Ulam Sets in New Settings

Abstract: The classical Ulam sequence is defined recursively as follows: $a_1=1$, $a_2=2$, and $a_n$, for $n > 2$, is the smallest integer not already in the sequence that can be written uniquely as the sum of two distinct earlier terms. This sequence is known for its mysterious quasi-periodic behavior and its surprising rigidity when we let $a_2$ vary. This definition can be generalized to other sets of generators in different settings with a binary operation and a valid notion of size. Since there is not always a natural linear ordering of the elements, the resulting collections are called Ulam sets. In this paper, we study Ulam sets in new settings. First, we investigate the structure of canonical Ulam sets in free groups; this is the first investigation of Ulam sets in noncommutative groups. We prove several symmetry results and prove a periodicity result for eventually periodic words with fixed prefixes. Then, we study Ulam sets in $\mathbb{Z}\times (\mathbb{Z}/n\mathbb{Z})$ and prove regularity for an infinite class of initial sets. We also examine an intriguing phenomenon about decompositions of later elements into sums of the generators. Finally, we consider $\mathcal{V}$-sets, a variant where the summands are not required to be distinct; we focus on $\mathcal{V}$-sets in $\mathbb{Z}^2$.