Related papers: Generating all subsets of a finite set with disjoi…

We call a family G of subsets of [n] a k-generator of (\mathbb{P}[n]) if every (x \subset [n]) can be expressed as a union of at most k disjoint sets in (\mathcal{G}). Frein, Leveque and Sebo conjectured that for any (n \geq k), such a…

We consider the problem of minimizing the size of a family of sets G such that every subset of 1,...,n can be written as a disjoint union of at most k members of G, where k and n are given numbers. This problem originates in a real-world…

For a given number of $k$-sets, how should we choose them so as to minimize the union-closed family that they generate? Our main aim in this paper is to show that, if $\mathcal{A}$ is a family of $k$-sets of size $\binom{t}{k}$, and $t$ is…

Bisch and Jones proposed the classification of planar algebras by simple generators and relations. In this paper, we study the generating problem for a family of group-subgroup subfactors associated with the Kneser graphs, namely, to…

Recent results by Andrews and Merca on the number of even parts in all partitions of n into distinct parts, a(n), were derived via generating functions. This paper extends these results to the number of parts divisible by k in all the…

Let $G$ be a finite almost simple group. It is well known that $G$ can be generated by 3 elements, and in previous work we showed that 6 generators suffice for all maximal subgroups of $G$. In this paper we consider subgroups at the next…

A smallest generating set of a semigroup is a generating set of the smallest cardinality. Similarly, an irredundant generating set $X$ is a generating set such that no proper subset of $X$ is also a generating set. A semigroup $S$ is…

For $n$ at least 7 and $n$ equal to 5, we give generating sets of size 2 for the commutator subgroup of the braid group on $n$ strands. These generating sets are of the smallest possible cardinality. For $n$ equal to 4 or 6, we give…

We construct a left-compressed family F(n, k, G) generated by a collection of generating sets G, and identify conditions on G under which F(n, k, G) is an intersecting family. From this, we obtain a convenient method to construct…

Let $G$ be a group. A group is said to be $k$-generated if it can be generated by its $k$ elements. A generating set of $G$ is called a minimal generating set if no proper subset of it generates $G.$ A minimal generating set of a group can…

Let $G$ be a finite group. In order to determine the smallest cardinality $d(G)$ of a generating set of $G$ and a generating set with this cardinality, one should repeat many times the test whether a subset of $G$ of small cardinality…

A subset S of a finite group G invariably generates G if G = <hsg(s) j s 2 Si > for each choice of g(s) 2 G; s 2 S. We give a tight upper bound on the minimal size of an invariable generating set for an arbitrary finite group G. In response…

A subset $S$ of a group $G$ invariably generates $G$ if, when each element of $S$ is replaced by an arbitrary conjugate, the resulting set generates $G.$ An invariable generating set $X$ of $G$ is called minimal if no proper subset of $X$…

Let S be a smooth cubic surface defined over a field K. As observed by Segre and Manin, there is a secant and tangent process on S that generates new K-rational points from old. It is natural to ask for the size of a minimal generating set…

A disjoint $(v,k,k-1)$ difference family in an additive group $G$ is a partition of $G\setminus\{0\}$ into sets of size $k$ whose lists of differences cover, altogether, every non-zero element of $G$ exactly $k-1$ times. The main purpose of…

A $k$-wise $\ell$-divisible set family is a collection $\mathcal{F}$ of subsets of ${ \{1,\ldots,n \} }$ such that any intersection of $k$ sets in $\mathcal{F}$ has cardinality divisible by $\ell$. If $k=\ell=2$, it is well-known that…

Let R be the ring of algebraic integers in a number field K and let L be a maximal order in a semisimple K-algebra B. Building on our previous work, we compute the smallest number of algebra generators of L considered as an R-algebra. This…

Let $k$ be a number field, suppose that $B$ is a central simple division algebra over $k$, and choose any maximal order $\mathcal{D}$ of $B$. The object of this paper is to show that the group $\mathcal{D}_S^*$ of $S$-units of $B$ is…

Let $K/k$ be a finite extension of a global field. Such an extension can be generated over $k$ by a single element. The aim of this article is to prove the existence of a "small" generator in the function field case. This answers the…

A subset U of a group G is called k-universal if U contains a translate of every k-element subset of G. We give several nearly optimal constructions of small k-universal sets, and use them to resolve an old question of Erdos and Newman on…