# Dilated floor functions having nonnegative commutator II. Negative   dilations

**Authors:** Jeffrey C. Lagarias, D. Harry Richman

arXiv: 1907.09641 · 2023-03-07

## TL;DR

This paper completes the classification of parameter pairs for which dilated floor functions have a nonnegative commutator, focusing on the case where both parameters are negative, and connects the results with Beatty sequences and Frobenius problems.

## Contribution

It extends previous work by classifying all negative dilation parameter pairs with nonnegative commutator, completing the characterization for all real parameters.

## Key findings

- Classifies all negative parameter pairs with nonnegative commutator.
- Establishes connections with Beatty sequences.
- Links the problem to the Frobenius problem in two generators.

## Abstract

This paper completes the classification of the set $S$ of all real parameter pairs $(\alpha,\beta)$ such that the dilated floor functions $f_\alpha(x) = \lfloor{\alpha x}\rfloor$, $f_\beta(x) = \lfloor{\beta x}\rfloor$ have a nonnegative commutator, i.e. $ [ f_{\alpha}, f_{\beta}](x) = \lfloor{\alpha \lfloor{\beta x}\rfloor}\rfloor - \lfloor{\beta \lfloor{\alpha x}\rfloor}\rfloor \geq 0$ for all real $x$. This paper treats the case where both dilation parameters $\alpha, \beta$ are negative. This result is equivalent to classifying all positive $\alpha, \beta$ satisfying $ \lfloor{\alpha \lceil{\beta x}\rceil}\rfloor - \lfloor{\beta \lceil{\alpha x}\rceil}\rfloor \geq 0$ for all real $x$. The classification analysis is connected with the theory of Beatty sequences and with the Diophantine Frobenius problem in two generators.

## Full text

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## Figures

20 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1907.09641/full.md

## References

8 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1907.09641/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1907.09641