Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / Taiwan IMO Selection Camp /283 of 359

Taiwan IMO Selection Camp, 2021

Combinatorics Difficulty 6.7 National Olympiad Prove it Taiwan

The Fibonacci numbers F0,F1,F2,…F_0, F_1, F_2, \dots are defined inductively by F0=0,F1=1F_0 = 0, F_1 = 1, and Fn+1=Fn+Fn−1F_{n+1} = F_n + F_{n-1} for n≥1n \ge 1. Given n≥2n \ge 2, determine the smallest size of a set SS of integers such that for every k=2,3,…,nk = 2, 3, \dots, n there exist some x,y∈Sx, y \in S such that x−y=Fkx - y = F_k.

Solution

The lower bound is ∣S∣≥d+1|S| \ge d+1, where dd is the smallest integer greater than or equal to n2\frac{n}{2}.

1. Estimation: Let us construct a graph GG using the elements of SS as vertices, with edges drawn as follows: for each 1≤k≤d1 \le k \le d, find a pair x,y∈Sx, y \in S satisfying ∣x−y∣=F2k−1|x - y| = F_{2k-1}, and draw an edge between xx and yy; if there is more than one pair (x,y)(x, y) satisfying ∣x−y∣=F2k−1|x - y| = F_{2k-1}, take only one such pair to draw the edge. At the same time, define the length of the edge (x,y)(x, y) to be ∣x−y∣|x - y|.

We now prove that GG contains no cycle. Suppose GG has a cycle (x1,x2,…,xℓ)(x_1, x_2, \dots, x_\ell), and without loss of generality assume that the longest edge in this cycle is ∣x1−xℓ∣=F2m+1|x_1 - x_\ell| = F_{2m+1}. Note that the lengths of the other edges in this cycle belong to {F1,F3,…,F2m−1}\{F_1, F_3, \dots, F_{2m-1}\} and are all distinct. But this implies
F2m+1=∣xℓ−x1∣≤∑i=1ℓ−1∣xi+1−xi∣=F1+F3+⋯+F2m−1=F2+(F4−F2)+⋯+(F2m−F2m−2)=F2m<F2m+1, \begin{aligned} F_{2m+1} &= |x_{\ell} - x_{1}| \le \sum_{i=1}^{\ell-1} |x_{i+1} - x_{i}| \\ &= F_1 + F_3 + \dots + F_{2m-1} \\ &= F_2 + (F_4 - F_2) + \dots + (F_{2m} - F_{2m-2}) = F_{2m} < F_{2m+1}, \end{aligned}
which is a contradiction! Therefore, GG has at least dd edges and contains no cycle, so GG must have at least d+1d+1 vertices, that is, ∣S∣≥d+1|S| \ge d+1.

2. Construction: Consider S={F0,F2,…,F2d}S = \{F_0, F_2, \dots, F_{2d}\}, then we have F2k−F2k−2=F2k−1F_{2k} - F_{2k-2} = F_{2k-1} and F2k−F0=F2kF_{2k} - F_0 = F_{2k}.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,604 problems in a working order, from Junior Challenge level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from zh; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.