(k+1)-sums versus k-sums


Abstract in English

A $k$-sum of a set $Asubseteq mathbb{Z}$ is an integer that may be expressed as a sum of $k$ distinct elements of $A$. How large can the ratio of the number of $(k+1)$-sums to the number of $k$-sums be? Writing $kwedge A$ for the set of $k$-sums of $A$ we prove that [ frac{|(k+1)wedge A|}{|kwedge A|}, le , frac{|A|-k}{k+1} ] whenever $|A|ge (k^{2}+7k)/2$. The inequality is tight -- the above ratio being attained when $A$ is a geometric progression. This answers a question of Ruzsa.

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