Sumsets of finite Beatty sequences (Q5942569)

For \(k\geq 1\) a finite Beatty sequence \(S\) with cardinality \(k\) is the segment \(S=\{s_0,s_1,\dots,s_{k-1}\}\) of an infinite Beatty sequence \(s=(s_i)_{i\in{\mathbb Z}}\) where \(s_i=\lfloor i\alpha+\gamma\rfloor\), \(\alpha\geq 1\). The difference sequence \(\Delta s=(s_i-s_{i-1})_{i\in{\mathbb Z}}\) is a sequence in two symbols \(\lfloor\alpha\rfloor\) and \(\lfloor\alpha\rfloor+1\). A \(k\)-letter binary word \(x=x_0x_1\dots x_{k-1}\) has a centre at \(x_i\) if \(x_{i-j}=x_{i+j}\) for all \(j\geq 0\) such that \(i\pm j\) both belong to \(I=\{0,1,\dots,k-1\}\). The author shows that the size of \(S+S\) for \(\alpha>2\) and \(|S|=k\geq 3\) is determined by the number \(C\) of centers of \(\Delta S\) when \(\Delta S\) is viewed as a binary sequence. More precisely \(|S+S|=4(k-1)-C\). After a more detailed analysis of the number of centres of binary words, it is shown that if \(S\) is not an arithmetical progression then \(3k-3\leq|S+S|\leq 4k-6\). A further combinatorial analysis of Beatty sequences with rational modulus and infinite periodic Sturmian sequences leads to the another expression for the size of \(|S+S|\) in terms of nearest continued fraction expansion of \(\alpha>2\).