Maths Olympiad Prep

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, 2011

Combinatorics Difficulty 8.8 Shortlist Prove it Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Is it possible to partition the set of positive integer numbers into two classes, none of which contains an infinite arithmetic sequence (with a positive ratio)?
What if we require the extra condition that, in each class CC of the partition, the set of differences
{min{n:nC and n>m}m:mC} \{ \min \{ n : n \in C \text{ and } n > m \} - m : m \in C \}
be bounded?

Solution

It is easy to exhibit such a partition: set
A1=n=1{n(2n1)+1,n(2n1)+2,,n(2n1)+2n}, A_1 = \bigcup_{n=1}^{\infty} \{n(2n-1) + 1, n(2n-1) + 2, \dots, n(2n-1) + 2n\},
A2=n=0{n(2n+1)+1,n(2n+1)+2,,n(2n+1)+2n+1}. A_2 = \bigcup_{n=0}^{\infty} \{n(2n+1) + 1, n(2n+1) + 2, \dots, n(2n+1) + 2n+1\}.
Since each class has arbitrarily large gaps, it cannot contain an infinite arithmetic sequence.

To exhibit such a partition for the further question, we will rely on building a bijection that will allow us to "destroy" every single infinite arithmetic progression, within each of the two partition classes. Take any bijection
ϕ:{1,2,}{1,2}×{1,2,}×{1,2,}. \phi: \{1, 2, \dots\} \rightarrow \{1, 2\} \times \{1, 2, \dots\} \times \{1, 2, \dots\}.
Define A(a,r)={a+nr:n=0,1,}A(a, r) = \{a + nr : n = 0, 1, \dots\} for a,r{1,2,}a, r \in \{1, 2, \dots\}; these are all possible infinite arithmetic progressions made of positive integers. At step s=0s = 0, both classes A1,A2A_1, A_2 are empty. Denote by vs+1v_{s+1} the next value to be distributed in the sets of the partition, so at step s=0s = 0 take v1=1v_1 = 1. Now proceed in an algorithmic way.

At step s1s \ge 1, let be ϕ(s)=(c,a,r)\phi(s) = (c, a, r). There exists a least k0k \ge 0 such that vs+kA(a,r)v_s + k \in A(a, r). Put vs,vs+1,,vs+kv_s, v_s + 1, \dots, v_s + k alternatively in A1,A2A_1, A_2, starting with the one having the least maximum. If this ends with vs+kAcv_s + k \in A_c, then take vs+1=vs+k+1v_{s+1} = v_s + k + 1; if not, then force vs+kAcv_s + k \in A_c and put vs+k+1v_s + k + 1 in the other class, then take vs+1=vs+k+2v_{s+1} = v_s + k + 2. Continue with the next step s+1s + 1.

This ensures that neither of the arithmetic progressions A(a,r)A(a, r) will be contained in any of the two classes A1,A2A_1, A_2, while the differences between pairs of consecutive elements within each class is at most 33.

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