M-p-c set ($(m,p,c)$-set)

An $(m,p,c)$-set has positive integer generators $z_1,\dots ,z_m$ chosen so that every expression below is positive, and consists of all their values:The required positivity is equivalent to $c{z}_j>p{\sum }_{s>j}{z}_s$ for each $j$; it is not defined by discarding nonpositive values from the displayed family.

Suppose the columns $a_i$ of a matrix over the rational numbers satisfy the columns condition with blocks $B_1,\dots ,B_s$. Choose rational coefficients ${\lambda }_{ij}$ such thatChoose a positive integer $c$ clearing all denominators and $p\ge \max |c{\lambda }_{ij}|$. For generators of any full positive M-p-c set, the coordinateslie in that set and satisfy $Ax=0$. Thus the monochromatic m-p-c set theorem supplies the sufficiency direction of Rado's theorem.

For every positive $m,p,c$, every finite coloring of the positive integers contains a monochromatic M-p-c set.

For every dimension $m$, every finite coloring of the positive integers contains $x_1,\dots ,x_m$ for which all nonempty sums of distinct $x_i$ have one color. This is the case $p=c=1$ of the monochromatic m-p-c set theorem.

Introduce a variable $z_I$ for every nonempty $I\subseteq [k]$ and the homogeneous equations $z_I-{\sum }_{i\in I}{z}_{\{i\}}=0$ for $|I|\ge 2$. In their matrix $A$, partition the columns by the displayed blocks. For each $j$, the vector with coordinate $1$ exactly when $j\in I$ lies in the kernel of a linear map of $A$. Its nonzero coordinates occur in $B_j$ and earlier blocks only; every coordinate in $B_j$ is one. Hence the first block's column sum is zero and every subsequent block sum is in the linear span of earlier columns. The columns condition holds, so Rado's theorem forces a positive monochromatic solution, and all nonempty finite sums of its singleton coordinates have the same colour.