On B(5, 18) Groups

A group G is said to be a B(n, k) group if for any n-element subset A of G, |A²| ≤k. In this paper, a characterization of B(5, 18) groups is given. It is shown that G is a B(5, 18) group if and only if one of the following statements holds: (1) G is abelian; (2) |G| ≤18; (3) G ? ? a, b | a⁵ = b⁴ = 1, a^b = a^?1 ?.     

Additive Latin transversals and group rings

LetA={a ₁, …,a _k} and {b ₁, …,b _k} be two subsets of an abelian groupG, k≤|G|. Snevily conjectured that, when |G| is odd, there is a numbering of the elements ofB such thata _i+b _i,1≤i≤k are pairwise distinct. By using a polynomial method, Alon affirmed this conjecture for |G| prime, even whenA is a sequence ofk<|G| elements. With a new application of the polynomial method, Dasgupta, Károlyi, Serra and Szegedy extended Alon’s result to the groupsZ _p ^r andZ _p ^rin the casek<p and verified Snevily’s conjecture for every cyclic group. In this paper, by employing group rings as a tool, we prove that Alon’s result is true for any finite abelianp-group withk<√2p, and verify Snevily’s conjecture for every abelian group of odd order in the casek<√p, wherep is the smallest prime divisor of |G|. This work has been supported partly by NSFC grant number 19971058 and 10271080.     

Exterior algebras and two conjectures on finite abelian groups

Let G be a finite abelian group with |G| > 1. Let a ₁, …, a _k be k distinct elements of G and let b ₁, …, b _k be (not necessarily distinct) elements of G, where k is a positive integer smaller than the least prime divisor of |G|. We show that there is a permutation π on {1, …,k} such that a ₁ b _π(1), …, a _k b _π(k) are distinct, provided that any other prime divisor of |G| (if there is any) is greater than k!. This in particular confirms the Dasgupta-Károlyi-Serra-Szegedy conjecture for abelian p-groups. We also pose a new conjecture involving determinants and characters, and show that its validity implies Snevily’s conjecture for abelian groups of odd order. Our methods involve exterior algebras and characters.     

The number of meets between two subsets of a lattice

Let L be a lattice of divisors of an integer (isomorphically, a direct product of chains). We prove |A| |B| ? |L| |A ∧ B| for any A, B ? L, where |·| denotes cardinality and A ∧ B = {a ∧ b: a?A, b?B}. |A ∧ B| attains its minimum for fixed |A|, |B| when A and B are ideals. |·| can be replaced by certain other weight functions. When the n chains are of equal size k, the elements may be viewed as n-digit k-ary numbers. Then for fixed |A|, |B|, |A ∧ B| is minimized when A and B are the |A| and |B| smallest n-digit k-ary numbers written backwards and forwards, respectively. |A ∧ B| for these sets is determined and bounded. Related results are given, and conjectures are made.     

Restricted sumsets and a conjecture of Lev

LetA, B, S be finite subsets of an abelian groupG. Suppose that the restricted sumsetC={α+b: α ∈A, b ∈B, and α − b ∉S} is nonempty and somec∈C can be written asa+b witha∈A andb∈B in at mostm ways. We show that ifG is torsion-free or elementary abelian, then |C|≥|A|+|B|−|S|−m. We also prove that |C|≥|A|+|B|−2|S|−m if the torsion subgroup ofG is cyclic. In the caseS={0} this provides an advance on a conjecture of Lev. This author is responsible for communications, and supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 10425103) and the Key Program of NSF (No. 10331020) in China.     

Hyperreflexivity of the derivation space of some group algebras

Let T be a continuous linear operator on a Banach algebra A. We address the question of whether the constant ${{\rm sup}\{||aT(b)c||: a, b, c \in A, \, ab = bc = 0, ||a|| = ||b|| = ||c||=1\}}Let T be a continuous linear operator on a Banach algebra A. We address the question of whether the constant sup{||aT(b)c||: a, b, c ? A,  ab = bc = 0, ||a|| = ||b|| = ||c||=1}{{\rm sup}\{||aT(b)c||: a, b, c \in A, \, ab = bc = 0, ||a|| = ||b|| = ||c||=1\}} being small implies that the distance from T to the space Der(A) of all continuous derivations on A is small. We show that this is the case for amenable group algebras. As a consequence, we deduce that Der(L ¹(G)) is hyperreflexive for each amenable group in [SIN].     

