Sequences not containing long zero-sum subsequences (Q2493097)

For a finite abelian group \(G\), denote by \(D(G)\) (Davenport's constant) the smallest integer \(d\) such that every sequence of \(d\) elements of \(G\) contains a subsequence with sum zero. A sequence \(S\) with \(| S| \geq D(G)\) is called normal if it contains no zero-sum subsequence longer than \(| S| -D(G)+1\). The authors describe the structure of normal sequences for certain groups \(G\), in particular, the direct sum of two cyclic groups of the same order. They also obtain some results on the sequences of length \(| G| +D(G)-2\) containing no zero-sum subsequence of length \(| G| \).