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Combinatorics Difficulty 8.1 Shortlist Find the answer

For each integer n1,n\ge 1, compute the smallest possible value of k=1nakk\sum_{k=1}^{n}\left\lfloor\frac{a_k}{k}\right\rfloor over all permutations (a1,,an)(a_1,\dots,a_n) of {1,,n}.\{1,\dots,n\}.

[i]

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

Given an integer n1 n \ge 1 , we need to find the smallest possible value of
k=1nakk \sum_{k=1}^{n}\left\lfloor\frac{a_k}{k}\right\rfloor
over all permutations (a1,a2,,an)(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n) of {1,2,,n}\{1, 2, \ldots, n\}.

### Step-by-step Approach

1. Understanding the Floor Function: The expression akk\left\lfloor\frac{a_k}{k}\right\rfloor returns the greatest integer less than or equal to akk\frac{a_k}{k}. This function decreases the output by approximately k1 k-1 each time ak a_k increases by k k .

2. Goal Analysis: Our aim is to minimize the sum of all such floor expressions for every k k in [1,n][1, n]. Attempting to place each ak a_k such that akk\frac{a_k}{k} is minimized will generally result in minimizing the entire sum.

3. **Strategic Choice of ak a_k :
-
Incremental Strategy**:
- Start with smaller numbers for smaller divisions.
- For each k k , we ideally want the smallest value of ak a_k such that akk \left\lfloor \frac{a_k}{k} \right\rfloor yields the minimum value 0 0 .
- If akk a_k \leq k , then akk=0\left\lfloor \frac{a_k}{k} \right\rfloor = 0.
- Hence, for k k up to a certain threshold, the elements should be within {1,2,,k} \{1, 2, \ldots, k\} .

4. Determining the Threshold:
- The transition from 0 0 to 1 1 in akk\left\lfloor \frac{a_k}{k} \right\rfloor happens when ak=k+1 a_k = k+1 . To maintain a 0 0 value, choose akk a_k \leq k .
- The smallest k k beyond which we can't maintain akk a_k \leq k perfectly over all indices is determined by balancing allocations in available slots.

5. Logarithmic Insight:
- Arrange permutations such that the maximum ak a_k aligns conceptually with binary powers due to the floor function behavior which mirrors log curves.
- When k k is a power of 2, new allocations necessitate increased \left\lfloor \cdot \right\rfloor values.

6. Realizing the Sum:
- Each successive block (doubling size of indices) achieves at least an increase by 1 1 .
- Thus, iterating through powers of 2 economically, the entire strategy aligns with log2(n)+1\left\lfloor \log_2(n) \right\rfloor + 1, due to the additive nature of each power block.

Consequently, considering blocks of decreasing increments, balancing partitions as suggested aligns the structural floor contributions with logarithmic expectations.

### Conclusion

The smallest possible value of the sum for any permutation (a1,a2,,an)(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n) is therefore:

log2(n)+1 \boxed{\lfloor \log_2(n) \rfloor + 1}

This minimizes accumulated floor term contributions across all examined permutations.

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Source: Omni-MATH, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.