Sets with Few Subset Sums

Abstract

It is a classical fact that every $n$-element set of positive reals has at least $\binom{n+1}{2}+1$ distinct subset sums, with equality exactly for homogeneous arithmetic progressions (when $n\geq 4$). We establish stability versions of this inverse theorem in two regimes. First, for any parameter $M \leq n-4$, we precisely characterize the $n$-element sets of positive reals with at most $\binom{n+1}{2}+1+M$ subset sums. Second, for any constant $C$, we provide a characterization, sharp up to constants, of the $n$-element sets of positive reals with at most $Cn^2$ distinct subset sums. Along the way, we constrain (for any fixed $d \geq 2$) the structure of $n$-element subsets of $\mathbb{R}^d$ with $o(n^{d+1})$ subset sums.