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Combinatorics Difficulty 6.8 National olympiad Prove it Greece

The sequence α0,α1,α2,,αν,\alpha_0, \alpha_1, \alpha_2, \ldots, \alpha_\nu, \ldots, νN\nu \in \mathbb{N}, with integer terms, not necessarily different, has the following properties:

(α) 0αii0 \le \alpha_i \le i, for every integer i0i \ge 0,

(β) (κα0)+(κα1)++(κακ)=2κ\binom{\kappa}{\alpha_0} + \binom{\kappa}{\alpha_1} + \dots + \binom{\kappa}{\alpha_\kappa} = 2^\kappa, for every integer κ0\kappa \ge 0.

Prove that for every integer n0n \ge 0, there exists i0i \ge 0 such that αi=n\alpha_i = n.

Solution

We will prove using induction with respect to κ\kappa that every initial part α0,α1,α2,,ακ\alpha_0, \alpha_1, \alpha_2, \ldots, \alpha_\kappa of the sequence consists of the following integers (not necessarily with the turn of the terms of the sequence)
0,1,,1,0,1,,κ0, 1, \ldots, \ell-1, 0, 1, \ldots, \kappa-\ell, for some 0\ell \ge 0 with 2κ+12\ell \le \kappa+1.

For κ=0\kappa = 0, α0=0\alpha_0 = 0 holds. Suppose that for κ=ν\kappa = \nu the terms α0,α1,α2,,αν\alpha_0, \alpha_1, \alpha_2, \ldots, \alpha_\nu are of the form
0,0,1,1,2,2,,1,1,,+1,,ν1,ν0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, \ldots, \ell-1, \ell-1, \ell, \ell+1, \ldots, \nu-\ell-1, \nu-\ell for some \ell with 02κ+10 \le 2\ell \le \kappa+1.

Then, for κ=ν+1\kappa = \nu + 1, we have from (β) that:
(ν+1α0)+(ν+1α1)++(ν+1αν)+(ν+1αν+1)=2ν+1{(ν+10)+(ν+11)++(ν+11)}+{(ν+10)+(ν+11)++(ν+1ν)}+(ν+1αν+1)=2ν+1{(ν+10)+(ν+11)++(ν+11)}+{(ν+1ν+1)+(ν+1ν)++(ν+1+1)}+(ν+1αν+1)=2ν+1.(1) \begin{gather*} \binom{\nu+1}{\alpha_0} + \binom{\nu+1}{\alpha_1} + \cdots + \binom{\nu+1}{\alpha_\nu} + \binom{\nu+1}{\alpha_{\nu+1}} = 2^{\nu+1} \Leftrightarrow \\ \left\{ \binom{\nu+1}{0} + \binom{\nu+1}{1} + \cdots + \binom{\nu+1}{\ell-1} \right\} + \left\{ \binom{\nu+1}{0} + \binom{\nu+1}{1} + \cdots + \binom{\nu+1}{\nu-\ell} \right\} + \binom{\nu+1}{\alpha_{\nu+1}} = 2^{\nu+1} \Leftrightarrow \\ \left\{ \binom{\nu+1}{0} + \binom{\nu+1}{1} + \cdots + \binom{\nu+1}{\ell-1} \right\} + \left\{ \binom{\nu+1}{\nu+1} + \binom{\nu+1}{\nu} + \cdots + \binom{\nu+1}{\ell+1} \right\} + \binom{\nu+1}{\alpha_{\nu+1}} = 2^{\nu+1}. \quad (1) \end{gather*}
Moreover, we have:
(ν+10)+(ν+11)++(ν+1ν+1)=2ν+1.(2) \binom{\nu+1}{0} + \binom{\nu+1}{1} + \cdots + \binom{\nu+1}{\nu+1} = 2^{\nu+1}. \quad (2)
From relations (1) and (2) it follows that:
(ν+1αν+1)=(ν+1).(3) \binom{\nu+1}{\alpha_{\nu+1}} = \binom{\nu+1}{\ell}. \quad (3)
From relation (3), by using that the binomial coefficients (ν+1i)\binom{\nu+1}{i} are increasing when the variable iν+12i \le \frac{\nu+1}{2} increases and they are decreasing when the variable iν+12i \ge \frac{\nu+1}{2} increases, we conclude that αν+1=\alpha_{\nu+1} = \ell or αν+1=ν+1\alpha_{\nu+1} = \nu+1-\ell. In both cases the initial part α0,α1,α2,,αν+1\alpha_0, \alpha_1, \alpha_2, \ldots, \alpha_{\nu+1} of the sequence is of the form we seek. Therefore, according to the above conclusion, every integer n0n \ge 0 will coincide to the term αi\alpha_i of the sequence for some ii with 0i2n0 \le i \le 2n.

Indeed, the sequence will have terms 0,1,,1,0,1,,2n0, 1, \ldots, \ell-1, 0, 1, \ldots, 2n-\ell, for some 2n+12\ell \le \frac{2n+1}{2}, and therefore we have the cases:

* if n<2n+12n < \ell \le \frac{2n+1}{2}, then n1n \le \ell-1, and so there exists i0i \ge 0 such that αi=n\alpha_i = n.
* if nn \ge \ell, then n>12nn<2n+1n2nn > \ell-1 \Rightarrow 2n-n < 2n-\ell+1 \Rightarrow n \le 2n-\ell, and so again there exists i0i \ge 0 such that αi=n\alpha_i = n.

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