Erdős Problem #650

The problem

Let $f(m)$ be such that if $A\subseteq \{1,\ldots,N\}$ has $\lvert A\rvert=m$ then every interval in $[1,\infty)$ of length $2N$ contains $\geq f(m)$ many distinct integers $b_1,\ldots,b_r$ where each $b_i$ is divisible by some $a_i\in A$, where $a_1,\ldots,a_r$ are distinct.

Estimate $f(m)$. In particular is it true that $f(m)\leq \sqrt{m}$?

Statement quoted from erdosproblems.com/650, maintained by Thomas Bloom. Original source: [Er95c,p.5]. Current status there: solved (Lean).

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.

∎