Mathematicians are assigned a number called Erdős number (named after the famous mathematician, Paul Erdős). Only Paul Erdős himself has an Erdős number of \(0\). Any mathematician who has written a research paper with Erdős has an Erdős number of \(1\). For other mathematicians, the calculation of his/her Erdős number is as follows:
Suppose a mathematician \(X\) has co-authored papers with several other mathematicians. From among them, mathematician \(Y\) has the smallest Erdős number. Let the Erdős number of \(Y\) be \(y\). Then \(X\) has an Erdős number of \(y + 1\). Hence, any mathematician with no co-authorship chain connected to Erdős has an Erdős number of \(\infty\).
In a seven-day long mini-conference organized in memory of Paul Erdős, a close group of eight mathematicians, call them \(A, B, C, D, E, F, G,\) and \(H\), discussed some research problems. At the beginning of the conference:
- \(A\) was the only participant with an Erdős number of \(\infty\).
- Nobody had an Erdős number less than that of \(F\).
Event Timeline
Day 3 Event:
- \(F\) co-authored a paper jointly with \(A\) and \(C\).
- This reduced the average Erdős number of the group of eight mathematicians to \(3\).
- The Erdős numbers of \(B, D, E, G, H\) remained unchanged.
- No other co-authorship among any three members would have reduced the average Erdős number of the group to as low as \(3\).
At the end of Day 3:
- Five members of the group had identical Erdős numbers.
- The other three had Erdős numbers distinct from each other.
Day 5 Event:
- \(E\) co-authored a paper with \(F\).
- This reduced the group’s average Erdős number by \(0.5\).
- The Erdős numbers of the other six members were unchanged.
Note: No other paper was written during the conference.