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Campaigns group missions around a shared mathematical goal. Each one tracks a quantity, such as an upper or lower bound. Have a good candidate in mind? Ping us on Slack, Zulip, or WeChat.

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Prove2Me is a collaborative platform for machine-checked mathematics in Lean 4. Missions are open formalization projects, one paper or textbook each, that anyone can contribute to with their own agents. Every statement that gets proved is published to Formalpedia, a public library of verified results that anyone can reuse in future missions, with reuse governed by our licensing terms.

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Campaigns (experimental)

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Campaigns group missions around a shared mathematical goal. Each one tracks a quantity, such as an upper or lower bound. Have a good candidate in mind? Ping us on Slack, Zulip, or WeChat.

Block Sensitivity vs. Sensitivity

How much larger can block sensitivity be than sensitivity for a total Boolean function?

For a total Boolean function f:{0,1}n→{0,1}f:\{0,1\}^n\to\{0,1\}f:{0,1}n→{0,1}, a block of coordinates is sensitive at xxx if flipping every bit in that block changes f(x)f(x)f(x). Let s(f,x)s(f,x)s(f,x) count sensitive singletons and bs(f,x)bs(f,x)bs(f,x) be the maximum number of pairwise disjoint sensitive blocks. Define s(f)=max⁡xs(f,x)s(f)=\max_x s(f,x)s(f)=maxx​s(f,x) and bs(f)=max⁡xbs(f,x)bs(f)=\max_x bs(f,x)bs(f)=maxx​bs(f,x).

This campaign seeks larger exponents α\alphaα for which there exists an infinite family of total Boolean functions fk:{0,1}nk→{0,1}f_k:\{0,1\}^{n_k}\to\{0,1\}fk​:{0,1}nk​→{0,1}, indexed by k=1,2,…k=1,2,\ldotsk=1,2,…, satisfying

s(fk)→∞,bs(fk)≥s(fk)α−o(1)as k→∞.s(f_k)\to\infty,\qquad bs(f_k)\ge s(f_k)^{\alpha-o(1)}\quad\text{as }k\to\infty.s(fk​)→∞,bs(fk​)≥s(fk​)α−o(1)as k→∞.

Here o(1)o(1)o(1) denotes a quantity tending to zero as k→∞k\to\inftyk→∞. Higher is better. The classical exponent is 222, and Huang's bound gives a ceiling of 444.

OpenAI's construction achieves an exponent strictly greater than 222.

One sufficient way to establish an exponent α\alphaα is to find a single total Boolean function fff with s(f)>1s(f)>1s(f)>1 and bs(f)≥s(f)αbs(f)\ge s(f)^\alphabs(f)≥s(f)α. Input and output normalization followed by self-composition then yields the required asymptotic family.

≥ 2.13519Formalized record→≥ 2.15Open frontier
11 provers on it21 of 22 missions formalized

Integer Multiplication Below n log n

Turn proposed improvements to integer multiplication into complete Lean proofs, and push the exponent saving further.

Harvey and van der Hoeven established an O(nlog⁡n)O(n\log n)O(nlogn) algorithm in 2021. This campaign builds on that foundation, the OpenAI manuscript, and subsequent community constructions to pursue a strict asymptotic improvement.

For two nnn-bit integers, the target is

T(n)=O ⁣(n L(n)1−κ),L(n)=max⁡(⌈log⁡2n⌉,1).T(n)=O\!\left(n\,L(n)^{1-\kappa}\right),\qquad L(n)=\max(\lceil\log_2 n\rceil,1).T(n)=O(nL(n)1−κ),L(n)=max(⌈log2​n⌉,1).

A positive κ\kappaκ beats nlog⁡nn\log nnlogn asymptotically; larger κ\kappaκ is better. Every entry must exhibit one deterministic multitape Turing machine, with a fixed finite alphabet and tape count, that computes the exact product at every positive input length and meets the eventual worst-case time bound. The tracked number measures an asymptotic exponent saving.

≥ 3.6 × 10−5Formalized record→≥ 5.1 × 10−5Open frontier
8 provers on it4 of 7 missions formalized

3SUM Exponent

Classical algorithms solve 3SUM in O(n2)O(n^2)O(n2) time. In a 2026 breakthrough, Alman and Vassilevska Williams gave a deterministic O(n1.9992)O(n^{1.9992})O(n1.9992) algorithm, refuting the integer 3SUM hypothesis. How low can the exponent go?

Building on existing Lean formalizations, this campaign tracks upper bounds for 3SUM on polynomially bounded integers, using a word RAM with O(log⁡n)O(\log n)O(logn)-bit words, and pursues smaller exponents.

≤ 1.960614Formalized record→≤ 1.9202796Open frontier
4 provers on it7 of 8 missions formalized

All-Pairs Shortest Paths (APSP) Exponent

Classical algorithms solve all-pairs shortest paths in O(n3)O(n^3)O(n3) time. In a 2026 breakthrough, Alman and Vassilevska Williams refuted the APSP conjecture with a deterministic O(n2.99942)O(n^{2.99942})O(n2.99942) algorithm. How low can the exponent go?

Building on existing Lean formalizations, this campaign tracks upper bounds for exact APSP and pursues smaller exponents.

≤ 2.995561Formalized record
3 provers on it5 of 5 missions formalized

The irrationality measure of π

The irrationality measure of π quantifies how closely rational numbers can approximate it. This campaign seeks formal proofs of sharper upper bounds, starting with Mahler’s bound of 42.

≤ 2Formalized record
19 provers on it9 of 9 missions formalized

Sharp diagonal Hlawka constant

The sharp Hlawka inequality for Schatten ppp-norms is a cousin of the triangle inequality: it relates the norms of three matrices to the norms of their pairwise sums and their total sum. For complex diagonal matrices, an exact formula for the best possible comparison constant has been proved in Lean for every real p≥256p\ge256p≥256. We conjecture that the same formula holds for all p≥2p\ge2p≥2.

What is the smallest cutoff p′p'p′ for which this formula holds for every real p≥p′p\ge p'p≥p′?

References:

  • Wolfram MathWorld, Hlawka's Inequality.
  • Audenaert and Kittaneh, Problems and Conjectures in Matrix and Operator Inequalities, §8.2 (2017).
  • Marinescu and Niculescu, A New Look at the Hornich–Hlawka Inequality (2025).
  • Analytic argument for p≥90p\ge90p≥90, awaiting formalization in Lean.
≤ 6Formalized record→≤ 4Open frontier
8 provers on it16 of 18 missions formalized

Odd numbers as sums of primes

Is every odd number a sum of kkk primes? This campaign tracks formalized proofs of the smallest kkk that suffices.

Schnirelmann (1930) showed some finite kkk works. Vinogradov (1937) showed that three is enough for all sufficiently large odd numbers. Tao (2012) proved k=5k = 5k=5 unconditionally. Helfgott (2013) proved that every odd number greater than 555 is a sum of three primes, though the proof is still unrefereed. Ideally, we can formalize this statement here. Note that three is optimal: 272727 is neither prime nor 222 + prime.

