Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2004 / iii / Paper 12 / 2

For a finite alphabet $K$, a combinatorial line in $K^N$ has a nonempty active set $J\subseteq \{1,\dots ,N\}$, fixed letters outside $J$, and the same variable letter at every coordinate in $J$. The Hales-Jewett theorem states that for every alphabet size $k\ge 1$ and number of colours $r\ge 1$, some $N$ makes every r-colouring of $\{1,\dots ,k{\}}^N$ contain a monochromatic combinatorial line.

We first prove the alphabet insensitivity lemma with a concrete bound. Fix two distinct letters $a,b$, a desired dimension $d$, and a colouring $\chi :K^N\to \{1,\dots ,r\}$. A combinatorial subspace of dimension $d$ has disjoint nonempty active blocks $J_1,\dots ,J_d$ and fixed other coordinates. It is $(a,b)$-insensitive when exchanging $a,b$ in any one variable leaves the colour unchanged, whatever the other variable letters are.

Choose consecutive blocks of lengths $L_1,\dots ,L_d$ recursively byProcess these blocks from right to left. When block $i$ is reached, the later blocks already have one variable each; the earlier $P_i$ coordinates are still entirely unrestricted. For each of the $L_i+1$ words $a^t{b}^{L_i-t}$ in block $i$, form its complete colour profile over all $k^{P_i}$ earlier words and all $k^{d-i}$ assignments to the later variables. There are at most $r^{k^{P_i+d-i}}=L_i$ profiles. The pigeonhole principle gives $s<t$ with equal profiles. Fix the first $s$ coordinates of this block to $a$, the coordinates after $t$ to $b$, and make the interval from $s+1$ to $t$ variable. Substitution of $b$ gives the chain word indexed by $s$, and substitution of $a$ gives the one indexed by $t$; they have identical profiles. Thus this variable is insensitive to $a,b$ for every remaining context. Previously constructed later variables remain insensitive, because their colour equalities held for every possible earlier word. After all $d$ blocks, we have the required insensitive combinatorial subspace. This proves the explicit block bound for alphabet insensitivity.

Now induct on $k$, simultaneously for every $r$. The case $k=1$ is immediate with $N=1$. For $k\ge 2$, assume the Hales-Jewett theorem for the alphabet of size $k-1$, and take $d$ large enough for that theorem with $r$ colours. Apply the proved alphabet insensitivity lemma to the letters $k-1,k$, obtaining a d-dimensional combinatorial subspace $\varphi :K^d\to K^N$. On $\{1,\dots ,k-1{\}}^d$, the induced colouring $\chi \circ \varphi$ has a monochromatic combinatorial line. Its value at letter $k$ has the same colour as its value at $k-1$: change the active variables one at a time and use insensitivity. The union of their nonempty active blocks is the active set of a combinatorial line in the original word space. All its k points have one colour, completing the induction and the proof.

To deduce the Van der Waerden theorem, take $K=\{0,\dots ,m-1\}$ and pull a colouring of the positive integers back throughA combinatorial line with active set $J$ maps toHence every finite colouring has a monochromatic arithmetic progression of every prescribed finite length. In finite form, if $H(k,r)$ is a word-length bound for the Hales-Jewett theorem, then $W(r,m)\le 1+(m-1)H(m,r)$ is a valid interval bound.

The Strengthened Van der Waerden theorem also puts the common difference in the colour class:Here is a finite proof by induction on the number $r$ of colours. For $m=1$ choose $a=d=1$. For $r=1$ choose $a=d=1$ in $[m]$. For $m\ge 2,r\ge 2$, let $M$ be a bound for the strengthened theorem with $r-1$ colours, put $L=(m-1)M+1$, and let $W=W(r,L)$ be an ordinary Van der Waerden theorem bound. Work in $[MW]$. Its first $W$ points contain a monochromatic progressionof colour $c$. Every $jd$, $1\le j\le M$, lies in $[MW]$. If some $jd$ has colour $c$, then $a,a+jd,\dots ,a+(m-1)jd$, together with its difference $jd$, gives the answer. Otherwise the colouring of $\{d,2d,\dots ,Md\}$ uses only $r-1$ colours. Pull it back to $[M]$ and apply the induction hypothesis to get a monochromatic set $\{e,b,b+e,\dots ,b+(m-1)e\}$. Multiplication by $d$ gives the required configuration in the original colouring. This proves the strengthened theorem, including finite bounds.

The Gallai theorem for an integer lattice states that every finite colouring of ${\mathbb{Z}}^h$ contains a monochromatic homothetic copy $u+tF$ of every prescribed finite nonempty pattern $F\subseteq {\mathbb{Z}}^h$, where $t$ is a positive integer. The positive-lattice version holds for finite $F\subseteq {\mathbb{N}}^h$ as well. Write $F=\{v_1,\dots ,v_k\}$ and colour $w\in \{1,\dots ,k{\}}^N$ by the colour ofA monochromatic combinatorial line maps to $u+|J|F$, with $u=b+{\sum }_{j\notin J}{v}_{w_j}$. Thus the Hales-Jewett theorem supplies the copy, with nonzero dilation $|J|$. Choosing $b$ large and positive places all these word sums in the positive lattice if required. This sum map from words to homothetic copies also proves the real-vector-space version: replace ${\mathbb{Z}}^h$ by ${\mathbb{R}}^h$ and allow an arbitrary finite real pattern, while retaining positive integer dilations.