The multiplication table problem in large dimensions
For $N\geq 2$ and $k\geq 1$, let $M_k(N):=\#\{x_1\cdots x_k : x_i\in\{1,\ldots,N\}\text{ for all } i\}$ be the $k$-dimensional multiplication table. Given $N$, Khovanskii's theorem implies that $M_k(N)$ agrees, for all sufficiently large $k$, with a polynomial in $k$ of degree $\pi(N)$. We determine the asymptotic size...