Zero-sum analogues of van der Waerden’s theorem on arithmetic progressions

Abstract

Let $r$ and $k$ be positive integers with $r \mid k$. Denote by $w_{\mathrm{\mathfrak{z}}}(k;r)$ the minimum integer such that every coloring $\chi:[1,w_{\mathrm{\mathfrak{z}}}(k;r)] \rightarrow \{0,1,\dots,r-1\}$ admits a $k$-term arithmetic progression $a,a+d,\dots,a+(k-1)d$ with $\sum_{j=0}^{k-1} \chi(a+jd) \equiv 0 \,(\mathrm{mod }\,r)$. We investigate these numbers as well as a mixed monochromatic/zero-sum analogue. We also present an interesting reciprocity between the van der Waerden numbers and $w_{\mathrm{\mathfrak{z}}}(k;r)$.