Inverse Problems for Representation Functions in Additive Number Theory

Let X = S \oplus G, where S is a countable abelian semigroup and G is a countably infinite abelian group such that {2g : g in G} is infinite. Let pi: X \to G be the projection map defined by pi(s,g) = g for all x =(s,g) in X. Let f:X \to N_0 cup infty be any map such that the set pi(f^{-1}(0)) is a finite subset of G. Then there exists a set B contained in X such that r_B(x) = f(x) for all x in X, where the representation function r_B(x) counts the number of sets {x',x''} con...

Let $A$ be a multiset with elements in an abelian group. Let $FS(A)$ be the multiset containing the $2^{|A|}$ sums of all subsets of $A$. We study the reconstruction problem ``Given $FS(A)$, is it possible to identify $A$?'', and we give a satisfactory answer for all abelian groups. We prove that, up to identifying multisets through a natural equivalence relation, the function $A \mapsto FS(A)$ is injective (and thus the reconstruction problem is solvable) if and only if ev...

Let $m$, $k_1$, and $k_2$ be three integers with $m\ge 2$. For any set $A\subseteq \mathbb{Z}_m$ and $n\in \mathbb{Z}_m$, let $\hat{r}_{k_1,k_2}(A,n)$ denote the number of solutions of the equation $n=k_1a_1+k_2a_2$ with $a_1,a_2\in A$. In this paper, using exponential sums, we characterize all $m$, $k_1$, $k_2$, and $A$ for which $\hat{r}_{k_1,k_2}(A,n)=\hat{r}_{k_1,k_2}(\mathbb{Z}_m\setminus A,n)$ for all $n\in \mathbb{Z}_m$. We also pose several problems for further resear...

Let $A = \{a_{1},a_{2},\dots{}\}$ $(a_{1} < a_{2} < \dots{})$ be an infinite sequence of nonnegative integers, and let $R_{A,2}(n)$ denote the number of solutions of $a_{x}+a_{y}=n$ $(a_{x},a_{y}\in A)$. P. Erd\H{o}s, A. S\'ark\"ozy and V. T. S\'os proved that if $\lim_{N\to\infty}\frac{B(A,N)}{\sqrt{N}}=+\infty$ then $|\Delta_{1}(R_{A,2}(n))|$ cannot be bounded, where $B(A,N)$ denotes the number of blocks formed by consecutive integers in $A$ up to $N$ and $\Delta_{l}$ denot...

We provide a survey of results concerning both the direct and inverse problems to the Cauchy-Davenport theorem and Erdos-Heilbronn problem in Additive Combinatorics. We formulate an open conjecture concerning the inverse Erdos-Heilbronn problem in nonabelian groups. We extend an inverse to the Dias da Silva-Hamidoune Theorem to Z/nZ where n is composite, and we generalize this result into nonabelian groups.

Let $A$ be a set in an abelian group $G$. For integers $h,r \geq 1$ the generalized $h$-fold sumset, denoted by $h^{(r)}A$, is the set of sums of $h$ elements of $A$, where each element appears in the sum at most $r$ times. If $G=\mathbb{Z}$ lower bounds for $|h^{(r)}A|$ are known, as well as the structure of the sets of integers for which $|h^{(r)}A|$ is minimal. In this paper we generalize this result by giving a lower bound for $|h^{(r)}A|$ when $G=\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}$ ...

The aim of this paper is threefold: a) Finding new direct and inverse results in the additive number theory concerning Minkowski sums of dilates. b) Finding a connection between the above results and some direct and inverse problems in the theory of Baumslag-Solitar (non-abelian) groups. c) Solving certain inverse problems in Baumslag-Solitar groups or monoids, assuming appropriate small doubling properties.

Let $G$ be an additive abelian group and $h$ be a positive integer. For a nonempty finite subset $A=\{a_0, a_1,\ldots, a_{k-1}\}$ of $G$, we let \[h_{\underline{+}}A:=\{\Sigma_{i=0}^{k-1}\lambda_{i} a_{i}: (\lambda_{0}, \ldots, \lambda_{k-1}) \in \mathbb{Z}^{k},~ \Sigma_{i=0}^{k-1}|\lambda_{i}|=h \},\] be the {\it signed sumset} of $A$. The {\it direct problem} for the signed sumset $h_{\underline{+}}A$ is to find a nontrivial lower bound for $|h_{\underline{+}}A|$ in terms...

In this survey paper we discuss some recent results and related open questions in additive combinatorics, in particular, questions about sumsets in finite abelian groups.

Recently, additive combinatorics has blossomed into a vibrant area in mathematical sciences. But it seems to be a difficult area to define - perhaps because of a blend of ideas and techniques from several seemingly unrelated contexts which are used there. One might say that additive combinatorics is a branch of mathematics concerning the study of combinatorial properties of algebraic objects, for instance, Abelian groups, rings, or fields. This emerging field has seen tremend...