On the restricted order of two (Q6046163)

This paper is a contribution to the area of combinatorial number theory, and more precisely in the context of representation functions. In this context, a set \(A\) of positive integers is said to be an asymptotic basis of order \(h\) if every sufficiently large integer can be expressed as a sum of \(h\) (or fewer elements) of \(A\) and if \(h\) is the smallest number with this property. Similarly, the restricted order of an asymptotic basis \(A\) is the least integer \(h\), if it exists, such that every sufficiently large integer is the sum of \(h\) or fewer distinct elements of \(A\). Many classical results in number theory, as Goldbach conjecture or Waring problem fits inside the study of these questions. In this work, the authors prove that if \(B\) is a set with lower asymptotic density greater than \(1/2\), then the restricted order of \(B\) is \(2\) and this statement is optimal. The second proof is done by an explicit construction of a set.