English

On the smallest numerical semigroups closed under affine maps

Commutative Algebra 2026-07-03 v1

Abstract

We study numerical semigroups Sa,b(m)S_{a,b}(m) generated by the orbit of mm under the affine map Ta,b(z)=az+bT_{a,b}(z)=az+b, where a2a\ge 2, m>1m>1, gcd(b,m)=1\gcd(b,m)=1, and b(a2)m2b\ge -(a-2)m-2. This extends the usual affine-closed setting to feasible negative values of bb. We write Ai=(ai1)/(a1)A_i=(a^i-1)/(a-1) and let nn be the smallest positive integer such that AnmA_n\ge m. We determine the minimal generators and give an explicit description of the Ap\'ery set, obtaining homogeneity and formulas for the Frobenius number and the genus. We also study pseudo-Frobenius numbers via the induced Ap\'ery parametrization and prove the sharp upper bound t(Sa,b(m))n1\operatorname{t}(S_{a,b}(m))\le n-1 for the type. We give a complete characterization of the symmetric members of the family in terms of the canonical representative of m1m-1. Finally, we exhibit a subfamily whose pseudo-Frobenius numbers form an arithmetic progression of length n1n-1; in particular, this subfamily attains the bound.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.03258,
  title  = {On the smallest numerical semigroups closed under affine maps},
  author = {Amelia Álvarez and Carlos-Jesús Moreno-Ávila and Ignacio Ojeda},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.03258},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

Comments are welcome!