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Research notes on every problem, and a library of the papers behind them. Built from the open erdos repository.

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Claim. Vitaly Bergelson and David Simmons, New examples of complete sets, with connections to a Diophantine theorem of Furstenberg, Acta Arith. 177 (2017), no. 2, 101--131; arXiv:1507.02208 (v1 of 8 July 2015, v2 of 24 September 2016). A set of positive integers is complete when every sufficiently large integer is a sum of distinct elements of it, and strongly complete when it stays complete after any finite subset is removed. Theorem 1.23 (Theorem 1.22 in the first arXiv version): let S1,S2,S3,S4S_1,S_2,S_3,S_4 be finite, pairwise disjoint subsets of N∖{1}\mathbb N\setminus\{1\} with gcd⁡(S4)=1\gcd(S_4)=1 and ∑a∈Si1/(a−1)≥1\sum_{a\in S_i}1/(a-1)\ge1 for i=1,2,3i=1,2,3. Then the set of all powers ana^n, with a∈S1∪S2∪S3∪S4a\in S_1\cup S_2\cup S_3\cup S_4 and n≥0n\ge0, is strongly complete. The argument was not reconstructed in this corpus.

Covers. The second question of Problem 124, for every k≥1k\ge1, at every tuple d1<⋯<drd_1<\cdots<d_r that contains four such disjoint subsets: yes. The powers with exponent below kk form a finite set, so strong completeness makes every sufficiently large integer a sum of distinct powers ana^n with n≥kn\ge k and aa in the union, and such a sum is ∑iciai\sum_ic_ia_i with ai∈P(di,k)a_i\in P(d_i,k), one term per base. Not covered: tuples without such subsets, in particular every tuple whose reciprocal sum is at most 33, and the first question, which the theorem also answers at these tuples but which is claimed in full on Alexeev's page.

Depends on. No page of this wiki.

Acceptance. Refereed: Acta Arithmetica 177 (2017), no. 2, 101--131. The site's commentary (page last edited 1 December 2025) does not mention the paper and labels the problem OPEN, so no reviewed evidence is listed; a post on the site's thread of 23 September 2026 cites the theorem, with Fan's (claim page), as settling the second question when the reciprocal sum is large enough.