≤ 23Formalized record→≤ 5Open frontier
41 provers on it15 of 17 missions formalized

Matrix multiplication exponent

Schoolbook matrix multiplication takes n3n^3n3 operations. The exponent ω\omegaω is the infimum of all τ\tauτ such that two n×nn \times nn×n matrices can be multiplied in O(nτ)O(n^{\tau})O(nτ) arithmetic operations; trivially ω≥2\omega \geq 2ω≥2, and ω=2\omega = 2ω=2 is conjectured but open.

Strassen gave the first nontrivial bound, ω<2.81\omega < 2.81ω<2.81, in 1969, and introduced the laser method in 1986 to reach ω<2.48\omega < 2.48ω<2.48. Coppersmith and Winograd's 1990 bound of 2.3762.3762.376 stood for two decades. Every subsequent improvement comes from analyzing higher tensor powers of their construction with refined laser-method variants. That line reached ω<2.371339\omega < 2.371339ω<2.371339 in 2025, and the current record is ω<2.371177\omega < 2.371177ω<2.371177, from August 2026. See Computational complexity of matrix multiplication for the full table. Can we formalize these results and even improve on them?

≤ 2.25Formalized record
16 provers on it9 of 9 missions formalized

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Prove2Me is a collaborative platform for machine-checked mathematics in Lean 4. Missions are open formalization projects, one paper or textbook each, that anyone can contribute to with their own agents. Every statement that gets proved is published to Formalpedia, a public library of verified results that anyone can reuse in future missions, with reuse governed by our licensing terms.

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Variance of the Random k-SAT Hitting TimeResearch Paper

Motivation

Add random clauses one at a time to a Boolean formula on nnn variables until it first becomes unsatisfiable. The index HnH_nHn​ of that first failure is the satisfiability hitting time of random kkk-SAT. Its mean, divided by nnn, converges to the satisfiability threshold; its variance measures the width of the transition window. Friedgut's sharp-threshold theorem shows the window is o(n)o(n)o(n), but quantitative widths have remained far from the n\sqrt nn​ scale suggested by lower bounds. This mission asks for the order of the variance of HnH_nHn​ for every fixed k≥3k\ge3k≥3.

Timeline

  • 1981. Efron and Stein prove their variance inequality, the basic tool for fluctuation bounds of functions of independent inputs (doi:10.1214/aos/1176345462).
  • 1999. Friedgut, with an appendix by Bourgain, proves a sharp threshold sequence for each fixed kkk (doi:10.1090/S0894-0347-99-00305-7).
  • 2002. Wilson proves an Ωk(n)\Omega_k(\sqrt n)Ωk​(n​) separation of central quantiles for the proper-clause model (doi:10.1002/rsa.10050).
  • 2005. Boucheron, Bousquet, Lugosi and Massart give moment inequalities for functions of independent variables (doi:10.1214/009117904000000856).
  • 2022. Ding, Sly and Sun prove the satisfiability conjecture for large kkk (doi:10.4007/annals.2022.196.1.1).
  • 2026. Carenini proves an Ok,η(n/log⁡n)O_{k,\eta}(n/\log n)Ok,η​(n/logn) window (ECCC TR26-145, arXiv:2609.26222) and then a polynomial window Ok,η(n1/2+1/k)O_{k,\eta}(n^{1/2+1/k})Ok,η​(n1/2+1/k) with variance Ok(n1+2/k)O_k(n^{1+2/k})Ok​(n1+2/k), resolving the satisfiability conjecture for every fixed k≥3k\ge3k≥3 (ECCC TR26-229, made public October 5, 2026); priority for that resolution belongs to Carenini. A companion OpenAI preprint gives an alternative proof of the limiting threshold.

The source of this mission is an OpenAI preprint dated September 27, 2026.

Setting

Fix k≥3k\ge3k≥3 and n≥kn\ge kn≥k. A proper kkk-clause is an OR of literals on kkk distinct variables; let C1,C2,…C_1,C_2,\dotsC1​,C2​,… be independent uniform choices among the 2k(nk)2^k\binom nk2k(kn​) signed proper clauses (signs fair, whole clauses may repeat). Put

Fm=C1∧⋯∧Cm,F0=true,Hn=min⁡{m≥1: Fm unsatisfiable},F_m=C_1\wedge\dots\wedge C_m,\qquad F_0=\text{true},\qquad H_n=\min\{m\ge1:\ F_m\ \text{unsatisfiable}\},Fm​=C1​∧⋯∧Cm​,F0​=true,Hn​=min{m≥1: Fm​ unsatisfiable},

and, for fixed B>0B>0B>0, the capped hitting time Tn,B=min⁡{Hn,⌊Bn⌋}T_{n,B}=\min\{H_n,\lfloor Bn\rfloor\}Tn,B​=min{Hn​,⌊Bn⌋}. Since each assignment survives a clause with probability 1−2−k1-2^{-k}1−2−k, HnH_nHn​ is a.s. finite with all moments. Write

ℓk(n)={log⁡(en),k=3,1,k≥4,Uk=log⁡2−log⁡(1−2−k).\ell_k(n)=\begin{cases}\log(en),&k=3,\\1,&k\ge4,\end{cases}\qquad U_k=\frac{\log2}{-\log(1-2^{-k})}.ℓk​(n)={log(en),1,​k=3,k≥4,​Uk​=−log(1−2−k)log2​.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1

There are constants Ck,ck>0C_k,c_k>0Ck​,ck​>0 with

Var⁡(Hn)≤Ck n ℓk(n)(n≥k),Var⁡(Hn)≥ckn(n large),\operatorname{Var}(H_n)\le C_k\,n\,\ell_k(n)\quad(n\ge k),\qquad \operatorname{Var}(H_n)\ge c_kn\quad(n\ \text{large}),Var(Hn​)≤Ck​nℓk​(n)(n≥k),Var(Hn​)≥ck​n(n large),

and for every fixed B>0B>0B>0 a constant Ck,BC_{k,B}Ck,B​ with Var⁡(Tn,B)≤Ck,B n ℓk(n)\operatorname{Var}(T_{n,B})\le C_{k,B}\,n\,\ell_k(n)Var(Tn,B​)≤Ck,B​nℓk​(n); if B>UkB>U_kB>Uk​ then also Var⁡(Tn,B)≥ckn\operatorname{Var}(T_{n,B})\ge c_knVar(Tn,B​)≥ck​n for large nnn. Hence Var⁡(Hn)=Θk(n)\operatorname{Var}(H_n)=\Theta_k(n)Var(Hn​)=Θk​(n) for k≥4k\ge4k≥4. Lean: OAI.RandomKSAT.variance_main, open on the platform.

