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PROVED This has been solved in the affirmative.
If $A\subseteq \mathbb{N}$ is a multiset of integers such that\[\lvert A\cap \{1,\ldots,N\}\rvert\gg N\]for all $N$ then must $A$ be subcomplete? That is, must\[P(A) = \left\{\sum_{n\in B}n : B\subseteq A\textrm{ finite }\right\}\]contain an infinite arithmetic progression?
A problem of Folkman. Folkman [Fo66] showed that this is true if\[\lvert A\cap \{1,\ldots,N\}\rvert\gg N^{1+\epsilon}\]for some $\epsilon>0$ and all $N$.

The original question was answered by Szemerédi and Vu [SzVu06] (who proved that the answer is yes).

This is best possible, since Folkman [Fo66] showed that for all $\epsilon>0$ there exists a multiset $A$ with\[\lvert A\cap \{1,\ldots,N\}\rvert\gg N^{1-\epsilon}\]for all $N$, such that $A$ is not subcomplete.
Additional thanks to: Zach Hunter
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This page was last edited 02 December 2025. (View history) (View the LaTeX source)

When referring to this problem, please use the original sources of Erdős. If you wish to acknowledge this website, the recommended citation format is:

T. F. Bloom, Erdős Problem #343, https://www.erdosproblems.com/343, accessed 2026-09-01

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