No-$(k+1)$-in-line problem for $k \geqslant 3$

Abstract

What is the maximum number of points one can place in an $n \times n$ grid such that every Euclidean line contains at most $k$ points? For $k = 2$, this is the notorious no-three-in-line problem of Dudeney. In this paper, we resolve this problem for all other $k$ (and sufficiently large $n$). Namely, for $k \geqslant 3$ and sufficiently large $n$, we show that this maximum is exactly $kn$. To prove this, our key observation is that in the regime $k \geqslant 3$, the problem is dominated in a certain statistical sense by the influence of a small number of "heavy" lines with many grid points. We apply a result of Ehard-Glock-Joos on pseudorandom hypergraph matchings to construct a set of size $kn - o(n)$ with at most $k$ points on each heavy line, and then a crude deletion argument yields a no-$(k+1)$-in-line set of nearly the same size. Finally, we use a randomised switching procedure to complete the construction (building upon ideas of Simkin and Luria). Using similar ideas, we also address the no-four-on-a-circle problem of Erdős and Purdy. Namely, we prove the existence of a set of $2n - o(n)$ points in the $n \times n$ grid such that no four of these points lie on a circle or a line, improving on the previous construction of size $n - o(n)$ due to Dong and Xu.