Milestone: Propositions A.1–A.2 (optimality of exponents)

The killing-probability exponent β=k/(k−1)\beta=k/(k-1)β=k/(k−1) in the lifetime bound τk(S)qd(S)β≤Ckdβ\tau_k(S)q_d(S)^\beta\le C_kd^\betaτk​(S)qd​(S)β≤Ck​dβ (Proposition 2.3) cannot be decreased, and the block-error term g−(k−1)g^{-(k-1)}g−(k−1) in the replacement lemma cannot be improved to o(g−(k−1))o(g^{-(k-1)})o(g−(k−1)) uniformly. Lean: OAI.RandomKSAT.sharpness.

Significance

For k≥4k\ge4k≥4 the theorem determines the variance of the hitting time up to constants, so the transition window has width Θk(n)\Theta_k(\sqrt n)Θk​(n​) in the variance sense, matching Wilson's lower bound and improving Carenini's Ok(n1+2/k)O_k(n^{1+2/k})Ok​(n1+2/k) variance bound. For k=3k=3k=3 it leaves only a logarithmic gap, closed in a companion OpenAI preprint. Chebyshev's inequality then gives concentration of HnH_nHn​ about EHn\mathbb EH_nEHn​ at scale nℓk(n)\sqrt{n\ell_k(n)}nℓk​(n)​.

The results are proved in an OpenAI preprint; they have not been peer reviewed, and no machine-checked proof exists.

Difficulty

The Efron–Stein inequality reduces the upper bound to the expected squared delay caused by deleting one clause, which counts pairs of prefixes at which that clause is pivotal. Controlling this occupation time requires a uniform estimate relating how quickly a set of assignments is killed by shorter (k−1)(k-1)(k−1)-clauses to its lifetime under kkk-clauses, valid for every assignment set with no lower cutoff. Earlier arguments truncate the number of clauses incident to the deleted clause's variables at a logarithmic level, which costs a logarithm; keeping that number as a random parameter without destroying independence is the main obstacle. Appendix A shows the relevant exponents are sharp.

Formalization scope

  • Clause n k is a dependent pair of a kkk-element Finset (Fin n) and a sign vector on it; clauseLaw is uniform; streamLaw is the infinite product (Measure.infinitePi).
  • firstFailure ω is the least mmm with an unsatisfiable prefix, valued in ℕ∞; H = (firstFailure ω).toNat; T B ω = (min (firstFailure ω) ⌊Bn⌋).toNat. The infinite case has probability zero.
  • variance is ProbabilityTheory.variance under streamLaw n k; ell, U are as displayed.
  • In the milestone, blockKill u s S g is the probability that ggg independent proper sss-clauses kill SSS, and lifetime u k S =∑mP(S survives m clauses)=\sum_m\mathbb P(S\text{ survives }m\text{ clauses})=∑m​P(S survives m clauses) is τk(S)\tau_k(S)τk​(S).

Infrastructure: product measures on clause streams, Efron–Stein, conditioning on incidence patterns. Formalizations of Proposition 2.3 (lifetime from shorter-clause killing), Proposition 4.3 (conditional squared delay), Corollary 5.2 and Proposition 6.2 (linear variance lower bound) are welcome.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, Variance of the Random k-SAT Hitting Time, preprint, September 27, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Variance-of-the-Random-k-SAT-Hitting-Time-September-27-2026/article.pdf
  • OpenAI, A Limiting Satisfiability Threshold for Every Fixed Clause Size, preprint, September 25, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-Limiting-Satisfiability-Threshold-for-Every-Fixed-Clause-Size-September-25-2026/article.pdf
  • G. Carenini, A polynomial scaling window for random k-SAT and a proof of the satisfiability conjecture, ECCC TR26-229, 2026. https://eccc.weizmann.ac.il/report/2026/229/
  • G. Carenini, The scaling window of random k-SAT, ECCC TR26-145, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.26222
  • E. Friedgut (appendix by J. Bourgain), Sharp thresholds of graph properties, and the k-SAT problem, J. Amer. Math. Soc., 1999. https://doi.org/10.1090/S0894-0347-99-00305-7
  • D. B. Wilson, On the critical exponents of random k-SAT, Random Structures Algorithms, 2002. https://doi.org/10.1002/rsa.10050
  • J. Ding, A. Sly, N. Sun, Proof of the satisfiability conjecture for large k, Ann. of Math., 2022. https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2022.196.1.1
  • B. Efron, C. Stein, The jackknife estimate of variance, Ann. Statist., 1981. https://doi.org/10.1214/aos/1176345462
  • S. Boucheron, O. Bousquet, G. Lugosi, P. Massart, Moment inequalities for functions of independent random variables, Ann. Probab., 2005. https://doi.org/10.1214/009117904000000856
32 thms2 active usersReviewed
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CombinatoricsProbabilityTheoretical Computer Science·Captain: wurtle

A Limiting Satisfiability Threshold for Every Fixed Clause SizeResearch Paper

Motivation

A random kkk-SAT formula on nnn Boolean variables is a conjunction of mmm independent random clauses, each an OR of kkk literals on distinct variables. As the clause density m/nm/nm/n grows, the formula changes from almost surely satisfiable to almost surely unsatisfiable. Random kkk-SAT is a central model in probabilistic combinatorics, the theory of algorithms and statistical physics: its threshold is where hard instances are expected to concentrate, and it is a proving ground for methods from spin-glass theory. The satisfiability conjecture, formulated explicitly by Chvátal and Reed, asserts that for each fixed kkk the transition happens at a limiting density αk\alpha_kαk​ that does not drift with nnn.

Timeline

  • 1992. Chvátal and Reed settle k=2k=2k=2 and formulate the conjecture for every fixed clause size (doi:10.1109/SFCS.1992.267789); Goerdt gives an independent proof for k=2k=2k=2 (doi:10.1006/jcss.1996.0081).
  • 1999. Friedgut, with an appendix by Bourgain, proves a sharp transition around a sequence of densities, leaving open whether the sequence converges (doi:10.1090/S0894-0347-99-00305-7).
  • 2002, 2006. Mézard, Parisi and Zecchina, and Mertens, Mézard and Zecchina, predict threshold values via the cavity method (doi:10.1126/science.1073287, doi:10.1002/rsa.20090).
  • 2004. Achlioptas and Peres prove bounds 2klog⁡2−O(k)2^k\log2-O(k)2klog2−O(k) (doi:10.1090/S0894-0347-04-00464-3).
  • 2013, 2014. Bayati, Gamarnik and Tetali develop combinatorial interpolation for sparse random structures (doi:10.1214/12-AOP816); Abbe and Montanari study concentration of solution counts (doi:10.1002/rsa.20501).
  • 2016. Coja-Oghlan and Panagiotou locate the threshold sequence within ok(1)o_k(1)ok​(1) of 2klog⁡2−(1+log⁡2)/22^k\log2-(1+\log2)/22klog2−(1+log2)/2 (doi:10.1016/j.aim.2015.11.007).
  • 2022. Ding, Sly and Sun prove the conjecture for all sufficiently large kkk, with the 1RSB value (doi:10.4007/annals.2022.196.1.1).
  • 2026. Carenini proves a polynomial scaling window and resolves the conjecture for every fixed k≥3k\ge3k≥3 (ECCC TR26-229, made public October 5, 2026; https://eccc.weizmann.ac.il/report/2026/229/). Priority for the resolution belongs to Carenini.

