Given three permutations of ${1,2,dots,n^3+1}$, prove two of them have a common subsequence of length $n+1$.












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Let $m = n^3 + 1$ and let $sigma_1, sigma_2, sigma_3$ 3 permutations of ${{1,2,...m}}$. Prove that two of these permutations have same subsequence which are $n+1$ long.



I have tried to use the Erdos-Szekeres theorem (every permutation of $n^3+1$ has monotonically increasing subsequence in $n^2+1$ long or monotonically decreasing subsequence in $n+1$) but I didn't have any idea to proceed.



Any help will be appreciated.










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  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Should show something of what you tried so far. Otherwise this site tends to close a question with no attempt shown.
    $endgroup$
    – coffeemath
    Jan 21 at 17:46










  • $begingroup$
    Does the subsequence have to be of consecutive elements of the permutations?
    $endgroup$
    – paw88789
    Jan 21 at 18:03










  • $begingroup$
    @paw88789 not necessary
    $endgroup$
    – Robo Yonuomaro
    Jan 21 at 18:06






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    If $sigma_1 = id$ and $sigma_2({1,2,ldots,m})={m,ldots,2,1}$ then you can apply Erdos-Szekeres to get the conclusion. Hopefully someone can generalize it further.
    $endgroup$
    – Dubs
    Jan 21 at 20:10
















6












$begingroup$


Let $m = n^3 + 1$ and let $sigma_1, sigma_2, sigma_3$ 3 permutations of ${{1,2,...m}}$. Prove that two of these permutations have same subsequence which are $n+1$ long.



I have tried to use the Erdos-Szekeres theorem (every permutation of $n^3+1$ has monotonically increasing subsequence in $n^2+1$ long or monotonically decreasing subsequence in $n+1$) but I didn't have any idea to proceed.



Any help will be appreciated.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Should show something of what you tried so far. Otherwise this site tends to close a question with no attempt shown.
    $endgroup$
    – coffeemath
    Jan 21 at 17:46










  • $begingroup$
    Does the subsequence have to be of consecutive elements of the permutations?
    $endgroup$
    – paw88789
    Jan 21 at 18:03










  • $begingroup$
    @paw88789 not necessary
    $endgroup$
    – Robo Yonuomaro
    Jan 21 at 18:06






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    If $sigma_1 = id$ and $sigma_2({1,2,ldots,m})={m,ldots,2,1}$ then you can apply Erdos-Szekeres to get the conclusion. Hopefully someone can generalize it further.
    $endgroup$
    – Dubs
    Jan 21 at 20:10














6












6








6


3



$begingroup$


Let $m = n^3 + 1$ and let $sigma_1, sigma_2, sigma_3$ 3 permutations of ${{1,2,...m}}$. Prove that two of these permutations have same subsequence which are $n+1$ long.



I have tried to use the Erdos-Szekeres theorem (every permutation of $n^3+1$ has monotonically increasing subsequence in $n^2+1$ long or monotonically decreasing subsequence in $n+1$) but I didn't have any idea to proceed.



Any help will be appreciated.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




Let $m = n^3 + 1$ and let $sigma_1, sigma_2, sigma_3$ 3 permutations of ${{1,2,...m}}$. Prove that two of these permutations have same subsequence which are $n+1$ long.



I have tried to use the Erdos-Szekeres theorem (every permutation of $n^3+1$ has monotonically increasing subsequence in $n^2+1$ long or monotonically decreasing subsequence in $n+1$) but I didn't have any idea to proceed.



Any help will be appreciated.







combinatorics combinations pigeonhole-principle






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share|cite|improve this question













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share|cite|improve this question








edited Feb 2 at 0:48









Mike Earnest

23.7k12051




23.7k12051










asked Jan 21 at 17:42









Robo YonuomaroRobo Yonuomaro

786




786








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Should show something of what you tried so far. Otherwise this site tends to close a question with no attempt shown.
    $endgroup$
    – coffeemath
    Jan 21 at 17:46










  • $begingroup$
    Does the subsequence have to be of consecutive elements of the permutations?
    $endgroup$
    – paw88789
    Jan 21 at 18:03










  • $begingroup$
    @paw88789 not necessary
    $endgroup$
    – Robo Yonuomaro
    Jan 21 at 18:06






