English

On zero-sum problems over metacyclic groups $C_n \rtimes_s C_2$

Combinatorics 2026-05-01 v2 Number Theory

Abstract

Let GG be a finite group. A finite collection of elements from GG, where the order is disregarded and repetitions are allowed, is said to be a product-one sequence if its elements can be ordered such that their product in GG equals the identity element of GG. Then, the Gao's constant E(G)\mathsf E (G) of GG is the smallest integer \ell such that every sequence of length at least \ell has a product-one subsequence of length G|G|. For a positive integer nn, we denote by CnC_n a cyclic group of order nn. Let G=CnsC2G = C_n \rtimes_s C_2 with s21(modn)s^2\equiv 1\pmod n be a metacyclic group. The direct and inverse problems of E(G)\mathsf E (G) were settled recently, except for the case that G=C3n2sC2G=C_{3n_2}\rtimes_s C_2 with n21n_2\neq 1, gcd(n2,6)=1\gcd(n_2,6)=1, s1(mod3)s\equiv -1 \pmod 3, and s1(modn2)s\equiv 1\pmod {n_2}. In this paper, we complete the remaining case and hence for all metacyclic groups of the form G=CnC2G=C_n \rtimes C_2, the Gao's constant and the associated inverse problem are now fully settled (see Theorem 1.2).

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2511.18246,
  title  = {On zero-sum problems over metacyclic groups $C_n \rtimes_s C_2$},
  author = {Jun Seok Oh and Sávio Ribas and Kevin Zhao and Qinghai Zhong},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.18246},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

To appear in J. Combin. Theory Ser. A

R2 v1 2026-07-01T07:50:36.992Z