Conjecture on expressible elements in cyclic groups

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Let AA be a cyclic group of order mm. For π=(π1,…,πm)∈(Z/mZ)m\boldsymbol{\pi}=(\pi_1,\ldots,\pi_m)\in(\mathbf{Z}/m\mathbf{Z})^m with π1≥⋯≥πm\pi_1\ge\cdots\ge\pi_m, an element x∈Ax\in A is π\boldsymbol{\pi}-expressible if, for some ordering g1,…,gmg_1,\ldots,g_m of the elements of AA, one has

x=g1π1⋯gmπm.x=g_1^{\pi_1}\cdots g_m^{\pi_m}.

Let π′\boldsymbol{\pi}' be obtained by subtracting πm\pi_m from every part of π\boldsymbol{\pi}, so that its last part is 00. Cyclic-group expressibility conjecture. Every element of AA is π\boldsymbol{\pi}-expressible unless either

  1. π′=(m−r,r,0,…,0)\boldsymbol{\pi}'=(m-r,r,0,\ldots,0) for some rr, or
  2. there exists an integer p>1p>1 dividing every part of π′\boldsymbol{\pi}' and also dividing mm.

This conjecture gives a proposed classification of when all elements of a cyclic group occur as products determined by an exponent vector; the paper presents it as being supported by numerical evidence, while the stated exceptional cases are not asserted to be exhaustive in the source beyond this conjectural claim.

References

Primary source

John R. Britnell and Mark Wildon, “On types and classes of commuting matrices over finite fields”, arXiv:1001.0811 (2010).

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