Abstract
Let P ⊂ R2 be a point set with cardinality N. We give an improved bound for the number of dot products determined by P, proving that |{p · q:p, q ∈ P}| ≫ N2/3+c. A crucial ingredient in the proof of this bound is a new superquadratic expander involving products and shifts. We prove that, for any finite set X ⊂ R, there exist z, z' ∈ X such that (½) ≳ |X|5/2. This is derived from a more general result concerning growth of sets defined via convexity and sum sets, and which can be used to prove several other expanders with better than quadratic growth. The proof develops arguments from Hanson, Roche-Newton, and Rudnev [Combinatorica, to appear], and uses predominantly elementary methods.