Set covering and Serre's theorem on the cohomology algebra of a \(p\)-group (Q5958855)

The author defines a group theoretical invariant as follows: ``If \(G\) is a \(p\)-group, a subset \(S\) is called a `representing set' if it contains at least one non-central element from each maximal elementary Abelian subgroup of \(G\)''. For a \(p\)-group which is not \(p\)-central, it is always true that one can find a representing set for \(G\). For such a group, \(s(G)\) is the minimum cardinality of a representing set. One of the main results connects \(s(G)\) with \(\text{chl}(G)\), the cohomological length of \(G\). Studying \(s(G)\), the author improves known upper bounds for \(\text{chl}(G)\) and finds \(\text{chl}(G)\) in a special case.