Finite-n peak at four missing differences

From papers

Let PnM(k)P_n^{\mathrm{M}}(k) denote the probability that a uniformly random subset S[n]S\subseteq[n] has exactly kk missing differences, namely

PnM(k)=Pr(2n1SS=k).P_n^{\mathrm{M}}(k)=\Pr\bigl(2n-1-|S-S|=k\bigr).

Peak-at-four conjecture. For all n15n\ge 15 and every k4k\ne4,

PnM(4)>PnM(k).P_n^{\mathrm{M}}(4)>P_n^{\mathrm{M}}(k).

The paper proves that the limiting value at k=4k=4 is larger than the other values, and experimental data suggest that n=15n=15 already suffices; the conjecture supplies this explicit finite threshold.

Progress summary

Nothing recorded yet. Refresh searches the literature and the public web for attempts on this problem, and writes the first summary here.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Scott Harvey-Arnold, Steven J. Miller and Fei Peng, “Distribution of missing differences in diffsets”, arXiv:2001.08931 (2020).

Solutions 0

No solutions have been posted yet.