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    If $sigma_1 = id$ and $sigma_2({1,2,ldots,m})={m,ldots,2,1}$ then you can apply Erdos-Szekeres to get the conclusion. Hopefully someone can generalize it further.
    $endgroup$
    – Dubs
    Jan 21 at 20:10














  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Should show something of what you tried so far. Otherwise this site tends to close a question with no attempt shown.
    $endgroup$
    – coffeemath
    Jan 21 at 17:46










  • $begingroup$
    Does the subsequence have to be of consecutive elements of the permutations?
    $endgroup$
    – paw88789
    Jan 21 at 18:03










  • $begingroup$
    @paw88789 not necessary
    $endgroup$
    – Robo Yonuomaro
    Jan 21 at 18:06






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    If $sigma_1 = id$ and $sigma_2({1,2,ldots,m})={m,ldots,2,1}$ then you can apply Erdos-Szekeres to get the conclusion. Hopefully someone can generalize it further.
    $endgroup$
    – Dubs
    Jan 21 at 20:10








3




3




$begingroup$
Should show something of what you tried so far. Otherwise this site tends to close a question with no attempt shown.
$endgroup$
– coffeemath
Jan 21 at 17:46




$begingroup$
Should show something of what you tried so far. Otherwise this site tends to close a question with no attempt shown.
$endgroup$
– coffeemath
Jan 21 at 17:46












$begingroup$
Does the subsequence have to be of consecutive elements of the permutations?
$endgroup$
– paw88789
Jan 21 at 18:03




$begingroup$
Does the subsequence have to be of consecutive elements of the permutations?
$endgroup$
– paw88789
Jan 21 at 18:03












$begingroup$
@paw88789 not necessary
$endgroup$
– Robo Yonuomaro
Jan 21 at 18:06




$begingroup$
@paw88789 not necessary
$endgroup$
– Robo Yonuomaro
Jan 21 at 18:06




1




1




$begingroup$
If $sigma_1 = id$ and $sigma_2({1,2,ldots,m})={m,ldots,2,1}$ then you can apply Erdos-Szekeres to get the conclusion. Hopefully someone can generalize it further.
$endgroup$
– Dubs
Jan 21 at 20:10




$begingroup$
If $sigma_1 = id$ and $sigma_2({1,2,ldots,m})={m,ldots,2,1}$ then you can apply Erdos-Szekeres to get the conclusion. Hopefully someone can generalize it further.
$endgroup$
– Dubs
Jan 21 at 20:10










2 Answers
2






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6












$begingroup$

I think you want to imitate the proof of the Erdos-Szekeres theorem, not apply it directly. Label each $1le jle m$ with the triple $(a,b,c)$ where $a$ is the length of the longest common subsequence of $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ that ends in $j,$ $b$ is the longest common subsequence of $sigma_1$ and $sigma_3$ that ends in $j,$ and $c$ is the longest common subsequence of $sigma_2$ and $sigma_3$ that ends in $j.$



I claim that no two elements get the same label, for suppose $1le j,k le m,$ with $jne k$ and that both $j$ and $k$ get the same label. If $j$ precedes $k$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ then $k$ has a larger $a-$label than $j$, since we can append $k$ to the largest common subsequence ending in $j$. Similarly, $k$ cannot precede $j$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ so we can assume $j$ precedes $k$ in $sigma_1$ and $k$ precedes $j$ in $sigma_2$. Then $j$ and $k$ must come in the same order in $sigma_3$ as either $sigma_1$ or $sigma_2$ so that they have different $b-$labels or different $c-$labels.



If the longest commons subsequence is of length $n$ or less, then there are at most $n^3$ different labels, but we have $n^3+1$ different labels, contradiction.



EDIT It's just occurred to me that there are many proof of the Erdos-Szekeres theorem known. I'm referring to the one here






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$endgroup$





















    0












    $begingroup$

    My argument relies on an understanding of posets and Mirsky's theorem, which can be used to prove Erdos-Szekeres. I'm don't know how to prove it with Erdos-Szekeres, if that's what you want. Also, I realize that it's really long. The first paragraph explain poset ideas and how they apply to these posets.



