Minimum overlap problem

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For a positive integer nn, consider all ways of splitting {1,2,,2n}\{1,2,\dots,2n\} into two complementary sets A={a1,,an}A=\{a_1,\dots,a_n\} and B={b1,,bn}B=\{b_1,\dots,b_n\}, i.e. AB=A\cap B=\varnothing, AB={1,2,,2n}A\cup B=\{1,2,\dots,2n\}, and A=B=n|A|=|B|=n. For such a splitting and an integer kk with 2nk2n-2n\le k\le 2n, let

Mk(A,B):=#{(i,j){1,,n}2: aibj=k}M_k(A,B):=\#\{(i,j)\in\{1,\dots,n\}^2:\ a_i-b_j=k\}

be the number of representations of kk as a difference of an element of AA and an element of BB, and put

M(n):=minA,B max2nk2nMk(A,B),M(n):=\min_{A,B}\ \max_{-2n\le k\le 2n} M_k(A,B),

the minimum taken over all such splittings of {1,2,,2n}\{1,2,\dots,2n\}.

Determine the asymptotic size of M(n)M(n) as nn\to\infty: exhibit a constant cc and prove that M(n)=cn+o(n)M(n)=cn+o(n), i.e. determine

lim infnM(n)nandlim supnM(n)n,\liminf_{n\to\infty}\frac{M(n)}{n}\qquad\text{and}\qquad \limsup_{n\to\infty}\frac{M(n)}{n},

and show that these two quantities coincide.

References

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Wikipedia

Additional references

  1. Wikipedia, Minimum overlap problem, the article this problem comes from.

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