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I am wondering if the following proposition is true:

Proposition: Let $0<x<1$ be irrational. Then for every $n\in\mathbb{N},\ \exists\ N>n$ such that $x\pmod 1, (2x)\pmod 1, \ldots, (Nx)\pmod 1$ are in different intervals (i.e. no two are in the same interval) of $[0,1]$ each of length $\frac{1}{N},$ namely the intervals $I_k:= \left( \frac{k}{N}, \frac{k+1}{N} \right),\ k=0,1,2,\ldots, N-1.$

Of course, this is independent of the fact that the set $\{nx\pmod 1:n\in\mathbb{N}\}$ is equidistributed in $[0,1].$

Although maybe first it would be prudent to find an irrational number $x$ that has this property (as maybe no irrational $x$ have this property).

Related:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irregularity_of_distributions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equidistribution_theorem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirichlet%27s_approximation_theorem

Adam Rubinson
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  • For each $x$, let $f(x) = \lfloor \max( \frac{ 1 }{ x} , \frac{1}{1-x} ) \rfloor$. Show that $N = f(x)$ works. $\quad$ Then, I suspect we can iteratively find another value that works, something like $ \approx f(x) \times f( { ( f(x) +1?) x } ), $ to deal with $ N > n$. – Calvin Lin Apr 03 '25 at 00:13
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    https://mathworld.wolfram.com/DiscrepancyTheorem.html is somewhat related. – Gerry Myerson Apr 04 '25 at 02:57

1 Answers1

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To prove your proposition, we need to get some relatively accurate estimates of $jx\bmod 1$ for $1 \le j \le N$. One option to consider is a consequence of Dirichlet's approximation theorem that

$$\left\lvert x - \frac{p}{q} \right\rvert \lt \frac{1}{q^2} \tag{1}\label{eq1A}$$

is satisfied by infinitely many integers $p \ge 0$ and $q \gt 0$. This works if $\gcd(p, q) = 1$, but we can't guarantee that. Nonetheless, by ensuring $\frac{1}{q^2}$ is small enough (and, so, $q$ large enough), we can effectively get that by having $\frac{p}{q}$, in lowest terms, using a large enough denominator. To do this, for any positive integer $n$, have

$$m = \min\left(\left.\left\lbrace\left\lvert x - \frac{r}{s} \right\rvert\;\;\right|\; \; s\in\mathbb{Z}, \; 1 \le s \le n, r\in\mathbb{Z},\; 0 \le r \le s \right\rbrace\right) \tag{2}\label{eq2A}$$

Choose any $p$ and $q$ which satisfies \eqref{eq1A}, as well as that $\frac{1}{q^2} \lt m$. Let

$$d = \gcd(p, q), \;\; p = dp_1, \;\; q = dq_1, \;\; \gcd(p_1, q_1) = 1 \tag{3}\label{eq3A}$$

Substituting this into \eqref{eq1A} gives

$$\left\lvert x - \frac{dp_1}{dq_1} \right\rvert \lt \frac{1}{(dq_1)^2} \;\;\to\;\; \left\lvert x - \frac{p_1}{q_1} \right\rvert \lt \frac{1}{(dq_1)^2} \le \frac{1}{q_1^2} \tag{4}\label{eq4A}$$

From \eqref{eq2A} and that $\frac{1}{q^2} \lt m$, we get that $q_1 \gt n$. Let $N = q_1$.


First, consider where $x - \frac{p_1}{q_1} \gt 0$. We then get for all integers $1 \le j \le N$ that

$$0 \lt x - \frac{p_1}{N} \lt \frac{1}{N^2} \;\;\to\;\; \frac{jp_1}{N} \lt jx \lt \frac{jp_1}{N} + \frac{j}{N^2} \tag{5}\label{eq5A}$$

Note that with $k = jp_1 \bmod N$, i.e., $0 \le k \lt N$, then since $0 \lt \frac{j}{N^2} \le \frac{1}{N}$, we have $jx \bmod 1 \in I_k$. If there are $2$ values of $j$, e.g., $j_1$ and $j_2$ with $j_2 \gt j_1$, where $j_{1}p_{1}$ has the same remainder as $j_{2}p_{1}$ when divided by $N$, we would get

$$N \mid j_{2}p_{1} - j_{1}p_{1} \;\;\to\;\; N \mid p_1(j_2 - j_1) \tag{6}\label{eq6A}$$

With $N = q_1$ and \eqref{eq3A}'s condition of $\gcd(p_1, N) = 1$, then also

$$N \mid j_2 - j_1 \tag{7}\label{eq7A}$$

However, $0 \lt j_2 - j_1 \lt N$, so this is not possible. This means each $jx \bmod 1$ is in a separate interval of length $\frac{1}{N}$ of $[0, 1]$.


The other case where $x - \frac{p_1}{q_1} \lt 0$ can be handled similarly to show that it also satisfies your proposition. Thus, in either case, your proposition is true.

John Omielan
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