Erdős Problem #543

The problem

Define $f(N)$ be the minimal $k$ such that the following holds: if $G$ is an abelian group of size $N$ and $A\subseteq G$ is a random set of size $k$ then, with probability $\geq 1/2$, all elements of $G$ can be written as $\sum_{x\in S}x$ for some $S\subseteq A$. Is

$$f(N) \leq \log_2 N+o(\log\log N)?$$

Statement quoted from erdosproblems.com/543, maintained by Thomas Bloom. Original source: [Er73,p.127][ErHa78b]. Current status there: disproved.

AI contributions

As recorded in Terence Tao's wiki AI contributions to Erdős problems (data as of 30 Jun 2026). 🟢 full, 🟡 partial, ⚪ unverified, 🔴 incorrect.

Caveats

The wiki's classifications are provisional and are not a benchmark. Many Erdős problems have never had a thorough literature review, so a result that looks new may later turn out to be known; some problems were also stated ambiguously or incorrectly. See the problem page for the full discussion.

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