The Davenport constant of a finite Abelian group 
is defined to be the length of the longest minimal zero-system
of 
and is denoted 
.
Symbolically,
 |
for completeness.
In order words, if 
is a finite Abelian group of order 
, then the Davenport constant of 
is the minimal 
such that every sequence of elements of 
with length 
contains a nonempty subsequence with a zero-sum.
Some values of the Davenport constant include the following.
1. 
.
2. Let 
be a finite 
-group.
Then 
.
3. Let 
with 
.
Then 
One open question in finite group theory is the determination of a general formula for 
.
