MathDB
Putnam 2013 A6

Source:

December 9, 2013
Putnamfunctionlinear algebramatrixinductionSupportinequalities

Problem Statement

Define a function w:Z×ZZw:\mathbb{Z}\times\mathbb{Z}\to\mathbb{Z} as follows. For a,b2,|a|,|b|\le 2, let w(a,b)w(a,b) be as in the table shown; otherwise, let w(a,b)=0.w(a,b)=0. bw(a,b)21012212221124442a0241242124442212221\begin{array}{|lr|rrrrr|}\hline &&&&b&&\\ &w(a,b)&-2&-1&0&1&2\\ \hline &-2&-1&-2&2&-2&-1\\ &-1&-2&4&-4&4&-2\\ a&0&2&-4&12&-4&2\\ &1&-2&4&-4&4&-2\\ &2&-1&-2&2&-2&-1\\ \hline\end{array} For every finite subset SS of Z×Z,\mathbb{Z}\times\mathbb{Z}, define A(S)=(s,s)S×Sw(ss).A(S)=\sum_{(\mathbf{s},\mathbf{s'})\in S\times S} w(\mathbf{s}-\mathbf{s'}). Prove that if SS is any finite nonempty subset of Z×Z,\mathbb{Z}\times\mathbb{Z}, then A(S)>0.A(S)>0. (For example, if S={(0,1),(0,2),(2,0),(3,1)},S=\{(0,1),(0,2),(2,0),(3,1)\}, then the terms in A(S)A(S) are 12,12,12,12,4,4,0,0,0,0,1,1,2,2,4,4.12,12,12,12,4,4,0,0,0,0,-1,-1,-2,-2,-4,-4.)