    We define posets $P_{1,2}, P_{1,3}, P_{2,3}$ on our set ${1,2,ldots,m}$ where $i<j$ in $P_{1,2}$ if $i$ appears before $j$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$, and we define the ordering on the other two posets similarly. In order theory, a chain is a set of elements ${x_1,x_2,ldots, x_i}$ satisfying $x_1<x_2<ldots x_i$, and an antichain is a set $A$ where we have neither $a<b$ nor $b<a$ for $a,bin A$. In this language, we want to show that one of these posets contains a chain of size at least $n+1$. Two elements $x$ and $y$ in $P_{1,2}$ are incomparable (meaning neither is greater than the other) if $x$ appears before $y$ in $sigma_1$ and $y$ appears before $x$ in $sigma_2$, or vice versa. Hence, if $A={x_1,x_2,ldots,x_n}$ is an antichain in $P_{1,2}$, and $sigma_1$ contains $x_1x_2ldots x_n$ as a subsequence, then $sigma_2$ contains $x_nx_{n-1}ldots x_1$ as a subsequence. In other words, if $A$ is an antichain in $P_{1,2}$, then $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ contain $A$ in opposite orders.



    Mirsky's theorem states that for a finite poset, the size of the longest chain is equal to the size of the smallest antichain decomposition, or a partition of our set into blocks where no two elements in the same block are comparable by our ordering. We first look at $P_{1,2}$: if we have a chain of size at least $n+1$, we're done. Otherwise, our longest chain has size at most $n$, so by Mirsky's theorem, our smallest antichain decomposition has at most $n$ antichains. By the pigeonhole principle, one of those $n$ antichains must contain at least $n^2+1$ elements. Let's call this antichain $A={x_1,x_2,ldots, x_{n^2+1}}$. Without loss of generality, say they appear in that order in $sigma_1$, and hence in the opposite order in $sigma_2$.



    Now we look at $P_{1,3}$ restricted to $A$. If we have a chain of size at least $n+1$, we're done. Otherwise, the longest chain has size at most $n$, and our smallest antichain decomposition has at most $n$ antichains. Since $|A|geq n^2+1$, the pigeonhole principle tells us that we must have an antichain in $A$ with at least $n+1$ elements. Call this antichain $A'$, which is a subset of $A$. Say $A'={x'_1,x'_2,ldots, x'_{n+1}}$, where $x'_1,x'_2,ldots,x'_{n+1}$ is a subsequence of $x_1,x_2,ldots,x_{n^2+1}$. Hence, where the elements of $A'$ appear in the given order in $sigma_1$, they must appear in the opposite order in $sigma_3$. But since we said that the elements of $A$, which include $A'$, appear in $sigma_2$ also in the opposite of $sigma_1$'s order, then $A'$ appears in the same order in $sigma_2$ as in $sigma_3$, so they have a common subsequence of size $n+1$.






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      2 Answers
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      2 Answers
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      active

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      6












      $begingroup$

      I think you want to imitate the proof of the Erdos-Szekeres theorem, not apply it directly. Label each $1le jle m$ with the triple $(a,b,c)$ where $a$ is the length of the longest common subsequence of $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ that ends in $j,$ $b$ is the longest common subsequence of $sigma_1$ and $sigma_3$ that ends in $j,$ and $c$ is the longest common subsequence of $sigma_2$ and $sigma_3$ that ends in $j.$



      I claim that no two elements get the same label, for suppose $1le j,k le m,$ with $jne k$ and that both $j$ and $k$ get the same label. If $j$ precedes $k$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ then $k$ has a larger $a-$label than $j$, since we can append $k$ to the largest common subsequence ending in $j$. Similarly, $k$ cannot precede $j$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ so we can assume $j$ precedes $k$ in $sigma_1$ and $k$ precedes $j$ in $sigma_2$. Then $j$ and $k$ must come in the same order in $sigma_3$ as either $sigma_1$ or $sigma_2$ so that they have different $b-$labels or different $c-$labels.



      If the longest commons subsequence is of length $n$ or less, then there are at most $n^3$ different labels, but we have $n^3+1$ different labels, contradiction.



