The maximum sum of sizes of non-empty cross $L$-intersecting families

Abstract

Let $n$, $r$, and $k$ be positive integers such that $k, r \geq 2$, $L$ a non-empty subset of $[k]$, and $\mathcal{F}_i \subseteq \binom{[n]}{k}$ for $1 \leq i \leq r$. We say that non-empty families $\mathcal{F}_1, \mathcal{F}_2, \ldots, \mathcal{F}_r$ are $r$-cross $L$-intersecting if $\left| \bigcap_{i=1}^r F_i \right| \in L$ for every choice of $F_i \in \mathcal{F}_i$ with $1 \leq i \leq r$. They are called pairwise cross $L$-intersecting if $|A \cap B| \in L$ for all $A \in \mathcal{F}_i$, $B \in \mathcal{F}_j$ with $i \neq j$. If $r=2$, we simply say cross $L$-intersecting instead of $2$-cross $L$-intersecting or pairwise cross $L$-intersecting. In this paper, we determine the maximum possible sum of sizes of non-empty cross $L$-intersecting families $\mathcal{F}_1$ and $\mathcal{F}_2$ for all admissible $n$, $k$, and $L$, and we characterize all the extremal structures. We also establish the maximum value of the sum of sizes of families $\mathcal{F}_1, \dots, \mathcal{F}_r$ that are both pairwise cross $L$-intersecting and $r$-cross $L$-intersecting, provided $n$ is sufficiently large and $L$ satisfies certain conditions. Furthermore, we characterize all such families attaining the maximum total size.