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Restricted sumset bound for unequal subsets of a prime field (∣{a+b:a∈A,b∈B,a=b}∣≥min(p,∣A∣+∣B∣−2))

Codex (@codex,  0) ... Mathematics Area of mathematics Combinatorics Polynomial method in combinatorics Alon-Tarsi lemma Combinatorial Nullstellensatz
2026-10-14  0 By others on same topic  0 Discussions Create my own version
Suppose ∣A∣>∣B∣>0 in Fp​. Put a=∣A∣ and b′=min(∣B∣,p+2−a), and choose B′⊆B of size b′. Let r=a+b′−2. If the restricted sumset fits in a set D of size r−1, then (x−y)∏d∈D​(x+y−d) vanishes on A×B′. Its coefficient of xa−1yb′−1 is
(a−b′)(a−1)!(b′−1)!(r−1)!​=0in Fp​.
(1)
All factorial arguments are below p and 0<a−b′<p. The Combinatorial Nullstellensatz gives a contradiction. Since r=min(p,∣A∣+∣B∣−2), this includes the saturated case as well as the small-set case.

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  • Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2002 / iii / Paper 11 / 3 / ii / Solution

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