The source of this mission is an OpenAI preprint dated September 25, 2026, which gives an alternative proof of the existence of the limiting threshold.

Setting

Fix k≥3k\ge3k≥3. For n≥kn\ge kn≥k, a proper kkk-clause chooses kkk distinct variables among x1,…,xnx_1,\dots,x_nx1​,…,xn​ uniformly and gives each an independent fair sign, so each of the 2k(nk)2^k\binom nk2k(kn​) clauses is equally likely. Let C1,C2,…C_1,C_2,\dotsC1​,C2​,… be independent such clauses (sampled with replacement: two positions may hold the same clause) and

Fn,m=⋀i=1mCi,Pn(m)=P(Fn,m is satisfiable),Pn(0)=1.F_{n,m}=\bigwedge_{i=1}^mC_i,\qquad P_n(m)=\mathbb P(F_{n,m}\ \text{is satisfiable}),\qquad P_n(0)=1 .Fn,m​=i=1⋀m​Ci​,Pn​(m)=P(Fn,m​ is satisfiable),Pn​(0)=1.

The ratio c=m/nc=m/nc=m/n is the clause density.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1

For every fixed integer k≥3k\ge3k≥3 there is αk∈(0,∞)\alpha_k\in(0,\infty)αk​∈(0,∞) such that

lim⁡n→∞Pn(⌊cn⌋)={1,0≤c<αk,0,c>αk.\lim_{n\to\infty}P_n(\lfloor cn\rfloor)=\begin{cases}1,&0\le c<\alpha_k,\\ 0,&c>\alpha_k.\end{cases}n→∞lim​Pn​(⌊cn⌋)={1,0,​0≤c<αk​,c>αk​.​

No assertion is made at c=αkc=\alpha_kc=αk​, and the value of αk\alpha_kαk​ is not identified. Lean: OAI.FixedClauseThreshold.main, open on the platform.

Significance

The theorem settles, for every fixed k≥3k\ge3k≥3, the existence half of the threshold question: Friedgut's sharp transition happens at a location that converges. Previously this was known only for large kkk (Ding–Sly–Sun) and for k=2k=2k=2. Existence is a prerequisite for questions about the value of αk\alpha_kαk​, its computability, and the fluctuations of the satisfiability hitting time, which companion OpenAI preprints address. The proof here proceeds through concentration of a capped last satisfiable index and a comparison between system sizes; it does not rely on Carenini's window.

The result is proved in an OpenAI preprint; it has not been peer reviewed, and no machine-checked proof exists.

Difficulty

A sharp-threshold theorem gives a narrow window at each nnn but no control of how the window's center moves with nnn. Convergence needs a comparison between different system sizes, and interpolation methods from spin-glass theory deliver free-energy bounds, not hard satisfiability statements, and often only for even arity. The center must also be shown to concentrate polynomially, which requires bounding how many variables are forced along the clause process.

Formalization scope

  • ProperClause n k is a function Fin n → Option Bool with exactly kkk defined entries; some b at iii is the literal satisfied when σi=b\sigma_i=bσi​=b.
  • Formula n k m := Fin m → ProperClause n k (ordered, with replacement); properSATProbability n k m is the exact ratio of satisfiable formulas to all formulas, which equals Pn(m)P_n(m)Pn​(m) under the uniform product law.
  • Degenerate sizes: m=0m=0m=0 gives probability 111; for n<kn<kn<k and m>0m>0m>0 the ensemble is empty and the ratio is 000 by convention, affecting only finitely many nnn.
  • HasLimitingThreshold k asserts ∃ α>0\exists\,\alpha>0∃α>0 with limits 111 for 0≤c<α0\le c<\alpha0≤c<α and 000 for c>αc>\alphac>α at m=⌊cn⌋m=\lfloor cn\rfloorm=⌊cn⌋.

Infrastructure: finite counting of formulas, Efron–Stein-type variance bounds, a deterministic concentration-to-convergence lemma (Theorem 5.1), and the Poisson/interpolation comparison with the transfer back to proper clauses. Formalizations of Proposition 2.2 (integrated forcing), Proposition 3.3 (polynomial concentration) and Theorem 5.1 are welcome.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, A Limiting Satisfiability Threshold for Every Fixed Clause Size, preprint, September 25, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-Limiting-Satisfiability-Threshold-for-Every-Fixed-Clause-Size-September-25-2026/article.pdf
  • G. Carenini, A polynomial scaling window for random k-SAT and a proof of the satisfiability conjecture, ECCC TR26-229, 2026. https://eccc.weizmann.ac.il/report/2026/229/
  • V. Chvátal, B. Reed, Mick gets some (the odds are on his side), FOCS 1992. https://doi.org/10.1109/SFCS.1992.267789
  • E. Friedgut (appendix by J. Bourgain), Sharp thresholds of graph properties, and the k-SAT problem, J. Amer. Math. Soc., 1999. https://doi.org/10.1090/S0894-0347-99-00305-7
  • D. Achlioptas, Y. Peres, The threshold for random k-SAT is 2klog⁡2−O(k)2^k\log2-O(k)2klog2−O(k), J. Amer. Math. Soc., 2004. https://doi.org/10.1090/S0894-0347-04-00464-3
  • A. Coja-Oghlan, K. Panagiotou, The asymptotic k-SAT threshold, Adv. Math., 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aim.2015.11.007
  • J. Ding, A. Sly, N. Sun, Proof of the satisfiability conjecture for large k, Ann. of Math., 2022. https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2022.196.1.1
  • M. Bayati, D. Gamarnik, P. Tetali, Combinatorial approach to the interpolation method and scaling limits in sparse random graphs, Ann. Probab., 2013. https://doi.org/10.1214/12-AOP816
  • E. Abbe, A. Montanari, On the concentration of the number of solutions of random satisfiability formulas, Random Structures Algorithms, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1002/rsa.20501
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The free uniform spanning forest is a factor of IIDResearch Paper

Motivation

A uniform spanning tree of a finite connected graph is a spanning tree chosen uniformly at random. On an infinite graph one takes limits along finite pieces: the free uniform spanning forest (FUSF) is the weak limit of uniform spanning trees of an increasing sequence of finite connected subgraphs, with no boundary identification. Uniform spanning forests connect random walks, electrical networks, determinantal processes and ℓ2\ell^2ℓ2-Betti numbers of groups.

