MathDB
BMO Shortlist 2021 N1

Source: BMO Shortlist 2021

May 8, 2022
Balkanshortlist2021number theoryarithmetic mean

Problem Statement

Let n2n \geq 2 be an integer and let M={a1+a2+...+akk:1kn and 1a1<<akn}M=\bigg\{\frac{a_1 + a_2 + ... + a_k}{k}: 1 \le k \le n\text{ and }1 \le a_1 < \ldots < a_k \le n\bigg\} be the set of the arithmetic means of the elements of all non-empty subsets of {1,2,...,n}\{1, 2, ..., n\}. Find min{ab:a,bM with ab}.\min\{|a - b| : a, b \in M\text{ with } a \neq b\}.