Indexes of unsplittable minimal zero-sum sequences of length \(I(C_n)-1\) (Q966055)

The object of the paper is to prove the following result, conjectured by Gao (see below): Let \(n >0\) be a positive integer. Let \(C_n\) be the cyclic group with \(n\) elements. Let \(S\) be a minimal zero sum sequence of cardinal \(I(C_n) -1.\) Then \(index(S) = 2\) if and only if \(n\) is odd. Here: (a) The notion of \textit{index} was introduced by\textit{S. T. Chapman, M. Freeze} and \textit{W. W. Smith} in [Discrete Math. 203, No. 1--3, 271--277 (1999; Zbl 0944.20013)]. (b) The notion of \(I(C_n)\) was introduced by \textit{W. D. Gao} in [Integers 0, Paper A12, 7 p., electronic only (2000; Zbl 1012.11017)].