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In mathematics, Proizvolov's identity is an identity concerning sums of differences of positive integers. The identity was posed by Vyacheslav Proizvolov as a problem in the 1985 All-Union Soviet Student Olympiads.^[1]

To state the identity, take the first 2N positive integers,

1, 2, 3, ..., 2N − 1, 2N,

and partition them into two subsets of N numbers each. Arrange one subset in increasing order:

${\displaystyle A_{1}<A_{2}<\cdots <A_{N}.}$

Arrange the other subset in decreasing order:

${\displaystyle B_{1}>B_{2}>\cdots >B_{N}.}$

Then the sum

${\displaystyle |A_{1}-B_{1}|+|A_{2}-B_{2}|+\cdots +|A_{N}-B_{N}|}$

is always equal to N².

Take for example N = 3. The set of numbers is then {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}. Select three numbers of this set, say 2, 3 and 5. Then the sequences A and B are:

A₁ = 2, A₂ = 3, and A₃ = 5;

B₁ = 6, B₂ = 4, and B₃ = 1.

The sum is

${\displaystyle |A_{1}-B_{1}|+|A_{2}-B_{2}|+|A_{3}-B_{3}|=|2-6|+|3-4|+|5-1|=4+1+4=9,}$

which indeed equals 3².

A slick proof of the identity is as follows. Note that for any ${\displaystyle a,b}$, we have that :${\displaystyle |a-b|=\max\{a,b\}-\min\{a,b\}}$. For this reason, it suffices to establish that the sets ${\displaystyle \{\max\{a_{i},b_{i}\}:1\leq i\leq n\}}$ and :${\displaystyle \{n+1,n+2,\dots ,2n\}}$ coincide. Since the numbers ${\displaystyle a_{i},b_{i}}$ are all distinct, it therefore suffices to show that for any ${\displaystyle 1\leq k\leq n}$, ${\displaystyle \max\{a_{k},b_{k}\}>n}$. Assume the contrary that this is false for some ${\displaystyle k}$, and consider ${\displaystyle n+1}$ positive integers ${\displaystyle a_{1},a_{2},\dots ,a_{k},b_{k},b_{k+1},\dots ,b_{n}}$. Clearly, these numbers are all distinct (due to the construction), but they are at most ${\displaystyle n}$: a contradiction is reached.

• Savchev, Svetoslav; Andreescu, Titu (2002), Mathematical miniatures, Anneli Lax New Mathematical Library, vol. 43, Mathematical Association of America, ISBN 0-88385-645-X.

• Proizvolov's identity at cut-the-knot.org
• A video illustration (and proof outline) of Proizvolov's identity by Dr. James Grime