On the smallest number of terms of vanishing sums of units in number fields

Let $K$ be a number field. In the terminology of Nagell a unit $\varepsilon$ of $K$ is called {\it exceptional} if $1-\varepsilon$ is also a unit. The existence of such a unit is equivalent to the fact that the unit equation $\varepsilon_1+\varepsilon_2+\varepsilon_3=0$ is solvable in units $\varepsilon_1,\varepsilon_2,\varepsilon_3$ of $K$. Numerous number fields have exceptional units. They have been investigated by many authors, and they have important applications. In this paper we deal with a generalization of exceptional units. We are interested in the smallest integer $k$ with $k\geq 3$, denoted by $\ell(K)$, such that the unit equation $\varepsilon_1+\dots+\varepsilon_k=0$ is solvable in units $\varepsilon_1,\dots,\varepsilon_k$ of $K$. If no such $k$ exists, we set $\ell(K)=\infty$. Apart from trivial cases when $\ell(K)=\infty$, we give an explicit upper bound for $\ell(K)$. We obtain several results for $\ell(K)$ in number fields of degree at most $4$, cyclotomic fields and general number fields of given degree. We prove various properties of $\ell(K)$, including its magnitude, parity as well as the cardinality of number fields $K$ with given degree and given odd resp. even value $\ell(K)$. Finally, as an application, we deal with certain arithmetic graphs, namely we consider the representability of cycles. We conclude the paper by listing some problems and open questions.