arXiv:2610.40712v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Let $S$ be a subset of $n$ elements of a group $G$. An ordering $x_1,\ldots,x_n$ of its elements is valid if the partial sums $x_1,x_1+x_2,\ldots,x_1+\cdots+x_n$ are pairwise distinct. This notion has a long history in combinatorial group theory, dated back to Gordon's works in early 1960. Alspach-Liversidge conjecture asserts that any subset of the nonzero elements of a finite abelian group $G$ has a valid ordering. This generalizes Graham's conjecture, which considers the case when the group $G$ is $\mathbb{F}_p$, the cyclic group of prime order. Graham's conjecture has been solved recently, as a combination of results by Kravitz, Bedert and Kravitz, M\"uyesser and Pokrovskiy, Bedert, Buci\'c, Kravitz, Montgomery, and M\"uyesser, and Pham and Sauermann. Beside this, the only other case where Alspach-Liversidge conjecture has been confirmed is $G=\mathbb{F}_2^k$, thanks to a recent result by Bedert, Buci\'c, Kravitz, Montgomery, and M\"uyesser. We prove the Alspach-Liversidge conjecture in its full generality. Our proof combines ideas from many previous papers. In particular, we will use the probabilistic approach and the absorption method. Our new main technical ingredient is a Fourier-moment estimate, which is of independent interest. In particular, we can use it to show that the distribution of certain kinds of random sums in an abelian group has an almost uniform distribution.
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