Simultaneous systems of representatives and combinatorial number theory (Q581584)

With \(A\subset {\mathbb{N}}_ 0\), let \(hA=\{n\in {\mathbb{N}}_ 0|\) \(n=a_ 1+...+a_ h\), \(a_ i\in A\), \(a_ 1\leq...\leq a_ h\}\), and let \(r(n)\) denote the number of such representations. We call A an asymptotic basis of order h (for \({\mathbb{N}}_ 0)\) if \(n\in hA\) for all sufficiently large \(n\in {\mathbb{N}}_ 0\). For an asymptotic basis A of order 2, \textit{P. Erdős} and \textit{M. B. Nathanson} have proved [Lect. Notes Math. 751, 98-107 (1979; Zbl 0414.10053)] that A contains a minimal asymptotic basis of order 2 if there exists a constant \(c>\log^{-1}(4/3)\) such that \(r(n)\geq c \log n\) for all sufficiently large n. This result is partly generalized to asymptotic bases of order \(h>2\). We must then restrict ourselves to representations of n with h distinct addends, and let r(n) count the elements of a distinguished set of pairwise disjoint such representations. Now \(c>\log^{-1}(h^ 2/(h^ 2-h+1)).\) The proof rests on a deep combinatorial result on simultaneous systems of representatives for finite families of finite sets.