The Mondrian Puzzle: A Bound Concerning the $M(n)=0$ Case

Abstract

In response to the Numberphile video regarding the Mondrian Puzzle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49KvZrioFB0, we provide a lower bound on how many integers less than a given threshold $x$ satisfy $M(n)\ne 0$ where $M(n)$ is the quantity in which the Mondrian Puzzle is interested, i.e. the minimal difference in area between the largest and smallest rectangle in a set of incongruent, integer-sided rectangles which tile an $n$ by $n$ square.