Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 320 of 400 #1320 of 1964

Problem 1320

National olympiad, first round
Combinatorics Difficulty 6.6 Find the answer

For any set SS of integers, let f(S)f(S) denote the number of integers kk with 0k<20190 \le k < 2019 such that there exist s1,s2Ss_1, s_2 \in S satisfying s1s2=ks_1 - s_2 = k. For any positive integer mm, let xmx_m be the minimum possible value of f(S1)++f(Sm)f(S_1) + \dots + f(S_m) where S1,,SmS_1, \dots, S_m are nonempty sets partitioning the positive integers. Let MM be the minimum of x1,x2,x_1, x_2, \dots, and let NN be the number of positive integers mm such that xm=Mx_m = M. Compute 100M+N100M + N.

[i]Proposed by Ankan Bhattacharya[/i]

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

Official solution

1. **Understanding the function f(S) f(S) **:
- For a set S S of integers, f(S) f(S) counts the number of integers k k in the range 0k<2019 0 \le k < 2019 such that there exist s1,s2S s_1, s_2 \in S with s1s2=k s_1 - s_2 = k .
- This means f(S) f(S) essentially counts the distinct differences s1s2 s_1 - s_2 modulo 2019.

2. Partitioning the positive integers:
- We need to partition the positive integers into m m nonempty sets S1,S2,,Sm S_1, S_2, \ldots, S_m and minimize the sum f(S1)+f(S2)++f(Sm) f(S_1) + f(S_2) + \cdots + f(S_m) .

3. **Lower bound of xm x_m **:
- Consider the numbers 1,2,,2019 1, 2, \ldots, 2019 . If we partition these into m m sets, each set Si S_i will have ai a_i elements.
- The function f(Si) f(S_i) will be at least ai a_i because the differences s1s2 s_1 - s_2 for s1,s2Si s_1, s_2 \in S_i will cover at least ai a_i distinct values.
- Therefore, f(S1)+f(S2)++f(Sm)a1+a2++am=2019 f(S_1) + f(S_2) + \cdots + f(S_m) \geq a_1 + a_2 + \cdots + a_m = 2019 .

4. Achieving the lower bound:
- To achieve f(S1)+f(S2)++f(Sm)=2019 f(S_1) + f(S_2) + \cdots + f(S_m) = 2019 , each set Si S_i must cover exactly ai a_i distinct differences.
- This can be achieved if each Si S_i is an arithmetic sequence with a common difference that divides 2019.

5. **Possible values of ri r_i **:
- The divisors of 2019 are 1, 3, 673, and 2019.
- If Si S_i is an arithmetic sequence with common difference ri r_i , then ri r_i must be one of these divisors.

6. Covering system:
- We need to find sets Si S_i such that the sum of their reciprocals equals 1: 1ri=1 \sum \frac{1}{r_i} = 1 .
- Additionally, 2019ri=2019 \sum \lceil \frac{2019}{r_i} \rceil = 2019 .

7. Possible partitions:
- ri=1 r_i = 1 : This gives one set covering all integers.
- ri=3 r_i = 3 : We need three sets, each covering every third integer.
- ri=673 r_i = 673 : We need 673 sets, each covering every 673rd integer.
- ri=2019 r_i = 2019 : We need 2019 sets, each covering every 2019th integer.

8. Counting the number of solutions:
- The solutions are of the form 2019672n 2019 - 672n (for n3 n \leq 3 ), 20192n 2019 - 2n (for n673 n \leq 673 ), and 1.
- This gives 676 solutions.

The final answer is 100M+N=100×2019+676=201900+676=202576 \boxed{ 100M + N = 100 \times 2019 + 676 = 201900 + 676 = 202576 } .

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic, difficulty and ordering added by this site.