Improved bounds for zero-sum cycles in \(\mathbb{Z}_p^d\) (Q6987034)

For a finite abelian group (\(\Gamma\), +), let \(n(\Gamma)\) denote the smallest positive integer \(n\) such that for each labeling of the arcs of the complete digraph of order \(n\) using elements from \(\Gamma\) there exists a directed cycle such that the total sum of the arc-labels along the cycle equals \(0\). \N\N\textit{N. Alon} and \textit{M. Krivelevich} [J. Graph Theory 98, No. 4, 623--629 (2021; Zbl 1522.05455)] initiated the study of the parameter \(n(\cdot)\) on cyclic groups and proved that \(n(\mathbb{Z}_{q}) = O(q \log q)\). Several improvements and generalizations of this bound have since been obtained, and an optimal bound in terms of the group order of the form \(n(\Gamma) \leq |\Gamma| + 1\) was recently announced by \textit{R. Campbell} et al. [J. Comb. Theory, Ser. B 173, 246--256 (2025; Zbl 1564.05206)]. While this bound is tight when the group \(\Gamma\) is cyclic, in cases when \(\Gamma\) is far from being cyclic, significant improvements on the bound can be made. In this direction, studying the prototypical case when \(\Gamma = \mathbb{Z}^{d}_{p}\) is a power of a cyclic group of prime order, \textit{S. Letzter} and \textit{N. Morrison} [ibid. 168, 192--207 (2024; Zbl 1544.05046)] showed that \(n(\mathbb{Z}^{d}_{p})\leq O(pd(\log d)^{2})\) and that \(n(\mathbb{Z}^{d}_{2})\leq O(d\log d)\). They then posed the problem of proving an (asymptotically optimal) upper bound of \(n(\mathbb{Z}^{d}_{p})\leq O(pd)\) for all primes \(p\) and \(d \in \mathbb{N}\). \N\NIn this paper, the authors solve this problem for \(p = 2\) and improve their bound for all primes \(p\geq 3\) by proving \(n(\mathbb{Z}^{d}_{2}) \leq 5d\) and \(n(\mathbb{Z}^{d}_{p})\leq O(pd\log d)\). While the first bound determines \(n(\mathbb{Z}^{d}_{2})\) up to a multiplicative error of 5, the second bound is tight up to a log \(d\) factor. Moreover, this result shows that a tight bound of \(n(\mathbb{Z}^{d}_{p})=\Theta(pd)\) for arbitrary \(p\) and \(d\) would follow from a (strong form) of the well-known conjecture of \textit{F. Jaeger} et al. [ibid. 56, No. 2, 165--182 (1992; Zbl 0824.05043)] on additive bases in \(\mathbb{Z}^{d}_{p}\). Along the way to proving these results, a generalization of a hypergraph matching result by \textit{P. E. Haxell} [Graphs Comb. 11, No. 3, 245--248 (1995; Zbl 0837.05082)] in a matroidal setting was established. Concretely, sufficient conditions of independent interest for the existence of matchings in a hypergraph whose hyperedges are labeled by the elements of a matroid, with the property that the edges in the matching induce a basis of the matroid were obtained.