On the multiplicity of a proportionally modular numerical semigroup (Q2232671)

Summary: A proportionally modular numerical semigroup is the set \(S(a,b,c)\) of nonnegative integer solutions to a Diophantine inequality of the form \(ax\mod b\leq cx\), where \(a,b\), and \(c\) are positive integers. A formula for the multiplicity of \(S(a,b,c)\), that is, \(m(S(a,b,c))=\lceil k b / a\rceil\) for some positive integer \(k\), is given by \textit{A. Moscariello} [Integers 16, Paper A34, 10 p. (2016; Zbl 1404.11032)]. In this paper, we give a new proof of the formula and determine a better bound for \(k\). Furthermore, we obtain \(k=1\) for various cases and a formula for the number of the triples \((a,b,c)\) such that \(k\neq1\) when the number \(a-c\) is fixed.