Unique sums and differences in finite Abelian groups

Let A,B be subsets of a finite abelian group G. Suppose that A+B does not contain a unique sum, i.e., there is no g∈G with a unique representation g=a+b, a∈A, b∈B. From such sets A,B, sparse linear systems over the rational numbers arise. We obtain a new determinant bound on invertible submatrices of the coefficient matrices of these linear systems. Under the condition that |A|+|B| is small compared to the order of G, these bounds provide essential information on the Smith Normal Form of these coefficient matrices. We use this information to prove that A and B admit coset partitions whose parts have properties resembling those of A and B. As a consequence, we improve previously known sufficient conditions for the existence of unique sums in A+B and show how our structural results can be used to classify sets A and B for which A+B does not contain a unique sum when |A|+|B| is relatively small. Our method also can be applied to subsets of abelian groups which have no unique differences. Ministry of Education (MOE) This research is supported by the Ministry of Education, Singapore, under its Academic Research Fund Tier 1 (RG27/18).