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Combinatorics Difficulty 7.7 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it China

Given an integer n2n \ge 2. Suppose A1,A2,,AnA_1, A_2, \dots, A_n are nn nonempty finite sets satisfying: AiΔAj=ij|A_i \Delta A_j| = |i-j| for all i,j{1,2,,n}i, j \in \{1, 2, \dots, n\}.
Find the minimum value of A1+A2++An|A_1| + |A_2| + \dots + |A_n|. (Here X|X| denotes the number of elements of a finite set XX and XΔY={aaX,aY}{aaY,aX}X \Delta Y = \{a \mid a \in X, a \notin Y\} \cup \{a \mid a \in Y, a \notin X\} for any sets XX and YY.)

Solution

For each positive integer kk, we prove that the minimum value of S2kS_{2k} is k2+2k^2 + 2; the minimum value of S2k+1S_{2k+1} is k(k+1)+2k(k+1)+2.
Firstly, define the sets A1,A2,,A2k,A2k+1A_1, A_2, \dots, A_{2k}, A_{2k+1} as follows:
Ai={i,i+1,,k},i=1,2,,k;Ak+1={k,k+1}; A_i = \{i, i+1, \dots, k\}, \quad i = 1, 2, \dots, k; \quad A_{k+1} = \{k, k+1\};
Ak+j={k+1,k+2,,k+j1},j=2,3,,k+1. A_{k+j} = \{k+1, k+2, \dots, k+j-1\}, \quad j = 2, 3, \dots, k+1.

For this family of sets, it is easy to verify that
AiΔAj=ji=ij|A_i \Delta A_j| = j - i = |i - j| holds in the following cases:
(1) 1i<jk1 \le i < j \le k;
(2) 1i<j=k+11 \le i < j = k+1;
(3) 1i<k+1<j2k+11 \le i < k+1 < j \le 2k+1;
(4) k+1=i<j2k+1k+1 = i < j \le 2k+1;
(5) k+2i<j2k+1k+2 \le i < j \le 2k+1.
Moreover, the case of i=ji=j is trivial, and the case of i>ji>j can be reduced to the case of i<ji<j. Thus for all i,j{1,2,,2k+1}i, j \in \{1, 2, \dots, 2k+1\}, we have verified that
AiΔAj=ji=ij. |A_i \Delta A_j| = j - i = |i - j|.
For the above (2k+1)(2k+1) sets, we can easily calculate that
S2k+1=k(k+1)2+2+k(k+1)2=k(k+1)+2; S_{2k+1} = \frac{k(k+1)}{2} + 2 + \frac{k(k+1)}{2} = k(k+1) + 2;
if we choose the first 2k2k sets, we get that
S2k=S2k+1k=k2+2. S_{2k} = S_{2k+1} - k = k^2 + 2.

Secondly, we show that S2kk2+2S_{2k} \ge k^2 + 2 and S2k+1k(k+1)+2S_{2k+1} \ge k(k+1)+2. Note the following facts:
Fact 1: for any two finite sets X,YX, Y, we have
X+YXΔY.|X| + |Y| \ge |X \Delta Y|.
Fact 2: for any two nonempty finite sets X,YX, Y, if XΔY=1|X \Delta Y| = 1, then X+Y3|X| + |Y| \ge 3.
When n=2kn=2k, it follows from Fact 1 that
Ai+A2k+1iAiΔA2k+1i=2k+12i,i=1,2,,k1. |A_i| + |A_{2k+1-i}| \ge |A_i \Delta A_{2k+1-i}| = 2k+1-2i, \quad i=1, 2, \dots, k-1.
By AkΔAk+1=1|A_k \Delta A_{k+1}| = 1 and Fact 2, we have Ak+Ak+13|A_k| + |A_{k+1}| \ge 3. So
S2k=Ak+Ak+1+i=1k1(Ai+A2k+1i)3+i=1k1(2k+12i)=k2+2. S_{2k} = |A_k| + |A_{k+1}| + \sum_{i=1}^{k-1} (|A_i| + |A_{2k+1-i}|) \ge 3 + \sum_{i=1}^{k-1} (2k+1-2i) = k^2 + 2.
Similarly, when n=2k+1n=2k+1, we get that
Ai+A2k+2iAiΔA2k+2i=2k+22i,i=1,2,,k1. |A_i| + |A_{2k+2-i}| \ge |A_i \Delta A_{2k+2-i}| = 2k+2-2i, \quad i=1, 2, \dots, k-1.
Since AkΔAk+1=1|A_k \Delta A_{k+1}| = 1, we have
(Ak+Ak+1)+Ak+23+1=4, (|A_k| + |A_{k+1}|) + |A_{k+2}| \geq 3 + 1 = 4,
SO
S2k+1=Ak+Ak+1+Ak+2+i=1k1(Ai+A2k+2i) S_{2k+1} = |A_k| + |A_{k+1}| + |A_{k+2}| + \sum_{i=1}^{k-1} (|A_i| + |A_{2k+2-i}|)
4+i=1k1(2k+22i)=k(k+1)+2. \geq 4 + \sum_{i=1}^{k-1} (2k + 2 - 2i) = k(k+1) + 2.
In conclusion, the minimum value of S2kS_{2k} is k2+2k^2 + 2, the minimum value of S2k+1S_{2k+1} is k(k+1)+2k(k+1) + 2. Equivalently, for any n2n \geq 2, the minimum value of SnS_n is n24+2\left\lfloor \frac{n^2}{4} \right\rfloor + 2.

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