Abstract
For a given set M of positive integers, a well-known problem of Motzkin asks to determine the maximal asymptotic density of M-sets, denoted by μ(M), where an M-set is a set of non-negative integers in which no two elements differ by an element in M. In 1973, Cantor and Gordon find μ(M) for |M| ≤ 2. Partial results are known in the case |M| ≥ 3 including some results in the case when M is an infinite set. Motivated by some 3 and 4-element families already discussed by Liu and Zhu in 2004, we study μ(M) for two families namely, M = {a, b,a + b, n(a + b)} and M = {a, b, b − a, n(b − a)}. For both of these families, we find some exact values and some bounds on μ(M). This number theory problem is also related to various types of coloring problems of the distance graphs generated by M. So, as an application, we also study these coloring parameters associated with these families.
Laplacian algebras, manifold submetries and the Inverse Invariant Theory Problem
