{n+2} = a_{n+1} + a_n + 1 for any positive integer nn. (posed by Li Weigu)

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

Let AA be a good set of degree nn, and A=k|A| = k, then minxAxk\min_{x \in A} x \ge k, so A{k,k+1,,n}A \subseteq \{k, k+1, \dots, n\}. Hence the number of good sets of degree nn with kk elements is Cnk+1kC_{n-k+1}^k. It follows that an=k=1n+12Cnk+1k=Cn1+Cn12+Cn23+a_n = \sum_{k=1}^{\lfloor \frac{n+1}{2} \rfloor} C_{n-k+1}^k = C_n^1 + C_{n-1}^2 + C_{n-2}^3 + \dots.

If nn is even, n=2mn = 2m, then
a2m+2=C2m+21+C2m+12++Cm+2m+1=(C2m+11+C2m+10)+(C2m2+C2m1)++(Cm+1m+1+Cm+1m)=(C2m+11+C2m2++Cm+1m+1)+(C2m1+C2m12++Cm+1m)+C2m+10=a2m+1+a2m+1. \begin{align*} a_{2m+2} &= C_{2m+2}^1 + C_{2m+1}^2 + \dots + C_{m+2}^{m+1} \\ &= (C_{2m+1}^1 + C_{2m+1}^0) + (C_{2m}^2 + C_{2m}^1) + \dots + (C_{m+1}^{m+1} + C_{m+1}^m) \\ &= (C_{2m+1}^1 + C_{2m}^2 + \dots + C_{m+1}^{m+1}) + (C_{2m}^1 + C_{2m-1}^2 + \dots \\ &\qquad\qquad + C_{m+1}^m) + C_{2m+1}^0 \\ &= a_{2m+1} + a_{2m} + 1. \end{align*}

If nn is odd, n=2m1n = 2m - 1, then
a2m+1=C2m+11+C2m2++Cm+2m+Cm+1m+1=(C2m1+C2m0)+(C2m12+C2m11)++(Cm+1m+Cm+1m1)+Cmm=(C2m1+C2m12++Cm+1m)+(C2m11+C2m22++Cm+1m1+Cmm)+C2m0=a2m+a2m1+1. \begin{align*} a_{2m+1} &= C_{2m+1}^1 + C_{2m}^2 + \dots + C_{m+2}^m + C_{m+1}^{m+1} \\ &= (C_{2m}^1 + C_{2m}^0) + (C_{2m-1}^2 + C_{2m-1}^1) + \dots + (C_{m+1}^m + C_{m+1}^{m-1}) + C_m^m \\ &= (C_{2m}^1 + C_{2m-1}^2 + \dots + C_{m+1}^m) + (C_{2m-1}^1 + C_{2m-2}^2 + \dots \\ &\qquad + C_{m+1}^{m-1} + C_m^m) + C_{2m}^0 \\ &= a_{2m} + a_{2m-1} + 1. \end{align*}

In summary, the equality an+2=an+1+an+1a_{n+2} = a_{n+1} + a_n + 1 holds for all positive integers $n.

Solution 2

If n=1n=1, there is only one good set of degree 11, namely {1}\{1\}, so a1=1a_1 = 1.
If n=2n=2, then there are only two good sets of degree 22: {1},{2}\{1\}, \{2\}, so a2=2a_2 = 2.
Recall that an,an+1a_n, a_{n+1} are the numbers of the non-empty good subsets AA of {1,2,,n}\{1, 2, \dots, n\} and {1,2,,n+1}\{1, 2, \dots, n+1\}, respectively, satisfying AminxAx|A| \le \min_{x \in A} x.

Consider the case n+2n + 2: For any non-empty good set AA of degree n+2n + 2, AA is a subset of {1,2,,n+2}\{1, 2, \dots, n + 2\}, then we have the following three cases:

a. AA does not contain the element n+2n + 2;
b. AA contains n+2n + 2, and has at least 22 elements;
c. A={n+2}A = \{n + 2\}.

In the following, we focus on the number of good sets of types (a) and (b). For any good set AA in (a), it follows from AminxAx|A| \le \min_{x \in A} x and maxxAxn+1\max_{x \in A} x \le n + 1 that AA is a good set of degree n+1n + 1. Conversely, any good set of degree n+1n + 1 is also a good set of degree n+2n + 2, therefore, there are exactly an+1a_{n+1} good sets of type (a).

For any good set A={a1,a2,,ak,n+2}A = \{a_1, a_2, \dots, a_k, n+2\} of degree n+2n+2 of type (b), where a1<a2<<ak<n+2a_1 < a_2 < \dots < a_k < n+2. As a1=minxAxA2a_1 = \min_{x \in A} x \ge |A| \ge 2, one can consider the non-empty set A={a11,a21,,ak1}A' = \{a_1 - 1, a_2 - 1, \dots, a_k - 1\}, where 1a11<a21<<ak1<n+11 \le a_1 - 1 < a_2 - 1 < \dots < a_k - 1 < n+1, and AA' satisfies A=A1a11=minxAx|A'| = |A| - 1 \le a_1 - 1 = \min_{x \in A'} x, hence AA' is a good set of degree nn. Conversely, any good set of degree nn can be represented in the form A={a11,a21,,ak1}A' = \{a_1 - 1, a_2 - 1, \dots, a_k - 1\}, where A={a1,a2,,ak,n+2}A = \{a_1, a_2, \dots, a_k, n+2\} is a good set of degree n+2n+2 of type (b), so the correspondence is one-to-one between AA and AA', and there are exactly ana_n good sets of degree n+2n+2 of type (b).

According to the discussion on the number of good sets of types (a), (b) and (c), we have an+2=an+1+an+1a_{n+2} = a_{n+1} + a_n + 1. \square

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