      EDIT It's just occurred to me that there are many proof of the Erdos-Szekeres theorem known. I'm referring to the one here






      share|cite|improve this answer











      $endgroup$


















        6












        $begingroup$

        I think you want to imitate the proof of the Erdos-Szekeres theorem, not apply it directly. Label each $1le jle m$ with the triple $(a,b,c)$ where $a$ is the length of the longest common subsequence of $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ that ends in $j,$ $b$ is the longest common subsequence of $sigma_1$ and $sigma_3$ that ends in $j,$ and $c$ is the longest common subsequence of $sigma_2$ and $sigma_3$ that ends in $j.$



        I claim that no two elements get the same label, for suppose $1le j,k le m,$ with $jne k$ and that both $j$ and $k$ get the same label. If $j$ precedes $k$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ then $k$ has a larger $a-$label than $j$, since we can append $k$ to the largest common subsequence ending in $j$. Similarly, $k$ cannot precede $j$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ so we can assume $j$ precedes $k$ in $sigma_1$ and $k$ precedes $j$ in $sigma_2$. Then $j$ and $k$ must come in the same order in $sigma_3$ as either $sigma_1$ or $sigma_2$ so that they have different $b-$labels or different $c-$labels.



        If the longest commons subsequence is of length $n$ or less, then there are at most $n^3$ different labels, but we have $n^3+1$ different labels, contradiction.



        EDIT It's just occurred to me that there are many proof of the Erdos-Szekeres theorem known. I'm referring to the one here






        share|cite|improve this answer











        $endgroup$
















          6












          6








          6





          $begingroup$

          I think you want to imitate the proof of the Erdos-Szekeres theorem, not apply it directly. Label each $1le jle m$ with the triple $(a,b,c)$ where $a$ is the length of the longest common subsequence of $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ that ends in $j,$ $b$ is the longest common subsequence of $sigma_1$ and $sigma_3$ that ends in $j,$ and $c$ is the longest common subsequence of $sigma_2$ and $sigma_3$ that ends in $j.$



          I claim that no two elements get the same label, for suppose $1le j,k le m,$ with $jne k$ and that both $j$ and $k$ get the same label. If $j$ precedes $k$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ then $k$ has a larger $a-$label than $j$, since we can append $k$ to the largest common subsequence ending in $j$. Similarly, $k$ cannot precede $j$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ so we can assume $j$ precedes $k$ in $sigma_1$ and $k$ precedes $j$ in $sigma_2$. Then $j$ and $k$ must come in the same order in $sigma_3$ as either $sigma_1$ or $sigma_2$ so that they have different $b-$labels or different $c-$labels.



          If the longest commons subsequence is of length $n$ or less, then there are at most $n^3$ different labels, but we have $n^3+1$ different labels, contradiction.



          EDIT It's just occurred to me that there are many proof of the Erdos-Szekeres theorem known. I'm referring to the one here






          share|cite|improve this answer











          $endgroup$



          I think you want to imitate the proof of the Erdos-Szekeres theorem, not apply it directly. Label each $1le jle m$ with the triple $(a,b,c)$ where $a$ is the length of the longest common subsequence of $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ that ends in $j,$ $b$ is the longest common subsequence of $sigma_1$ and $sigma_3$ that ends in $j,$ and $c$ is the longest common subsequence of $sigma_2$ and $sigma_3$ that ends in $j.$



          I claim that no two elements get the same label, for suppose $1le j,k le m,$ with $jne k$ and that both $j$ and $k$ get the same label. If $j$ precedes $k$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ then $k$ has a larger $a-$label than $j$, since we can append $k$ to the largest common subsequence ending in $j$. Similarly, $k$ cannot precede $j$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ so we can assume $j$ precedes $k$ in $sigma_1$ and $k$ precedes $j$ in $sigma_2$. Then $j$ and $k$ must come in the same order in $sigma_3$ as either $sigma_1$ or $sigma_2$ so that they have different $b-$labels or different $c-$labels.



          If the longest commons subsequence is of length $n$ or less, then there are at most $n^3$ different labels, but we have $n^3+1$ different labels, contradiction.



          EDIT It's just occurred to me that there are many proof of the Erdos-Szekeres theorem known. I'm referring to the one here







          share|cite|improve this answer














          share|cite|improve this answer



          share|cite|improve this answer








          edited Jan 22 at 2:45

























          answered Jan 22 at 1:17









          saulspatzsaulspatz

          15.6k31331




          15.6k31331























              0












              $begingroup$

              My argument relies on an understanding of posets and Mirsky's theorem, which can be used to prove Erdos-Szekeres. I'm don't know how to prove it with Erdos-Szekeres, if that's what you want. Also, I realize that it's really long. The first paragraph explain poset ideas and how they apply to these posets.



