Explicit constructions of infinite families of MSTD sets (Q971852): Difference between revisions

The paper explores an interesting idea: how can infinite families of sets \(A\) of integers be constructed, such that \(|A+A|>|A-A|\) (in general, because the sum is a commutative operation and difference is not, this type of sets forms a singularity). These sets are called MSTD (More Sums Than Differences) and the first example was found by Conway in the 1960s: \(\{0,2,3,4,7,11,12,14\}\). The authors show that the number of such sets is higher than can be intuitively imagined, and give an algorithmic construction of an infinite family of MSTD sets. Moreover, they prove that the density of such sets as subsets of \([1,r]=\{1,2,\dots,r\}\) in this family is \(\Omega (1/r^4)\) (there is a constant \(C\) such that when \(r\rightarrow\infty\), the proportion of subsets of \([1,r]\) is at least \(C/r^4\)). The proof for the lower bound is constructed for a general case: rigorously for \(C=1\), sketched for \(C=(\log r)^{1/4}\). A special section is dedicated to an extended version, by comparing linear forms \(\varepsilon_1A+\dots+\varepsilon_nA\) with \(\varepsilon_i\in\{-1,1\}\). Some conjectures and general results are formulated and discussed. The paper is only a technical presentation of the main results obtained by the authors; an extended version is offered online.