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Number theory Difficulty 8.2 Shortlist Prove it United States

Let a1,a2,a_1, a_2, \dots be a sequence of integers with infinitely many positive and infinitely many negative terms. Suppose that for each positive integer nn, the numbers a1,a2,,ana_1, a_2, \dots, a_n leave distinct remainders upon division by nn. Prove that every integer occurs exactly once in the sequence.

Solution

The conditions of the problem can be reformulated by saying that for every positive integer nn, the numbers a1,a2,,ana_1, a_2, \dots, a_n form a complete set of residues modulo nn. We proceed our proof as the following.

(1) First, we claim that the sequence consists of distinct integers; that is, if 1i<j1 \le i < j, then aiaja_i \ne a_j. Otherwise the set {a1,a2,,aj}\{a_1, a_2, \dots, a_j\} would contain at most j1j-1 distinct residues modulo jj, violating our new formulation of the conditions of the problem.

(2) Second, we show that numbers in the sequence are fairly close to each other. More precisely, we claim that if 1i<jn1 \le i < j \le n, then aiajn1|a_i - a_j| \le n - 1. For if m=aiajnm = |a_i - a_j| \ge n, then the set {a1,a2,,am}\{a_1, a_2, \dots, a_m\} would contain two numbers congruent modulo mm, violating our new formulation of the conditions of the problem.

(3) Third, we show that the set {a1,a2,,an}\{a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n\} contains a block of consecutive numbers. Indeed, for every positive integer nn, let ini_n and jnj_n be the indices such that aina_{i_n} and ajna_{j_n} are respectively the smallest and the largest number among a1,a2,,ana_1, a_2, \dots, a_n. By (2), we conclude that ajnain=ajnainn1a_{j_n} - a_{i_n} = |a_{j_n} - a_{i_n}| \le n - 1. By (1), we conclude that {a1,a2,,an}\{a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n\} consists of all integers between aina_{i_n} and ajna_{j_n} (inclusive).

(4) Finally, we show that every integer appears in the sequence. Let xx be an arbitrary integer. Because ak<0a_k < 0 for infinitely many indices kk and the terms of the sequence are distinct, it follows that there exists ii such that ai<xa_i < x. Likewise, there exists jj such that x<ajx < a_j. Let nn be an integer with nmax{i,j}n \ge \max\{i, j\}. By (3), we conclude that every number between aia_i and aja_j, including xx in particular, is in {a1,a2,,an}\{a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n\}. Our proof is thus complete.

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