Cauchy-Davenport theorem in group extensions. (Q865263): Difference between revisions

Summary: Let \(A\) and \(B\) be nonempty subsets of a finite group \(G\) in which the order of the smallest nonzero subgroup is not smaller than \(d=|A|+|B|-1\). Then at least \(d\) different elements of \(G\) have a representation in the form \(ab\), where \(a\in A\) and \(b\in B\). This extends a classical theorem of Cauchy and Davenport to noncommutative groups. We also generalize Vosper's inverse theorem in the same spirit, giving a complete description of critical pairs \(A,B\) for which exactly \(d\) group elements can be written in the form \(ab\). The proofs depend on the structure of group extensions.