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

On a combinatorial problem of Erdos, Kleitman and Lemke

In this paper, we study a combinatorial problem originating in the following conjecture of Erdos and Lemke: given any sequence of n divisors of n, repetitions being allowed, there exists a subsequence the elements of which are summing to n. This conjecture was proved by Kleitman and Lemke, who then extended the original question to a problem on a zero-sum invariant in the framework of finite Abelian groups. Building among others on earlier works by Alon and Dubiner and by the author, our main theorem gives a new upper bound for this invariant in the general case, and provides its right order of magnitude.Comment: 15 page

Zero-sum problems with congruence conditions

For a finite abelian group $G$ and a positive integer $d$, let $\mathsf s_{d \mathbb N} (G)$ denote the smallest integer $\ell \in \mathbb N_0$ such that every sequence $S$ over $G$ of length $|S| \ge \ell$ has a nonempty zero-sum subsequence $T$ of length $|T| \equiv 0 \mod d$. We determine $\mathsf s_{d \mathbb N} (G)$ for all $d\geq 1$ when $G$ has rank at most two and, under mild conditions on $d$, also obtain precise values in the case of $p$-groups. In the same spirit, we obtain new upper bounds for the Erd{\H o}s--Ginzburg--Ziv constant provided that, for the $p$-subgroups $G_p$ of $G$, the Davenport constant $\mathsf D (G_p)$ is bounded above by $2 \exp (G_p)-1$. This generalizes former results for groups of rank two

The Large Davenport Constant I: Groups with a Cyclic, Index 2 Subgroup

Let $G$ be a finite group written multiplicatively. By a sequence over $G$, we mean a finite sequence of terms from $G$ which is unordered, repetition of terms allowed, and we say that it is a product-one sequence if its terms can be ordered so that their product is the identity element of $G$. The small Davenport constant $\mathsf d (G)$ is the maximal integer $\ell$ such that there is a sequence over $G$ of length $\ell$ which has no nontrivial, product-one subsequence. The large Davenport constant $\mathsf D (G)$ is the maximal length of a minimal product-one sequence---this is a product-one sequence which cannot be factored into two nontrivial, product-one subsequences. It is easily observed that $\mathsf d(G)+1\leq \mathsf D(G)$, and if $G$ is abelian, then equality holds. However, for non-abelian groups, these constants can differ significantly. Now suppose $G$ has a cyclic, index 2 subgroup. Then an old result of Olson and White (dating back to 1977) implies that $\mathsf d(G)=\frac12|G|$ if $G$ is non-cyclic, and $\mathsf d(G)=|G|-1$ if $G$ is cyclic. In this paper, we determine the large Davenport constant of such groups, showing that $\mathsf D(G)=\mathsf d(G)+|G'|$, where $G'=[G,G]\leq G$ is the commutator subgroup of $G$