              We define posets $P_{1,2}, P_{1,3}, P_{2,3}$ on our set ${1,2,ldots,m}$ where $i<j$ in $P_{1,2}$ if $i$ appears before $j$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$, and we define the ordering on the other two posets similarly. In order theory, a chain is a set of elements ${x_1,x_2,ldots, x_i}$ satisfying $x_1<x_2<ldots x_i$, and an antichain is a set $A$ where we have neither $a<b$ nor $b<a$ for $a,bin A$. In this language, we want to show that one of these posets contains a chain of size at least $n+1$. Two elements $x$ and $y$ in $P_{1,2}$ are incomparable (meaning neither is greater than the other) if $x$ appears before $y$ in $sigma_1$ and $y$ appears before $x$ in $sigma_2$, or vice versa. Hence, if $A={x_1,x_2,ldots,x_n}$ is an antichain in $P_{1,2}$, and $sigma_1$ contains $x_1x_2ldots x_n$ as a subsequence, then $sigma_2$ contains $x_nx_{n-1}ldots x_1$ as a subsequence. In other words, if $A$ is an antichain in $P_{1,2}$, then $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ contain $A$ in opposite orders.



              Mirsky's theorem states that for a finite poset, the size of the longest chain is equal to the size of the smallest antichain decomposition, or a partition of our set into blocks where no two elements in the same block are comparable by our ordering. We first look at $P_{1,2}$: if we have a chain of size at least $n+1$, we're done. Otherwise, our longest chain has size at most $n$, so by Mirsky's theorem, our smallest antichain decomposition has at most $n$ antichains. By the pigeonhole principle, one of those $n$ antichains must contain at least $n^2+1$ elements. Let's call this antichain $A={x_1,x_2,ldots, x_{n^2+1}}$. Without loss of generality, say they appear in that order in $sigma_1$, and hence in the opposite order in $sigma_2$.



              Now we look at $P_{1,3}$ restricted to $A$. If we have a chain of size at least $n+1$, we're done. Otherwise, the longest chain has size at most $n$, and our smallest antichain decomposition has at most $n$ antichains. Since $|A|geq n^2+1$, the pigeonhole principle tells us that we must have an antichain in $A$ with at least $n+1$ elements. Call this antichain $A'$, which is a subset of $A$. Say $A'={x'_1,x'_2,ldots, x'_{n+1}}$, where $x'_1,x'_2,ldots,x'_{n+1}$ is a subsequence of $x_1,x_2,ldots,x_{n^2+1}$. Hence, where the elements of $A'$ appear in the given order in $sigma_1$, they must appear in the opposite order in $sigma_3$. But since we said that the elements of $A$, which include $A'$, appear in $sigma_2$ also in the opposite of $sigma_1$'s order, then $A'$ appears in the same order in $sigma_2$ as in $sigma_3$, so they have a common subsequence of size $n+1$.






              share|cite|improve this answer









              $endgroup$


















                0












                $begingroup$

                My argument relies on an understanding of posets and Mirsky's theorem, which can be used to prove Erdos-Szekeres. I'm don't know how to prove it with Erdos-Szekeres, if that's what you want. Also, I realize that it's really long. The first paragraph explain poset ideas and how they apply to these posets.



                We define posets $P_{1,2}, P_{1,3}, P_{2,3}$ on our set ${1,2,ldots,m}$ where $i<j$ in $P_{1,2}$ if $i$ appears before $j$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$, and we define the ordering on the other two posets similarly. In order theory, a chain is a set of elements ${x_1,x_2,ldots, x_i}$ satisfying $x_1<x_2<ldots x_i$, and an antichain is a set $A$ where we have neither $a<b$ nor $b<a$ for $a,bin A$. In this language, we want to show that one of these posets contains a chain of size at least $n+1$. Two elements $x$ and $y$ in $P_{1,2}$ are incomparable (meaning neither is greater than the other) if $x$ appears before $y$ in $sigma_1$ and $y$ appears before $x$ in $sigma_2$, or vice versa. Hence, if $A={x_1,x_2,ldots,x_n}$ is an antichain in $P_{1,2}$, and $sigma_1$ contains $x_1x_2ldots x_n$ as a subsequence, then $sigma_2$ contains $x_nx_{n-1}ldots x_1$ as a subsequence. In other words, if $A$ is an antichain in $P_{1,2}$, then $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ contain $A$ in opposite orders.



