Iterated compositions of linear operations on sets of positive upper density

Starting from a result of Stewart, Tijdeman and Ruzsa on iterated difference sequences, we introduce the notion of iterated compositions of linear operations. We prove a general result on the stability of such compositions (with bounded coefficients) on sets of integers having a positive upper density

Orbital measures on SU(2)/SO(2)

We let U=SU(2) and K=SO(2) and denote N_{U}(K) the normalizer of K in U. For a an element of U\ N_{U} (K), we let \mu_{a} be the normalized singular measure supported in KaK. For p a positive integer, it was proved that \mu_{a}^{( p)}, the convolution of p copies of \mu_{a}, is absolutely continuous with respect to the Haar measure of the group U as soon as p>=2. The aim of this paper is to go a step further by proving the following two results : (i) for every a in U\ N_{U} (K) and every integer p >=3, the Radon-Nikodym derivative of \mu_{a}^{(p)} with respect to the Haar measure m_{U} on U, namely d\mu_{a}^{(p)}/d m_{U}, is in L^{2}(U), and (ii) there exist a in U\ N_{U} (K) for which d\mu_{a}^{(2)}/ dm_{U} is not in L^{2}(U), hence a counter example to the dichotomy conjecture. Since L^{2} (G) \subseteq L^{1} (G), our result gives in particular a new proof of the result when p>2

Some remarks on barycentric-sum problems over cyclic groups

We derive some new results on the k-th barycentric Olson constants of abelian groups (mainly cyclic). This quantity, for a finite abelian (additive) group (G,+), is defined as the smallest integer l such that each subset A of G with at least l elements contains a subset with k elements {g_1, ..., g_k} satisfying g_1 + ... + g_k = k g_j for some 1 <= j <= k.Comment: to appear in European Journal of Combinatoric

A NUMERICAL NOTE ON UPPER BOUNDS FOR B 2 [g] SETS

International audienceSidon sets are those sets such that the sums of two of its elements never coincide. They go back to the 30s when Sidon asked for the maximal size of a subset of consecutive integers with that property. This question is now answered in a satisfactory way. Their natural generalization, called B 2 [g] sets and defined by the fact that there are at most g ways (up to reordering the summands) to represent a given integer as a sum of two elements of the set, are much more difficult to handle and not as well understood. In this article, using a numerical approach, we improve the best upper estimates on the size of a B 2 [g] set in an interval of integers in the cases g = 2, 3, 4 and 5

K5(7,3)⩽100

AbstractOne of the main aims in the theory of covering codes is to obtain good estimates on Kq(n,R), the minimal cardinality of an R-covering code over the nth power of an alphabet with q elements. This paper reports on the new bound K5(7,3)⩽100, obtained by an improved computer search based on Östergård and Weakley's method. In particular, the code leading to this bound has a group of automorphisms quite different from the one Östergård and Weakley used. This new upper bound significantly improves the former record (which was 125)

Large restricted sumsets in general abelian group

Let A, B and S be three subsets of a finite Abelian group G. The restricted sumset of A and B with respect to S is defined as A\wedge^{S} B= {a+b: a in A, b in B and a-b not in S}. Let L_S=max_{z in G}| {(x,y): x,y in G, x+y=z and x-y in S}|. A simple application of the pigeonhole principle shows that |A|+|B|>|G|+L_S implies A\wedge^S B=G. We then prove that if |A|+|B|=|G|+L_S then |A\wedge^S B|>= |G|-2|S|. We also characterize the triples of sets (A,B,S) such that |A|+|B|=|G|+L_S and |A\wedge^S B|= |G|-2|S|. Moreover, in this case, we also provide the structure of the set G\setminus (A\wedge^S B).Comment: Paper submitted November 15, 2011. To appear European Journal of Combinatorics, special issue in memorian Yahya ould Hamidoune (2013