On a classical zero-sum invariant

Abstract

Let $G$ be a nontrivial, finite abelian group. Then $\nu (G)$ is the smallest integer $\ell$ such that every zero-sum free sequence $T$ over $G$ of length at least $\ell$ has the following property: all nonzero elements of $G$ that do not occur as a subsequence sum of $T$ lie in a proper coset of some subgroup of $G$. We study the invariant $\nu (G)$, which was introduced in Zero-Sum Theory in the 1960s.