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

The Dynamics of Group Codes: Dual Abelian Group Codes and Systems

Fundamental results concerning the dynamics of abelian group codes (behaviors) and their duals are developed. Duals of sequence spaces over locally compact abelian groups may be defined via Pontryagin duality; dual group codes are orthogonal subgroups of dual sequence spaces. The dual of a complete code or system is finite, and the dual of a Laurent code or system is (anti-)Laurent. If C and C^\perp are dual codes, then the state spaces of C act as the character groups of the state spaces of C^\perp. The controllability properties of C are the observability properties of C^\perp. In particular, C is (strongly) controllable if and only if C^\perp is (strongly) observable, and the controller memory of C is the observer memory of C^\perp. The controller granules of C act as the character groups of the observer granules of C^\perp. Examples of minimal observer-form encoder and syndrome-former constructions are given. Finally, every observer granule of C is an "end-around" controller granule of C.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures. To appear in IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, 200

Convergent sequences in discrete groups

We prove that a finitely generated group contains a sequence of non-trivial elements which converge to the identity in every compact homomorphic image if and only if the group is not virtually abelian.Comment: 10 pages, no figures; in v2 some material on Jordan's Theorem and Chu duality added; v3 updated version, to appear in the Canadian Math. Bulleti

Exact sequences of tensor categories

We introduce the notions of normal tensor functor and exact sequence of tensor categories. We show that exact sequences of tensor categories generalize strictly exact sequences of Hopf algebras as defined by Schneider, and in particular, exact sequences of (finite) groups. We classify exact sequences of tensor categories C' -> C -> C'' (such that C' is finite) in terms of normal faithful Hopf monads on C'' and also, in terms of self-trivializing commutative algebras in the center of C. More generally, we show that, given any dominant tensor functor C -> D admitting an exact (right or left) adjoint there exists a canonical commutative algebra A in the center of C such that F is tensor equivalent to the free module functor C -> mod_C A, where mod_C A denotes the category of A-modules in C endowed with a monoidal structure defined using the half-braiding of A. We re-interpret equivariantization under a finite group action on a tensor category and, in particular, the modularization construction, in terms of exact sequences, Hopf monads and commutative central algebras. As an application, we prove that a braided fusion category whose dimension is odd and square-free is equivalent, as a fusion category, to the representation category of a group.Comment: 39 page

Reduction of UNil for finite groups with normal abelian Sylow 2-subgroup

Let F be a finite group with a Sylow 2-subgroup S that is normal and abelian. Using hyperelementary induction and cartesian squares, we prove that Cappell's unitary nilpotent groups UNil_*(Z[F];Z[F],Z[F]) have an induced isomorphism to the quotient of UNil_*(Z[S];Z[S],Z[S]) by the action of the group F/S. In particular, any finite group F of odd order has the same UNil-groups as the trivial group. The broader scope is the study of the L-theory of virtually cyclic groups, based on the Farrell--Jones isomorphism conjecture. We obtain partial information on these UNil when S is a finite abelian 2-group and when S is a special 2-group.Comment: 29 pages, revision of decorations, correction of Homological Reductio