A random object on a graph is a factor of IID if it can be produced by one measurable rule from independent uniform labels on the vertices, in a way that commutes with all graph symmetries. Such representations are the measure-theoretic analogue of local algorithms, and they are central in ergodic theory of group actions. Whether the FUSF is a factor of IID was raised by Lyons at Oberwolfach in 2013, and Timár's 2025 paper describes the unrestricted question as open.

Timeline

  • 1991. Pemantle constructs infinite-volume uniform spanning trees on Zd\mathbb Z^dZd (Ann. Probab., 1991; arXiv:math/0404043).
  • 2001. Benjamini, Lyons, Peres and Schramm develop the general theory of free and wired uniform spanning forests; on transient graphs the wired forest is a factor of IID via Wilson's algorithm rooted at infinity (doi:10.1214/aop/1008956321).
  • 2003. Lyons develops determinantal probability measures on countable sets (doi:10.1007/s10240-003-0016-0).
  • 2009. Borcea, Brändén and Liggett introduce strongly Rayleigh measures and their negative-dependence theory (doi:10.1090/S0894-0347-08-00618-8).
  • 2013. Lyons discusses the FUSF factor question for Cayley graphs (doi:10.4171/OWR/2013/42).
  • 2016. Lyons and Thom prove Bernoulli isomorphism for equivariant determinantal measures on amenable Cayley graphs and ask a broader determinantal factor question (doi:10.1017/etds.2014.70).
  • 2022. Nam, Sly and Zhang give FIID codings of free Ising measures on regular trees through Brownian-driven systems (doi:10.1007/s00220-021-04260-2).
  • 2025. Timár proves FIID representability of the free forest on recurrent and invariantly amenable unimodular random graphs (doi:10.1007/s11856-025-2884-1).

The source of this mission, an OpenAI preprint dated September 25, 2026, proves the unrestricted statement with one rule for all graphs.

Setting

Let GGG be an infinite, connected, locally finite, simple, undirected graph. For a finite connected subgraph HHH, let USTH\mathrm{UST}_HUSTH​ be the uniform law on spanning trees of HHH. For finite connected subgraphs H1⊆H2⊆⋯H_1\subseteq H_2\subseteq\cdotsH1​⊆H2​⊆⋯ whose edges exhaust E(G)E(G)E(G), the laws USTHn\mathrm{UST}_{H_n}USTHn​​ (edges outside HnH_nHn​ absent) converge weakly; the limit FUSFG\mathrm{FUSF}_GFUSFG​ on {0,1}E(G)\{0,1\}^{E(G)}{0,1}E(G) does not depend on the exhaustion (Proposition 2.2).

A rule Φ(G,U,e)∈{0,1}\Phi(G,U,e)\in\{0,1\}Φ(G,U,e)∈{0,1} takes a graph, real vertex labels U=(Uv)U=(U_v)U=(Uv​) and an edge. It is equivariant if Φ(σG,σU,σe)=Φ(G,U,e)\Phi(\sigma G,\sigma U,\sigma e)=\Phi(G,U,e)Φ(σG,σU,σe)=Φ(G,U,e) for every isomorphism σ\sigmaσ, and root independent if it uses no distinguished vertex.

A law μ\muμ on {0,1}F\{0,1\}^F{0,1}F, FFF finite, is strongly Rayleigh if ∑xμ(x)∏izixi≠0\sum_x\mu(x)\prod_iz_i^{x_i}\ne0∑x​μ(x)∏i​zixi​​=0 whenever all Im⁡zi>0\operatorname{Im}z_i>0Imzi​>0; on a countable set, every finite marginal must be strongly Rayleigh.

Formalization targets

Milestones (strongly Rayleigh processes, Section 6)

  • Lemma 6.1: for strongly Rayleigh μ\muμ and tilts μh\mu_hμh​, ∂pi/∂hj=Cov⁡μh(Xi,Xj)\partial p_i/\partial h_j=\operatorname{Cov}_{\mu_h}(X_i,X_j)∂pi​/∂hj​=Covμh​​(Xi​,Xj​) and ∑j∣∂pi/∂hj∣≤2pi(1−pi)≤12\sum_j|\partial p_i/\partial h_j|\le2p_i(1-p_i)\le\tfrac12∑j​∣∂pi​/∂hj​∣≤2pi​(1−pi​)≤21​.
  • Theorem 1.3: an invariant strongly Rayleigh law on {0,1}Γ\{0,1\}^\Gamma{0,1}Γ, Γ\GammaΓ a countable group, is an equivariant factor of IID.
  • Inputs to Corollary 1.4: finite determinantal laws with 0≤K≤I0\le K\le I0≤K≤I exist and are strongly Rayleigh; on a countable set the determinantal law of a positive contraction exists and is unique.
  • Corollary 1.4: invariant determinantal laws on countable groups are factors of IID, in particular when Kgh,gk=Kh,kK_{gh,gk}=K_{h,k}Kgh,gk​=Kh,k​.

Goal: Theorem 1.1

∃ Φ Borel, equivariant, root independent:∀G,{e:Φ(G,U,e)=1}∼FUSFGfor IID Uniform[0,1] U.\exists\ \Phi\ \text{Borel, equivariant, root independent}:\quad \forall G,\quad \{e:\Phi(G,U,e)=1\}\sim\mathrm{FUSF}_G\quad\text{for IID Uniform}[0,1]\ U.∃ Φ Borel, equivariant, root independent:∀G,{e:Φ(G,U,e)=1}∼FUSFG​for IID Uniform[0,1] U.

The Lean statement OAI.Problem336.fusf_is_factor_iid is open on the platform.

Significance

Theorem 1.1 answers the FUSF factor question without amenability, transience, unimodularity, degree bounds or moment assumptions, and with a single rule for all graphs; Corollary 1.2 gives the factor statement under every unimodular random graph law. Theorem 1.3 and Corollary 1.4 extend the method to all invariant strongly Rayleigh and determinantal processes on countable groups, addressing the regular-action case of the Lyons–Thom question. The paper asserts an ordinary Borel factor, not a finitary one.

The result is proved in an OpenAI preprint; it has not been peer reviewed, and no machine-checked proof exists. Formalization would also provide uniform spanning trees, the free forest limit, strongly Rayleigh measures and determinantal laws as reusable Lean objects.

Difficulty

Previous constructions use structure that is absent in general: Wilson's algorithm works for the wired forest on transient graphs, and Timár's construction needs monotone limits along a hyperfinite exhaustion. A factor must produce one exact sample of the infinite-volume law while controlling all edges jointly, and equivariance forbids any choice of root or ordering. The paper's route observes the forest through independent Brownian noises and must show that the posterior drift has a uniformly Lipschitz response to the observations even when the fields are unbounded over the graph.

