Near optimal gap in the Lonely Runner Conjecture

Abstract

For a set $V$ of $n$ distinct positive integers, let $\mathrm{ML}(V)=\max_{t\in\mathbb{R}/\mathbb{Z}}\min_{v\in V}\|vt\|$, where $\|x\|$ is the distance from $x$ to the nearest integer. We prove that there is an absolute constant $c>0$ such that for every $n\ge2$ and every $V$, \[ \mathrm{ML}(V)>\frac{1+c}{2n}. \] The proof combines a refinement of the large GCD argument of Green and Walker with a new physical spillover inequality for interval multiplicities.