                Mirsky's theorem states that for a finite poset, the size of the longest chain is equal to the size of the smallest antichain decomposition, or a partition of our set into blocks where no two elements in the same block are comparable by our ordering. We first look at $P_{1,2}$: if we have a chain of size at least $n+1$, we're done. Otherwise, our longest chain has size at most $n$, so by Mirsky's theorem, our smallest antichain decomposition has at most $n$ antichains. By the pigeonhole principle, one of those $n$ antichains must contain at least $n^2+1$ elements. Let's call this antichain $A={x_1,x_2,ldots, x_{n^2+1}}$. Without loss of generality, say they appear in that order in $sigma_1$, and hence in the opposite order in $sigma_2$.



                Now we look at $P_{1,3}$ restricted to $A$. If we have a chain of size at least $n+1$, we're done. Otherwise, the longest chain has size at most $n$, and our smallest antichain decomposition has at most $n$ antichains. Since $|A|geq n^2+1$, the pigeonhole principle tells us that we must have an antichain in $A$ with at least $n+1$ elements. Call this antichain $A'$, which is a subset of $A$. Say $A'={x'_1,x'_2,ldots, x'_{n+1}}$, where $x'_1,x'_2,ldots,x'_{n+1}$ is a subsequence of $x_1,x_2,ldots,x_{n^2+1}$. Hence, where the elements of $A'$ appear in the given order in $sigma_1$, they must appear in the opposite order in $sigma_3$. But since we said that the elements of $A$, which include $A'$, appear in $sigma_2$ also in the opposite of $sigma_1$'s order, then $A'$ appears in the same order in $sigma_2$ as in $sigma_3$, so they have a common subsequence of size $n+1$.






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                  My argument relies on an understanding of posets and Mirsky's theorem, which can be used to prove Erdos-Szekeres. I'm don't know how to prove it with Erdos-Szekeres, if that's what you want. Also, I realize that it's really long. The first paragraph explain poset ideas and how they apply to these posets.



                  We define posets $P_{1,2}, P_{1,3}, P_{2,3}$ on our set ${1,2,ldots,m}$ where $i<j$ in $P_{1,2}$ if $i$ appears before $j$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$, and we define the ordering on the other two posets similarly. In order theory, a chain is a set of elements ${x_1,x_2,ldots, x_i}$ satisfying $x_1<x_2<ldots x_i$, and an antichain is a set $A$ where we have neither $a<b$ nor $b<a$ for $a,bin A$. In this language, we want to show that one of these posets contains a chain of size at least $n+1$. Two elements $x$ and $y$ in $P_{1,2}$ are incomparable (meaning neither is greater than the other) if $x$ appears before $y$ in $sigma_1$ and $y$ appears before $x$ in $sigma_2$, or vice versa. Hence, if $A={x_1,x_2,ldots,x_n}$ is an antichain in $P_{1,2}$, and $sigma_1$ contains $x_1x_2ldots x_n$ as a subsequence, then $sigma_2$ contains $x_nx_{n-1}ldots x_1$ as a subsequence. In other words, if $A$ is an antichain in $P_{1,2}$, then $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ contain $A$ in opposite orders.



                  Mirsky's theorem states that for a finite poset, the size of the longest chain is equal to the size of the smallest antichain decomposition, or a partition of our set into blocks where no two elements in the same block are comparable by our ordering. We first look at $P_{1,2}$: if we have a chain of size at least $n+1$, we're done. Otherwise, our longest chain has size at most $n$, so by Mirsky's theorem, our smallest antichain decomposition has at most $n$ antichains. By the pigeonhole principle, one of those $n$ antichains must contain at least $n^2+1$ elements. Let's call this antichain $A={x_1,x_2,ldots, x_{n^2+1}}$. Without loss of generality, say they appear in that order in $sigma_1$, and hence in the opposite order in $sigma_2$.



