Characterization of complementing pairs of $({\mathbb Z}_{\geq 0})^n$

Abstract

Let $A, B, C$ be subsets of an abelian group $G$. A pair $(A, B)$ is called a $C$-pair if $A, B\subset C$ and $C$ is the direct sum of $A$ and $B$. The $(\Z_{\geq 0})$-pairs are characterized by de Bruijn in 1950 and the $(\Z_{\geq 0})^2$-pairs are characterized by Niven in 1971. In this paper, we characterize the $(\Z_{\geq 0})^n$-pairs for all $n\geq 1$. We show that every $(\Z_{\geq 0})^n$-pair is characterized by a weighted tree if it is primitive, that is, it is not a Cartesian product of a $(\Z_{\geq 0})^p$-pair and a $(\Z_{\geq 0})^q$-pair of lower dimensions.