English

The maximum size of sumsets in finite cyclic groups

Number Theory 2025-08-19 v1

Abstract

Let AA be a nonempty finite subset of an additive abelian group GG. Given a nonnegative integer hh, the hh-fold sumset hAhA is the set of all sums of hh elements of AA, and the restricted hh-fold sumset hAh^\wedge A is the set of all sums of hh distinct elements of AA. The union of restricted sumsets sAs^\wedge A, where s=0,1,,hs=0, 1, \ldots, h, is denoted by [0,h]A[0, h]^\wedge A. For fixed positive integers mm and hh, the maximum size of the sumset hAhA of a set AGA \subseteq G with mm elements is denoted by ν(G,m,h)\nu(G, m, h). In other words, ν(G,m,h)=max{hA:AG,A=m}\nu(G, m, h) = \max\{|hA| : A \subseteq G, |A|= m\}. Analogous quantities can be defined for the sumsets hAh^\wedge A and [0,h]A[0, h]^\wedge A. Optimal upper bounds are known for these quantities. If GG is a finite cyclic group of order nn, then each of these quantities agrees with the optimal upper bound, except in many cases. Bajnok posed the problem of determining all positive integers nn, mm, and hh for which the value of the function f(n,m,h)f(n, m, h) is strictly less than the optimal upper bound. He posed similar problems for quantities related to the sumsets hAh^\wedge A and [0,h]A[0, h]^\wedge A. We prove that, for any positive integer hh, there are infinitely many positive integers mm and nn such that ν(Zn,m,h)\nu(\mathbb{Z}_n, m, h) is strictly less than the optimal upper bound. We also prove similar results for quantities related to the sumsets hAh^\wedge A and [0,h]A[0, h]^\wedge A also. These results provide the partial solutions to the problems posed by Bajnok.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2508.13125,
  title  = {The maximum size of sumsets in finite cyclic groups},
  author = {Vivekanand Goswami and Raj Kumar Mistri},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.13125},
  year   = {2025}
}

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15 pages