arXiv2026
Let \(\Gm=\prod_{k\ge0}\mathbb Z_{m_k}\) be a Vilenkin group that is not necessarily bounded, i.e., \(\sup_k m_k=\infty\). We prove that, for every UMD Banach space \(X\) and every \(1<p<\infty\), the Vilenkin partial-sum operators are uniformly bounded on \(L^p(\Gm;X)\), with a bound depending only on \(p\) and the UMD constant of \(X\), and not on \(\mathbf m\). This resolves an open problem arising from the work of Clément et al.~\cite{ClementDePagterSukochevWitvliet2000} and later recorded explicitly in the book of Hytönen et al.~\cite[p.~362]{HNVWI}. The proof reduces the partial-sum estimate, via a Paley conjugation identity and a tangent-sequence decoupling argument, to a decoupling inequality for Fourier projections on finite cyclic groups, which appears to be new. The same approach also yields \(\mathcal R\)-boundedness for the family of partial-sum operators associated with the finer block decomposition, thereby resolving another related problem communicated to us by Fedor Sukochev.