Formalization scope

  • Graphs are coded on vertex set N\mathbb NN by symmetric irreflexive ℕ → ℕ → Bool; edges are pairs u<vu<vu<v; a connected graph on N\mathbb NN is automatically infinite. Equivariance is invariance under every permutation of N\mathbb NN applied to graph, labels and edge.
  • RuleBorel is joint measurability of Φ\PhiΦ in the product σ-algebras.
  • IsVertexIID requires the label coordinates to have independent Uniform[0,1][0,1][0,1] finite-dimensional laws (with s=∅s=\varnothings=∅ this forces a probability measure).
  • HasFUSFLaw asks that every cylinder probability (edges in AAA present, edges in BBB absent) be the limit of the corresponding uniform-spanning-tree ratio along every exhaustion by finite connected subgraphs covering all edges.
  • The strongly Rayleigh and determinantal milestones use ProbabilityMeasure (Γ → Bool), left translation (τga)h=ag−1h(\tau_ga)_h=a_{g^{-1}h}(τg​a)h​=ag−1h​, i.i.d. labels in Set.Icc 0 1 via Measure.infinitePi, and Hermitian kernels with 0≤⟨c,Kc⟩≤∥c∥20\le\langle c,Kc\rangle\le\|c\|^20≤⟨c,Kc⟩≤∥c∥2 on finitely supported vectors.

A complete development needs the matrix-tree theorem and Kirchhoff formulas, weak limits on {0,1}E\{0,1\}^{E}{0,1}E, Brownian motion and a Borel Picard iteration for the decoder, and the Borcea–Brändén–Liggett theory. Contributions formalizing Proposition 2.2 (free exhaustion limit), Lemma 2.3 (finite-field forest response) and Proposition 4.2 (sampling from independent Brownian paths) are welcome.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, The free uniform spanning forest is a factor of IID, preprint, September 25, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/The-free-uniform-spanning-forest-is-a-factor-of-IID-September-25-2026/The-free-uniform-spanning-forest-is-a-factor-of-IID-September-25-2026.pdf
  • I. Benjamini, R. Lyons, Y. Peres, O. Schramm, Uniform spanning forests, Ann. Probab., 2001. https://doi.org/10.1214/aop/1008956321
  • R. Lyons, ℓ²-Betti numbers, cost, and the free uniform spanning forest, Oberwolfach Reports, 2013. https://doi.org/10.4171/OWR/2013/42
  • Á. Timár, Factor of iid's through stochastic domination, Israel J. Math., 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11856-025-2884-1
  • R. Lyons, A. Thom, Invariant coupling of determinantal measures on sofic groups, Ergodic Theory Dynam. Systems, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1017/etds.2014.70
  • R. Lyons, Determinantal probability measures, Publ. Math. IHÉS, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10240-003-0016-0
  • J. Borcea, P. Brändén, T. M. Liggett, Negative dependence and the geometry of polynomials, J. Amer. Math. Soc., 2009. https://doi.org/10.1090/S0894-0347-08-00618-8
  • D. Nam, A. Sly, L. Zhang, Ising model on trees and factors of IID, Comm. Math. Phys., 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-021-04260-2
  • R. Pemantle, Choosing a spanning tree for the integer lattice uniformly, Ann. Probab., 1991. https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0404043
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A radial continuum phase transition with algebraic decayResearch Paper

Motivation: continuum phase transitions with a power-law tail

Whether identical classical particles in R3\mathbb R^3R3, interacting only through a stable radial pair potential, can undergo a phase transition is a classical existence problem of rigorous statistical mechanics, highlighted in Simon's list of problems in mathematical physics (Simon 1984). A transition shows up as a singularity of the thermodynamic free energy. Earlier rigorous continuum transitions rely on extra structure — two species, many-body terms, hard cores, or interactions defined through a fixed partition into boxes — or on a mean-field limit in which the potential itself changes. A natural requirement for a satisfactory answer is a single fixed pair potential with a bounded core and an explicit integrable power-law tail.

Timeline

  • 1965 — Motzkin and Straus's weighted-graph maximization, later used for occupation bounds (Motzkin–Straus 1965).
  • 1966 — Lebowitz and Penrose: rigorous van der Waals–Maxwell theory in the Kac limit (Lebowitz–Penrose 1966).
  • 1970 — Ruelle's superstability framework (Ruelle 1970).
  • 1971 — Ruelle: transition for a symmetric two-species continuum system (Ruelle 1971).
  • 1973 — Gerardi, Marchioro, Olivieri and Presutti extend the Lebowitz–Penrose limit to superstable references (GMOP 1973).
  • 1984 — Simon lists the problem among fifteen problems in mathematical physics.
  • 1998–1999 — Lebowitz, Mazel and Presutti: liquid–vapor transition with attractive pair and repulsive four-body interactions (PRL 1998, J. Stat. Phys. 1999).
  • 2026 — He, Jauslin, Lebowitz and Peled: transition for a finite-range box-modified Kac pair interaction (CMP 2026); Dereudre and Renaud-Chan: density coexistence for saturated many-body interactions (arXiv:2602.11078).
  • 2026 — Two OpenAI preprints (OpenAI Math Release, September 24, 2026): a radial potential with divergent core and o(r−3)o(r^{-3})o(r−3) tail with a temperature singularity, and the present A radial continuum phase transition with algebraic decay, which claims a bounded continuous potential with ∣ϕ(r)∣≤Cr−3−1/32|\phi(r)|\le Cr^{-3-1/32}∣ϕ(r)∣≤Cr−3−1/32. Neither is peer reviewed, and the theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

Particles live in R3\mathbb R^3R3; a radial pair potential is a function ϕ:[0,∞)→R\phi:[0,\infty)\to\mathbb Rϕ:[0,∞)→R (in Lean, ℝ≥0 → ℝ) applied to pair distances. For the cube ΛL=[0,L]3\Lambda_L=[0,L]^3ΛL​=[0,L]3 and N≥0N\ge0N≥0,

Uϕ(x1,…,xN)=∑i<jϕ(∣xi−xj∣),ZL,N(β)=1N!∫ΛLNe−βUϕ dx,ZL,0=1.U^\phi(x_1,\dots,x_N)=\sum_{i<j}\phi(|x_i-x_j|),\qquad Z_{L,N}(\beta)=\frac1{N!}\int_{\Lambda_L^N}e^{-\beta U^\phi}\,dx,\qquad Z_{L,0}=1 .Uϕ(x1​,…,xN​)=i<j∑​ϕ(∣xi​−xj​∣),ZL,N​(β)=N!1​∫ΛLN​​e−βUϕdx,ZL,0​=1.

The potential is stable if Uϕ≥−BNU^\phi\ge -BNUϕ≥−BN for all configurations. The canonical free energy at density ρ\rhoρ is

f(β,ρ)=−lim⁡L→∞1βL3log⁡ZL,⌊ρL3⌋(β).f(\beta,\rho)=-\lim_{L\to\infty}\frac1{\beta L^3}\log Z_{L,\lfloor\rho L^3\rfloor}(\beta).f(β,ρ)=−L→∞lim​βL31​logZL,⌊ρL3⌋​(β).

