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Subconvexity in inhomogeneous Vinogradov systems

When $k$ and $s$ are natural numbers and $\mathbf h\in \mathbb Z^k$, denote by $J_{s,k}(X;\mathbf h)$ the number of integral solutions of the system \[ \sum_{i=1}^s(x_i^j-y_i^j)=h_j\quad (1\le j\le k), \] with $1\le x_i,y_i\le X$. When $s<k(k+1)/2$ and $(h_1,\ldots ,h_{k-1})\ne {\mathbf 0}$, Brandes and Hughes have shown that $J_{s,k}(X;\mathbf h)=o(X^s)$. In this paper we improve on quantitative aspects of this result, and, subject to an extension of the main conjecture in Vinogradov&#39;s mean value theorem, we obtain an asymptotic formula for $J_{s,k}(X;\mathbf h)$ in the critical case $s=k(k+1)/2$. The latter requires minor arc estimates going beyond square-root cancellation.