Extremal Regular Graphs with Prescribed Odd Girth

The odd girth of a graph G gives the length of a shortest odd cycle in G. Let ƒ(k, g) denote the smallest n such that there exists a k-regular graph of order n and odd girth g. It is known that ƒ(k, g) ≥ kg/2 and that ƒ(k, g) = kg/2 if k is even. The exact values of ƒ(k, g) are also known if k = 3 or g = 5. Let x_e denote the smallest even integer no less than x, δ(g) = (−1)^{g − 1}/2, and s(k) = min {p + q | k = pq, where p and q are both positive integers}. It is proved that if k ≥ 5 and g ≥ 7 are both odd, then [formula] with the exception that ƒ(5, 7) = 20.     

Strict Dead-End Elements in Free Soluble Groups

Let G be a group generated by a finite set A. An element g ∈ G is a strict dead end of depth k (with respect to A) if |g|>|ga ₁|>|ga ₁ a ₂|>···>|ga ₁ a ₂… a _k | for any a ₁, a ₂,…, a _k  ∈ A ^±1 such that the word a ₁ a ₂… a _k is freely irreducible. (Here |g| is the distance from g to the identity in the Cayley graph of G.) We show that in finitely generated free soluble groups of degree d ≥ 2 there exist strict dead elements of depth k = k(d), which grows exponentially with respect to d.     

A Neighborhood Condition for Graphs to Have [a, b]-Factors II

 Let a, b, m, and t be integers such that 1≤a<b and 1≤t≤⌉(b−m+1)/a⌉. Suppose that G is a graph of order |G| and H is any subgraph of G with the size |E(H)|=m. Then we prove that G has an [a,b]-factor containing all the edges of H if the minimum degree is at least a, |G|>((a+b)(t(a+b−1)−1)+2m)/b, and |N _G (x ₁)∪⋯ ∪N _G (x _t )|≥(a|G|+2m)/(a+b) for every independent set {x ₁,…,x _t }⊆V(G). This result is best possible in some sense and it is an extension of the result of H. Matsuda (A neighborhood condition for graphs to have [a,b]-factors, Discrete Mathematics 224 (2000) 289–292). Received: October, 2001 Final version received: September 17, 2002 RID="*" ID="*" This research was partially supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Grant-in-Aid for Encouragement of Young Scientists, 13740084, 2001     

Algebras whose equivalence relations are congruences

It is proved that all the equivalence relations of a universal algebra A are its congruences if and only if either |A| ≤ 2 or every operation f of the signature is a constant (i.e., f(a ₁ , . . . , a _n ) = c for some c ∈ A and all the a ₁ , . . . , a _n ∈ A) or a projection (i.e., f(a ₁ , . . . , a _n ) = a _i for some i and all the a ₁ , . . . , a _n ∈ A). All the equivalence relations of a groupoid G are its right congruences if and only if either |G| ≤ 2 or every element a ∈ G is a right unit or a generalized right zero (i.e., x _a  = y _a for all x, y ∈ G). All the equivalence relations of a semigroup S are right congruences if and only if either |S| ≤ 2 or S can be represented as S = A∪B, where A is an inflation of a right zero semigroup, and B is the empty set or a left zero semigroup, and ab = a, ba = a ² for a ∈ A, b ∈ B. If G is a groupoid of 4 or more elements and all the equivalence relations of it are right or left congruences, then either all the equivalence relations of the groupoid G are left congruences, or all of them are right congruences. A similar assertion for semigroups is valid without the restriction on the number of elements.     

On pointwise and analytic similarity of matrices

LetA(ε) andB(ε) be complex valued matrices analytic in ε at the origin.A(ε)≈ _p B(ε) ifA(ε) is similar toB(ε) for any |ε|<r,A(ε)≈_a B(ε) ifB(ε)=T(ε)A(ε)T ⁻¹(ε) andT(ε) is analytic and |T(ε)|≠0 for |ε|<r! In this paper we find a necessary and sufficient conditions onA(ε) andB(ε) such thatA(ε)≈ _a B(ε) provided thatA(ε)≈ _p B(ε). This problem arises in study of certain ordinary differential equations singular with respect to a parameter ε in the origin and was first stated by Wasow. Sponsored by the United States Army under Contract No. DAAG29-75-C-0024     

When do random subsets decompose a finite group?

Let A, B be two random subsets of a finite group G. We consider the event that the products of elements from A and B span the whole group, i.e. [AB ∪ BA = G]. The study of this event gives rise to a group invariant we call Θ(G). Θ(G) is between 1/2 and 1, and is 1 if and only if the group is abelian. We show that a phase transition occurs as the size of A and B passes √Θ(G)|G| log |G|; i.e. for any ɛ > 0, if the size of A and B is less than (1 − ɛ)√Θ(G)|G| log |G|, then with high probability AB ∪ BA ≠ G. If A and B are larger than (1 + ɛ)√Θ(G)|G| log |G|, then AB ∪ BA = G with high probability.     

