Polynomial Configurations in Difference Sets (Revised Version)

Abstract

We prove a quantitative version of the Polynomial Szemeredi Theorem for difference sets. This result is achieved by first establishing a higher dimensional analogue of a theorem of Sarkozy (the simplest non-trivial case of the Polynomial Szemeredi Theorem asserting that the difference set of any subset of the integers of positive upper density necessarily contains a perfect square) and then applying a simple lifting argument.