Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 2607.00404

Sums of units in finite rings and applications to Cayley graphs

Abstract

The question of whether a ring is additively generated by its units has been studied from several perspectives in ring theory and algebraic graph theory. In this paper, we investigate this problem for finite rings, not necessarily commutative, and relate it to the connectedness of gcd-graphs, the existence of perfect state transfer, and the solvability of certain equations over finite fields. Additionally, we discuss a generalization of this question in which only certain normalized units are allowed in the generating set. Our work intersects algebra, number theory, and graph theory, and may be of interest to a broad audience.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Ján Mináč, Tung T. Nguyen, Nguyen Duy Tân. 2026-07-01. Sums of units in finite rings and applications to Cayley graphs. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.00404

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

On solutions of singular Sylvester equations in quaternions

The quaternionic equations ax-xb=0 and ax-xb=c are investigated, which are called homogeneous and inhomogeneous Sylvester equations, respectively. Conditions for the existence of solutions are provided. In addition, the general and nonzero solutions to these equations are derived applying quaternion square roots.

math.RA

Positivity preservers over finite fields II

We say that a matrix over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ is positive definite if it is symmetric and each of its leading principal minors is a nonzero square in $\mathbb{F}_q$. In previous work of the authors [J. Algebra, 2025], the entrywise positivity preservers on $M_n(\mathbb{F}_q)$ were classified in every case except when $n=2$, $q\equiv1\pmod4$, and $q$ is not a square. We settle this remaining case, thereby completing the classification of entrywise positivity preservers over every finite field and in every dimension $n\ge2$. Our proof is based on a novel idempotent reduction that not only resolves the remaining case but also yields a self-contained proof of the complete classification, while avoiding several technical results used in the earlier arguments. As a further application of the same reduction, we classify the entrywise preservers of strongly nonsingular matrices, i.e., matrices whose leading principal minors are all nonzero. We also prove a more general theorem in odd characteristic: for every prescribed sign pattern of nonzero leading principal minors of matrices of a fixed dimension $n\ge2$, the entrywise preservers are precisely the positive scalar multiples of field automorphisms. Thus, in odd characteristic, preserving any nonzero leading-principal-minor sign pattern surprisingly forces the preservation of every such sign pattern.

math.RA

Graphs of Moore-Penrose inverse of matrices possessing the treeangle property

It is known that the inverse of an invertible real square matrix satisfying the treeangle property, is a treediagonal matrix. A converse statement also holds. We show that the verbatim analogues are not true for the Moore-Penrose inverse, and obtain the precise structure of graphs corresponding to the Moore-Penrose inverse of matrices possessing the treeangle property.

math.RA