Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We prove Fuglede's conjecture for finite cyclic groups of square-free order. Specifically, if \(N\) is square-free and \(A\subseteq \mathbb Z_N\) is nonempty with \(|A|=m\), then \(A\) is spectral if and only if it tiles \(\mathbb Z_N\); moreover, these conditions hold precisely when \(m\mid N\) and \(A\) is a complete set of representatives modulo \(m\). This gives a complete structural description of spectral and tiling sets in \(\mathbb Z_N\). The key new ingredient is a prime-coordinate elimination theorem: if \(P\nmid nm\) is an odd prime, then every \(m\)-point spectral pair in \(\mathbb Z_n\times\mathbb Z_P\) projects injectively to a spectral pair in \(\mathbb Z_n\). Its proof combines character-matrix orthogonality, cyclotomic coefficient comparison, and a \(P\)-adic divisibility argument for associated Gram matrices. Iterating this reduction yields the result for arbitrary square-free \(N\), with no restriction on the number or relative sizes of its prime factors.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Tan, Hu, Zhang, Ying
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Mathematics
Field: Mathematics
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213773009