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Maximal Zero-Sum Free Sequence Length

2300ExpertCombinatoricsNumber Theory

Selection Examination

Let $k$ be a positive integer. Find the maximal length $L$ of a sequence $a_1, \dots, a_L$ containing positive integers that satisfies the following two properties: * Each term of the sequence is smaller or equal to $2^k$. * There are no consecutive terms $a_i, a_{i+1}, \dots, a_j$ (with $1 \le i < j \le L$) and signs $s_i, s_{i+1}, \dots, s_j \in \{1, -1\}$ such that $$s_i a_i + s_{i+1} a_{i+1} + \dots + s_j a_j = 0.$$
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