The Cauchy-Davenport Theorem for Finite Groups

Jeffrey Paul Wheeler

Published 2012-02-08Version 1

The Cauchy-Davenport theorem states that for any two nonempty subsets A and B of Z/pZ we have |A+B| >= min{p,|A|+|B|-1}, where A+B:={a+b (mod p) | a in A, b in B}. We generalize this result from Z/pZ to arbitrary finite (including non-abelian) groups. This result from early in 2006 is independent of Gyula Karolyi's 2005 result.