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3 - Additive geometry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2010

Terence Tao
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
Van H. Vu
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, New Jersey
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Summary

In Chapter 2 we studied the elementary theory of sum sets A + B for general subsets A, B of an arbitrary additive group Z. In order to progress further with this theory, it is important first to understand an important subclass of such sets, namely those with a strong geometric and additive structure. Examples include (generalized) arithmetic progressions, convex sets, lattices, and finite subgroups. We will term the study of such sets (for want of a better name) additive geometry; this includes in particular the classical convex geometry of Minkowski (also known as geometry of numbers). Our aim here is to classify these sets and to understand the relationship between their geometrical structure, their dimension (or rank), their size (or volume, or measure), and their behavior under addition or subtraction. Despite looking rather different at first glance, it will transpire that progressions, lattices, groups, and convex bodies are all related to each other, both in a rigorous sense and also on the level of heuristic analogy. For instance, progressions and lattices play a similar role in arithmetic combinatorics that balls and subspaces play in the theory of normed vector spaces. In later sections, by combining methods of additive geometry, sum set estimates, Fourier analysis, and Freiman homomorphisms, we will be able to prove Freiman's theorem, which shows that all sets with small doubling constant can be efficiently approximated by progressions and similarly structured sets.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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  • Additive geometry
  • Terence Tao, University of California, Los Angeles, Van H. Vu, Rutgers University, New Jersey
  • Book: Additive Combinatorics
  • Online publication: 18 June 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511755149.004
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  • Additive geometry
  • Terence Tao, University of California, Los Angeles, Van H. Vu, Rutgers University, New Jersey
  • Book: Additive Combinatorics
  • Online publication: 18 June 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511755149.004
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Additive geometry
  • Terence Tao, University of California, Los Angeles, Van H. Vu, Rutgers University, New Jersey
  • Book: Additive Combinatorics
  • Online publication: 18 June 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511755149.004
Available formats
×