Equal subset sums and close divisors

Abstract

For $k\geq2$, let $\alpha_k$ be the supremum of the exponents $a$ for which almost every integer $n$ has $k$ distinct divisors in a multiplicative interval of relative length $(\log n)^{-a}$. Select each positive integer $i$ independently with probability $1/i$, forming a random set $\mathbf A$, and let $\beta_k$ be the supremum of the $c<1$ for which, with probability tending to one as $D\to\infty$, the set $\mathbf A\cap[D^c,D]$ has $k$ distinct subsets with the same sum. We prove that $\alpha_k=\beta_k/(1-\beta_k)$, resolving a conjecture of Ford, Green and Koukoulopoulos [Invent. Math. 232 (2023), 1027--1160]. We also prove that their weak and strict entropy thresholds coincide. The proof combines flag refinement and entropy concavity with an upper bound for approximate subset sums that is uniform in arbitrary translations. A model with independent geometric prime exponents then transfers this bound to divisors.