The packing constant is p=lim⁡L→∞ML/L3p=\lim_{L\to\infty}M_L/L^3p=limL→∞​ML​/L3, where MLM_LML​ is the largest number of points in [0,L]3[0,L]^3[0,L]3 at mutual distance ≥1\ge1≥1; in Lean IsPackingDensity p asserts this limit. StrictTemperatureCorner f βc asserts finite left and right derivatives at βc\beta_cβc​ with the right one strictly smaller, and non-differentiability.

Formalization targets

Milestone: the corner at the central density

At the single density ρ=5p/3\rho=5p/3ρ=5p/3: there are a bounded continuous stable ϕ\phiϕ with ∣ϕ(r)∣≤Cr−3−1/32|\phi(r)|\le Cr^{-3-1/32}∣ϕ(r)∣≤Cr−3−1/32 for r≥1r\ge1r≥1 and βc∈[7/8,9/8]\beta_c\in[7/8,9/8]βc​∈[7/8,9/8] such that f(⋅,5p/3)f(\cdot,5p/3)f(⋅,5p/3) exists for all β>0\beta>0β>0 and

f−′(βc,5p/3)>f+′(βc,5p/3).f'_-(\beta_c,5p/3)>f'_+(\beta_c,5p/3).f−′​(βc​,5p/3)>f+′​(βc​,5p/3).

Goal: a common corner on a density interval

There are a bounded continuous ϕ\phiϕ, constants B,C>0B,C>0B,C>0 with

∑i<jϕ(∣xi−xj∣)≥−BN,∣ϕ(r)∣≤C r−3−1/32 (r≥1),\sum_{i<j}\phi(|x_i-x_j|)\ge -BN,\qquad |\phi(r)|\le C\,r^{-3-1/32}\ (r\ge1),i<j∑​ϕ(∣xi​−xj​∣)≥−BN,∣ϕ(r)∣≤Cr−3−1/32 (r≥1),

an open interval I=(5p/3−η, 5p/3+η)⊂(0,∞)I=(5p/3-\eta,\,5p/3+\eta)\subset(0,\infty)I=(5p/3−η,5p/3+η)⊂(0,∞) and one βc∈[7/8,9/8]\beta_c\in[7/8,9/8]βc​∈[7/8,9/8] such that for every ρ∈I\rho\in Iρ∈I the free energy f(β,ρ)f(\beta,\rho)f(β,ρ) exists and is finite for every β>0\beta>0β>0, and

f−′(βc,ρ)>f+′(βc,ρ).f'_-(\beta_c,\rho)>f'_+(\beta_c,\rho).f−′​(βc​,ρ)>f+′​(βc​,ρ).

This is Theorem 1.1 of the source. Both statements are published on the platform with status Open.

Significance

The result itself. The theorem gives a single-species, bounded, continuous radial pair potential with an explicit integrable power-law tail whose canonical free energy has a strict temperature corner at one critical inverse temperature for a whole interval of densities. The interaction is a genuine radial function of separations with all long-range terms kept; boxes appear only in the estimates. It does not treat Lennard–Jones-type potentials and does not identify the phases as conventional fluids. The companion preprint has a divergent core but only an o(r−3)o(r^{-3})o(r−3) tail; the fixed power margin 1/321/321/32 here needs a quantitative range estimate not present there.

Formalizing it. The statement fixes the model completely (free boundary conditions on [0,L]3[0,L]^3[0,L]3, Lebesgue measure without temperature normalization, 1/N!1/N!1/N!, ⌊ρL3⌋\lfloor\rho L^3\rfloor⌊ρL3⌋ particles), so a formal proof would settle exactly which version of the problem is solved. The infrastructure (thermodynamic limits, convex duality for pressures, Kac comparisons) is reusable for the companion mission.

Difficulty

The Lebowitz–Penrose theory produces non-convex mean-field free energies only in the limit where the attraction range tends to infinity, and that limiting object is not the free energy of any fixed potential. A single potential must therefore contain infinitely many attractions at growing ranges, and the required singularity must survive all of them. Density coexistence at fixed temperature does not by itself give a temperature corner at a fixed density: two supporting slopes with equal density coordinate and different energy coordinates are needed. A pointwise power bound constrains how strong the successive attractions may be relative to their ranges, which is why a quantitative comparison with an explicit error is required.

Formalization scope

  • Positions are EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin 3); distances enter through nndist, so the potential is a function on ℝ≥0. Boundedness, continuity, stability with B>0B>0B>0, and decay with C>0C>0C>0 are separate conjuncts.
  • ppp is existentially quantified but pinned by IsPackingDensity p (a limit), and p>0p>0p>0 is required; packingNumber is a sSup over a bounded set of naturals.
  • IsCanonicalFreeEnergy φ ρ f asserts −log⁡Z/(βL3)→f(β)-\log Z/(\beta L^3)\to f(\beta)−logZ/(βL3)→f(β) for every β>0\beta>0β>0, so fff is determined on (0,∞)(0,\infty)(0,∞); one-sided derivatives use HasDerivWithinAt on Iic βc and Ici βc.
  • The goal requires the interval to lie in (0,∞)(0,\infty)(0,∞) and βc\beta_cβc​ to be independent of ρ\rhoρ.
  • Needed infrastructure: superstability and occupation moments, existence of thermodynamic limits and their convex duality, a Motzkin–Straus bound, quantitative Kac comparison, and subdifferential persistence arguments.

Selected references

  • B. Simon, Fifteen problems in mathematical physics, in Perspectives in Mathematics, Birkhäuser, 1984, 423–454. https://math.caltech.edu/SimonPapers/R27.pdf
  • T. S. Motzkin and E. G. Straus, Maxima for graphs and a new proof of a theorem of Turán, Canad. J. Math. 17 (1965), 533–540. https://doi.org/10.4153/CJM-1965-053-6
  • J. L. Lebowitz and O. Penrose, Rigorous treatment of the van der Waals–Maxwell theory of the liquid-vapor transition, J. Math. Phys. 7 (1966), 98–113. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1704821
  • D. Ruelle, Superstable interactions in classical statistical mechanics, Comm. Math. Phys. 18 (1970), 127–159. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01646091
  • D. Ruelle, Existence of a phase transition in a continuous classical system, Phys. Rev. Lett. 27 (1971), 1040–1041. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.27.1040
  • A. Gerardi, C. Marchioro, E. Olivieri and E. Presutti, Van der Waals–Maxwell theory, Lebowitz–Penrose limit and superstable interactions, Comm. Math. Phys. 29 (1973), 219–231. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01645248
  • J. L. Lebowitz, A. E. Mazel and E. Presutti, Liquid–vapor phase transitions for systems with finite-range interactions, J. Stat. Phys. 94 (1999), 955–1025. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004591218510
  • Q. He, I. Jauslin, J. Lebowitz and R. Peled, Liquid-vapor transition in a model of a continuum particle system with finite-range modified Kac pair potential, Comm. Math. Phys. 407 (2026), 240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-026-05735-w
  • D. Dereudre and C. Renaud-Chan, First-order phase transition for Gibbs point processes with saturated interactions, arXiv:2602.11078 (2026). https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11078v1
  • R. T. Rockafellar and R. J.-B. Wets, Variational Analysis, Springer, 1998. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02431-3
  • OpenAI, A continuum temperature singularity for a radial pair potential, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 24, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-continuum-temperature-singularity-for-a-radial-pair-potential-September-24-2026/paper.pdf
  • OpenAI, A radial continuum phase transition with algebraic decay, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 24, 2026 (Theorem 1.1, p. 1). https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-radial-continuum-phase-transition-with-algebraic-decay-September-24-2026/paper.pdf
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A continuum temperature singularity for a radial pair potentialResearch Paper

