53,892 research outputs found
On the existence of zero-sum subsequences of distinct lengths
In this paper, we obtain a characterization of short normal sequences over a
finite Abelian p-group, thus answering positively a conjecture of Gao for a
variety of such groups. Our main result is deduced from a theorem of Alon,
Friedland and Kalai, originally proved so as to study the existence of regular
subgraphs in almost regular graphs. In the special case of elementary p-groups,
Gao's conjecture is solved using Alon's Combinatorial Nullstellensatz. To
conclude, we show that, assuming every integer satisfies Property B, this
conjecture holds in the case of finite Abelian groups of rank two.Comment: 10 pages, to appear in Rocky Mountain Journal of Mathematic
Some recent results and open problems on sets of lengths of Krull monoids with finite class group
Some of the fundamental notions related to sets of lengths of Krull monoids
with finite class group are discussed, and a survey of recent results is given.
These include the elasticity and related notions, the set of distances, and the
structure theorem for sets of lengths. Several open problems are mentioned
On the Olson and the Strong Davenport constants
A subset of a finite abelian group, written additively, is called
zero-sumfree if the sum of the elements of each non-empty subset of is
non-zero. We investigate the maximal cardinality of zero-sumfree sets, i.e.,
the (small) Olson constant. We determine the maximal cardinality of such sets
for several new types of groups; in particular, -groups with large rank
relative to the exponent, including all groups with exponent at most five.
These results are derived as consequences of more general results, establishing
new lower bounds for the cardinality of zero-sumfree sets for various types of
groups. The quality of these bounds is explored via the treatment, which is
computer-aided, of selected explicit examples. Moreover, we investigate a
closely related notion, namely the maximal cardinality of minimal zero-sum
sets, i.e., the Strong Davenport constant. In particular, we determine its
value for elementary -groups of rank at most , paralleling and building
on recent results on this problem for the Olson constant
Minimal realizations of linear systems: The "shortest basis" approach
Given a controllable discrete-time linear system C, a shortest basis for C is
a set of linearly independent generators for C with the least possible lengths.
A basis B is a shortest basis if and only if it has the predictable span
property (i.e., has the predictable delay and degree properties, and is
non-catastrophic), or alternatively if and only if it has the subsystem basis
property (for any interval J, the generators in B whose span is in J is a basis
for the subsystem C_J). The dimensions of the minimal state spaces and minimal
transition spaces of C are simply the numbers of generators in a shortest basis
B that are active at any given state or symbol time, respectively. A minimal
linear realization for C in controller canonical form follows directly from a
shortest basis for C, and a minimal linear realization for C in observer
canonical form follows directly from a shortest basis for the orthogonal system
C^\perp. This approach seems conceptually simpler than that of classical
minimal realization theory.Comment: 20 pages. Final version, to appear in special issue of IEEE
Transactions on Information Theory on "Facets of coding theory: From
algorithms to networks," dedicated to Ralf Koette
Inverse zero-sum problems II
Let be an additive finite abelian group. A sequence over is called a
minimal zero-sum sequence if the sum of its terms is zero and no proper
subsequence has this property. Davenport's constant of is the maximum of
the lengths of the minimal zero-sum sequences over . Its value is well-known
for groups of rank two. We investigate the structure of minimal zero-sum
sequences of maximal length for groups of rank two. Assuming a well-supported
conjecture on this problem for groups of the form , we
determine the structure of these sequences for groups of rank two. Combining
our result and partial results on this conjecture, yields unconditional results
for certain groups of rank two.Comment: new version contains results related to Davenport's constant only;
other results will be described separatel
- …