TITLE: Borel set plus a closed set = Borel
QUESTION [14 upvotes]: Hi,
Let $R$ be equipped with the usual Borel structure. Let $F$ be a Borel subset and $E$ be a closed subset of $R$. Then $F+E=(f+e: f\in F, e \in E \)$ is Borel? If yes, is it true for any locally compact topological group? Thanks in advance.

REPLY [20 votes]: No. Erdös and Stone showed that the sum of two subsets $E$, $F\subset\mathbb R$ may not be Borel even if one of them is compact and the other is $G_\delta$ (see "On the Sum of Two Borel Sets", Proc. Am. Math. Soc., Vol. 25, (1970), pp. 304-306). 
Their argument works for every connected locally compact (or abelian) topological group with a complete metric.