The binomial norm of intersecting-union families

Abstract

In a 2021 survey on Katona's circle method, Frankl conjectured that every family $\mathcal{F}\subseteq 2^{[n]}$ in which any two members intersect and no two members cover $[n]$ satisfies the sharp binomial norm bound $ \lVert\mathcal F\rVert_n :=\sum_{F\in\mathcal F}\binom{n}{|F|}^{-1} \leq \frac{n+1}{6}. $ This improves the earlier estimate $\frac{n}{4}$ obtained by the circle method. In this paper, we prove Frankl's conjecture and determine all extremal families. Our proof develops a continuous $p$-biased measure approach in place of the circle method. The intersection and union conditions lead to a sharp estimate for $ μ_p(\mathcal F)+μ_{1-p}(\mathcal F). $ Integrating this estimate over $p$ converts it directly into the desired binomial norm bound and recovers the optimal coefficient $\frac{1}{6}$. This continuous averaging is the key new ingredient of the proof and also yields the characterization of all extremal families.