Permutations destroying arithmetic progressions in finite cyclic groups
Number Theory
2015-06-18 v1 Combinatorics
Abstract
A permutation \pi of an abelian group G is said to destroy arithmetic progressions (APs) if, whenever (a,b,c) is a non-trivial 3-term AP in G, that is c-b=b-a and a,b,c are not all equal, then (\pi(a),\pi(b),\pi(c)) is not an AP. In a paper from 2004, the first author conjectured that such a permutation exists of Z/nZ, for all n except 2,3,5 and 7. Here we prove, as a special case of a more general result, that such a permutation exists for all n >= n_0, for some explcitly constructed number n_0 \approx 1.4 x 10^{14}. We also construct such a permutation of Z/pZ for all primes p > 3 such that p = 3 (mod 8).
Cite
@article{arxiv.1506.05342,
title = {Permutations destroying arithmetic progressions in finite cyclic groups},
author = {Peter Hegarty and Anders Martinsson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1506.05342},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
11 pages, no figures