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Research notes on every problem, and a library of the papers behind them. Built from the open erdos repository.

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Claim. In Points defining triangles with distinct circumradii, a set of points in the plane is in general position when no four lie on a line or on a circle, and nkn_k is the least integer such that any nkn_k such points contain kk points all of whose triples determine circles of distinct radii. Theorem 1.1 proves that nkn_k exists for every kk and that nk=O(k9)n_k=O(k^9). Theorem 1.2 proves n4≤9n_4\le9 and n5≤37n_5\le37. The proof of Theorem 1.1 follows the scheme of Erdős's 1978 argument and handles the case that argument misses with Bézout's theorem on the intersections of two algebraic curves. Section 2 shows where Erdős's argument, which claimed nk≤k+2(k−12)(k−13)n_k\le k+2\binom{k-1}{2}\binom{k-1}{3}, fails.

Covers. The existence of nkn_k for every kk, which is the question Erdős asked in 1975, the polynomial bound nk=O(k9)n_k=O(k^9), and the bounds n4≤9n_4\le9 and n5≤37n_5\le37. The authors' convention, no four points on a line or a circle, is weaker than the one of Problem 827, no three points on a line and no four on a circle. Every set in general position under the problem's convention is in general position under the paper's, so the bounds hold for the problem's nkn_k too. The paper does not determine nkn_k for any kk.

Acceptance. The paper appeared in Acta Math. Hungar. 145 (2015), no. 1, 136–141, which is the refereed evidence. The site's commentary credits the corrected argument and the k9k^9 bound to the paper, but the site labels the problem OPEN, so that credit is not acceptance. The library card is Martínez and Roldán-Pensado 2015.