                  Now we look at $P_{1,3}$ restricted to $A$. If we have a chain of size at least $n+1$, we're done. Otherwise, the longest chain has size at most $n$, and our smallest antichain decomposition has at most $n$ antichains. Since $|A|geq n^2+1$, the pigeonhole principle tells us that we must have an antichain in $A$ with at least $n+1$ elements. Call this antichain $A'$, which is a subset of $A$. Say $A'={x'_1,x'_2,ldots, x'_{n+1}}$, where $x'_1,x'_2,ldots,x'_{n+1}$ is a subsequence of $x_1,x_2,ldots,x_{n^2+1}$. Hence, where the elements of $A'$ appear in the given order in $sigma_1$, they must appear in the opposite order in $sigma_3$. But since we said that the elements of $A$, which include $A'$, appear in $sigma_2$ also in the opposite of $sigma_1$'s order, then $A'$ appears in the same order in $sigma_2$ as in $sigma_3$, so they have a common subsequence of size $n+1$.






                  share|cite|improve this answer









                  $endgroup$



                  My argument relies on an understanding of posets and Mirsky's theorem, which can be used to prove Erdos-Szekeres. I'm don't know how to prove it with Erdos-Szekeres, if that's what you want. Also, I realize that it's really long. The first paragraph explain poset ideas and how they apply to these posets.



                  We define posets $P_{1,2}, P_{1,3}, P_{2,3}$ on our set ${1,2,ldots,m}$ where $i<j$ in $P_{1,2}$ if $i$ appears before $j$ in both $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$, and we define the ordering on the other two posets similarly. In order theory, a chain is a set of elements ${x_1,x_2,ldots, x_i}$ satisfying $x_1<x_2<ldots x_i$, and an antichain is a set $A$ where we have neither $a<b$ nor $b<a$ for $a,bin A$. In this language, we want to show that one of these posets contains a chain of size at least $n+1$. Two elements $x$ and $y$ in $P_{1,2}$ are incomparable (meaning neither is greater than the other) if $x$ appears before $y$ in $sigma_1$ and $y$ appears before $x$ in $sigma_2$, or vice versa. Hence, if $A={x_1,x_2,ldots,x_n}$ is an antichain in $P_{1,2}$, and $sigma_1$ contains $x_1x_2ldots x_n$ as a subsequence, then $sigma_2$ contains $x_nx_{n-1}ldots x_1$ as a subsequence. In other words, if $A$ is an antichain in $P_{1,2}$, then $sigma_1$ and $sigma_2$ contain $A$ in opposite orders.



                  Mirsky's theorem states that for a finite poset, the size of the longest chain is equal to the size of the smallest antichain decomposition, or a partition of our set into blocks where no two elements in the same block are comparable by our ordering. We first look at $P_{1,2}$: if we have a chain of size at least $n+1$, we're done. Otherwise, our longest chain has size at most $n$, so by Mirsky's theorem, our smallest antichain decomposition has at most $n$ antichains. By the pigeonhole principle, one of those $n$ antichains must contain at least $n^2+1$ elements. Let's call this antichain $A={x_1,x_2,ldots, x_{n^2+1}}$. Without loss of generality, say they appear in that order in $sigma_1$, and hence in the opposite order in $sigma_2$.



                  Now we look at $P_{1,3}$ restricted to $A$. If we have a chain of size at least $n+1$, we're done. Otherwise, the longest chain has size at most $n$, and our smallest antichain decomposition has at most $n$ antichains. Since $|A|geq n^2+1$, the pigeonhole principle tells us that we must have an antichain in $A$ with at least $n+1$ elements. Call this antichain $A'$, which is a subset of $A$. Say $A'={x'_1,x'_2,ldots, x'_{n+1}}$, where $x'_1,x'_2,ldots,x'_{n+1}$ is a subsequence of $x_1,x_2,ldots,x_{n^2+1}$. Hence, where the elements of $A'$ appear in the given order in $sigma_1$, they must appear in the opposite order in $sigma_3$. But since we said that the elements of $A$, which include $A'$, appear in $sigma_2$ also in the opposite of $sigma_1$'s order, then $A'$ appears in the same order in $sigma_2$ as in $sigma_3$, so they have a common subsequence of size $n+1$.







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                  share|cite|improve this answer



                  share|cite|improve this answer










                  answered Jan 21 at 20:49









                  Kevin LongKevin Long

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                  3,57121431






























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