An Improved Lower Bound for the de Bruijn--Erdős Consecutive Gap Problem

Abstract

Let $(x_n{)}_{n\ge 1}$ be a sequence of distinct points on the unit circle. After the first $n$ points are inserted, the circle is divided into $n$ intervals. For a fixed integer $r\ge 1$, let $M_n^{(r)}$ and $m_n^{(r)}$ denote respectively the largest and smallest total lengths of $r$ consecutive intervals. A theorem of de Bruijn and Erdős gives \[ \limsup_{n\to\infty}\frac{M_n^{(r)}}{m_n^{(r)}}\geq 1+\frac1r . \] The case $r=1$ is sharp and gives the classical factor $2$. The cases $r\ge 2$ remain much less understood. We prove the improved lower bound \[ \limsup_{n\to\infty}\frac{M_n^{(r)}}{m_n^{(r)}} \geq 1+\frac{r}{r^2-1} \qquad (r\geq 2). \] In particular, for two consecutive intervals the lower bound becomes $5/3$, improving the de Bruijn--Erdős bound $3/2$.