Continued fractions and unique additive partitions (Q1288805)

For a subset \(S\) of the positive integers, we say that a partition of the positive integers into sets \(A\) and \(B\) \textit{avoids} \(S\), when no two distinct elements in the same part have a sum in \(S\), and that \(S\) is \textit{uniquely avoidable}, if the partition is unique. Let \(\alpha\) be an irrational number \(>1\), and, for an integer \(p\), define \(E(p)=p-q\alpha\), where \(q\alpha\) is the closest element to \(p\) among the integer multiples of \(\alpha\). Denote the set of the positive integers \(p\) with \(E(p)>0\), and with \(E(p)<0\) respectively, by \(A_{\alpha}\), and by \(B_{\alpha}\). Further, let \(S_{\alpha}\) be the maximal set avoidable by the partition \(\{A_{\alpha}, B_{\alpha}\}\). Then \textit{T. V. Chow} and \textit{C. D. Long} [Ramanujan J. 3, 55-72 (1999)] showed that \(S_{\alpha}\) contains the numerators of all convergents to \(\alpha\), and that every other element of \(S_{\alpha}\) is either the numerator of an intermediate fraction or twice the numerator of a convergent. They moreover conjectured that \(S_{\alpha}\) is uniquely avoidable. In the article under review, the author determines the set \(S_{\alpha}\) completely by using the best approximation property of continued fractions, and solves the conjecture of Chow and Long affirmatively. Namely he proves that \(S_{\alpha}\) is in fact uniquely avoidable for any irrational \(\alpha>1\). He also shows that the set of all the numerators of the convergents to \(\alpha\) is uniquely avoidable, if and only if infinitely many partial quotients of \(\alpha\) are 1. Known theorems on the unique avoidability of generalised Fibonacci sequences [see \textit{R. J. Evans}, Discrete Math. 36, 239-245 (1981; Zbl 0465.05002)] may be regarded as special cases of the results in this article.