On Galois Algebras Satisfying the Fundamental Theorem

Let B be a Galois algebra over a commutative ring R with Galois group G such that B ^H is a separable subalgebra of B for each subgroup H of G. Then it is shown that B satisfies the fundamental theorem if and only if B is one of the following three types: (1) B is an indecomposable commutative Galois algebra, (2) B = Re ⊕ R(1 ? e) where e and 1 ? e are minimal central idempotents in B, and (3) B is an indecomposable Galois algebra such that for each separable subalgebra A, V _B (A) = ?∑ _g∈G(A) J _g , and the centers of A and B ^G(A) are the same where V _B (A) is the commutator subring of A in B, J _g  = {b ∈ B | bx = g(x)b for each x ∈ B} for a g ∈ G, and G(A) = {g ∈ G | g(a) = a for all a ∈ A}.     

A solution to a problem of Cameron on sum-free complete sets

For any subsets A and B of an additive group G, define A + B = { a + b: a ε A and b ε B} and −A = {−a: a ε A}. A subset S of G is said to be sum-free, complete, and symmetric respectively if S + S S^c, S + S S^c, and S = −S. Cameron asked if for all sufficiently large moduli m there exists a sum-free complete set in Z/mZ that is not symmetric. We answer Cameron's question by showing there exists such a set for all moduli greater than or equal to 890626. We also show that every sum-free complete set in Z/mZ that is not symmetric can be used to construct a counter-example to a conjecture of Conway disproved by Marica. Conway conjectured that for any finite set S of integers, |S + S| |S --- S|.     

Table algebras with multiple P-polynomial structures

Using covering numbers we prove that a standard real integral table algebra (A, B) with |B| ≥ 6 has a P-polynomial structure with respect to every b ≠ 1 in B if and only if 2|B|-1 is prime and (A, B) is exactly isomorphic to the Bose-Mesner algebra of the association scheme of the ordinary (2|B|-1)-gon. Then we present an example showing that this result is not true if |B| ≤ 5.     

The structure of the 3-separations of 3-connected matroids

Tutte defined a k-separation of a matroid M to be a partition (A,B) of the ground set of M such that |A|,|B|k and r(A)+r(B)−r(M)<k. If, for all m<n, the matroid M has no m-separations, then M is n-connected. Earlier, Whitney showed that (A,B) is a 1-separation of M if and only if A is a union of 2-connected components of M. When M is 2-connected, Cunningham and Edmonds gave a tree decomposition of M that displays all of its 2-separations. When M is 3-connected, this paper describes a tree decomposition of M that displays, up to a certain natural equivalence, all non-trivial 3-separations of M.     

Transversals of additive Latin squares

LetA={a ₁, …,a _k} andB={b ₁, …,b _k} be two subsets of an Abelian groupG, k≤|G|. Snevily conjectured that, whenG is of odd order, there is a permutationπ ∈S _ksuch that the sums α _i +b _i , 1≤i≤k, are pairwise different. Alon showed that the conjecture is true for groups of prime order, even whenA is a sequence ofk<|G| elements, i.e., by allowing repeated elements inA. In this last sense the result does not hold for other Abelian groups. With a new kind of application of the polynomial method in various finite and infinite fields we extend Alon’s result to the groups (ℤ _p ) ^a and in the casek<p, and verify Snevily’s conjecture for every cyclic group of odd order. Supported by Hungarian research grants OTKA F030822 and T029759. Supported by the Catalan Research Council under grant 1998SGR00119. Partially supported by the Hungarian Research Foundation (OTKA), grant no. T029132.     

A Lower Bound for {a+b:aA, bB, and P(a,b)≠0}

Let A and B be two finite subsets of a field . In this paper, we provide a non-trivial lower bound for {a+b:aA, bB, and P(a,b)≠0} where P(x,y) [x,y].     

The noncommutative Choquet boundary II: Hyperrigidity

A (finite or countably infinite) set G of generators of an abstract C*-algebra A is called hyperrigid if for every faithful representation of A on a Hilbert space A ⊆ B(H) and every sequence of unital completely positive linear maps ϕ ₁, ϕ ₂,... from B(H) to itself,

Group Weighted Matchings in Bipartite Graphs

Let G be a bipartite graph with bicoloration {A, B}, |A| = |B|, and let w : E(G) K where K is a finite abelian group with k elements. For a subset S E(G) let . A Perfect matching M E(G) is a w-matching if w(M) = 1.A characterization is given for all w's for which every perfect matching is a w-matching.It is shown that if G = K _k+1,k+1 then either G has no w-matchings or it has at least 2 w-matchings.If K is the group of order 2 and deg(a) d for all a A, then either G has no w-matchings, or G has at least (d – 1)! w-matchings.R. Meshulam: Research supported by a Technion V.P.R. Grant No. 100-854.