Let , , such that does not divide for all distinct elements . For a set as above let us denote with the smallest element in . Find (for all with the above properties).
Problem 1339
Official solution
1. Partitioning the Set:
We start by partitioning the set into 2007 parts such that contains all numbers of the form where is a nonnegative integer. This ensures that no two elements in the same part can divide each other, as one would be a multiple of the other by a power of 2.
2. Choosing Elements from Each Part:
Since cannot have two elements from the same part, must have exactly one element from each part. Let be the element of contained in .
3. Analyzing the Sequence:
Consider the elements . Each is of the form . The highest power of 2 dividing must be strictly greater than the highest power of 2 dividing , and so on. This is because if divides , then and .
4. Ensuring Strictly Decreasing Sequence:
The highest powers of 2 dividing must form a strictly decreasing sequence. Since there are 2007 elements, the smallest element must be at least .
5. Finding the Minimum Element:
To find the minimum , we need to ensure that is as small as possible while still satisfying the conditions. The smallest possible is , but this is not allowed as it would divide any other element. The next smallest possible element is , but this also does not work as it would divide elements like .
6. Ensuring No Divisibility:
We need to find the smallest such that no divides any other . By considering the powers of 2 and the odd factors, we find that the smallest possible that satisfies all conditions is .
7. Verification:
We verify that is indeed the smallest element that can be chosen such that no element in divides another. This is done by ensuring that for any , the sequence of powers of 2 is strictly decreasing and no odd factor divides another.
Therefore, the minimum is .