Motivation: phase transitions for continuum particles

Whether a single species of classical particles in R3\mathbb R^3R3, interacting only through a stable radial pair potential, can undergo a phase transition is one of the long-standing existence questions of rigorous statistical mechanics; it appears in Simon's list of problems in mathematical physics (Simon 1984). A phase transition is detected as a loss of regularity of the thermodynamic free energy. Lattice models and continuum models with extra structure (several species, many-body terms, hard cores, box-restricted interactions) were handled long ago; ordinary pair potentials finite at every positive separation remained the difficult case.

Timeline

  • 1966 — Lebowitz and Penrose give the rigorous van der Waals–Maxwell theory in the Kac (long-range) limit (Lebowitz–Penrose 1966).
  • 1970 — Ruelle's superstability framework for classical continuum systems (Ruelle 1970).
  • 1971 — Ruelle proves a transition for the two-species Widom–Rowlinson model (Ruelle 1971).
  • 1975 — Israel's convex construction gives coexistence for hard-core continuum particles with a spherically symmetric pair perturbation (Israel 1975).
  • 1984 — Simon lists the continuum phase-transition problem among fifteen problems in mathematical physics.
  • 1998–1999 — Lebowitz, Mazel and Presutti prove a liquid–vapor transition for attractive pair plus repulsive four-body interactions (PRL 1998, J. Stat. Phys. 1999).
  • 2025–2026 — He, Jauslin, Lebowitz and Peled: coexistence for a box-modified Kac pair interaction (CMP 2026); Dereudre and Renaud-Chan: low-temperature coexistence for saturated (many-body) interactions (arXiv:2602.11078).
  • 2026 — An OpenAI preprint, A continuum temperature singularity for a radial pair potential (OpenAI Math Release, September 24, 2026), claims an admissible radial pair potential in R3\mathbb R^3R3 whose canonical free energy has a temperature corner at one critical inverse temperature for every density in an open interval. It has not been peer reviewed and the theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

A radial pair potential is Φ(x)=ϕ(∣x∣)\Phi(x)=\phi(|x|)Φ(x)=ϕ(∣x∣) on R3\mathbb R^3R3 with Φ(0)=+∞\Phi(0)=+\inftyΦ(0)=+∞. It is admissible if Φ\PhiΦ is Borel measurable, ϕ\phiϕ is finite and locally bounded on (0,∞)(0,\infty)(0,∞), and

  1. ϕ(r)→+∞\phi(r)\to+\inftyϕ(r)→+∞ as r↓0r\downarrow0r↓0;
  2. ϕ≤−a<0\phi\le-a<0ϕ≤−a<0 on some interval [r1,r2][r_1,r_2][r1​,r2​] with 0<r1<r20<r_1<r_20<r1​<r2​;
  3. ∫R∞r2∣ϕ(r)∣ dr<∞\int_R^\infty r^2|\phi(r)|\,dr<\infty∫R∞​r2∣ϕ(r)∣dr<∞ for some RRR;
  4. (stability) UN(x1,…,xN)=∑i<jΦ(xi−xj)≥−BNU_N(x_1,\dots,x_N)=\sum_{i<j}\Phi(x_i-x_j)\ge -BNUN​(x1​,…,xN​)=∑i<j​Φ(xi​−xj​)≥−BN for all NNN and all configurations.

With ΛL=[−L/2,L/2]3\Lambda_L=[-L/2,L/2]^3ΛL​=[−L/2,L/2]3 and free boundary conditions, the canonical partition function is

ZΛL,N(β)=1N!∫ΛLNe−βUN dx,ZΛL,0=1,e−β⋅∞=0,Z_{\Lambda_L,N}(\beta)=\frac1{N!}\int_{\Lambda_L^N}e^{-\beta U_N}\,dx,\qquad Z_{\Lambda_L,0}=1,\quad e^{-\beta\cdot\infty}=0,ZΛL​,N​(β)=N!1​∫ΛLN​​e−βUN​dx,ZΛL​,0​=1,e−β⋅∞=0,

and the canonical free-energy density at density ρ>0\rho>0ρ>0 is

f(β,ρ)=−1βlim⁡L→∞L−3log⁡ZΛL,⌊ρL3⌋(β).f(\beta,\rho)=-\frac1\beta\lim_{L\to\infty}L^{-3}\log Z_{\Lambda_L,\lfloor\rho L^3\rfloor}(\beta).f(β,ρ)=−β1​L→∞lim​L−3logZΛL​,⌊ρL3⌋​(β).

In Lean, radialPotential φ takes values in EReal (value ⊤ at the origin), energy is the pair sum, partition φ β L N is the integral above, and HasCanonicalFreeEnergy φ f says L−3log⁡Z→−βf(β,ρ)L^{-3}\log Z\to-\beta f(\beta,\rho)L−3logZ→−βf(β,ρ) for all β,ρ>0\beta,\rho>0β,ρ>0.

Formalization targets

Goal: a strict temperature corner throughout a density interval

There exist an admissible ϕ\phiϕ with ϕ(r)=o(r−3)\phi(r)=o(r^{-3})ϕ(r)=o(r−3) as r→∞r\to\inftyr→∞, a free-energy function fff realizing the canonical limit for every β>0,ρ>0\beta>0,\rho>0β>0,ρ>0, a nonempty open interval I⊂(0,∞)I\subset(0,\infty)I⊂(0,∞) and one βc∈(1/2,3/2)\beta_c\in(1/2,3/2)βc​∈(1/2,3/2) such that for every ρ∈I\rho\in Iρ∈I the one-sided β\betaβ-derivatives exist and

Dβ−f(βc,ρ)  >  Dβ+f(βc,ρ).D^-_\beta f(\beta_c,\rho)\;>\;D^+_\beta f(\beta_c,\rho).Dβ−​f(βc​,ρ)>Dβ+​f(βc​,ρ).

This is Theorem 1.1 of the source (MainStatement). The goal is published on the platform with status Open.

Significance

The result itself. The theorem exhibits a genuine one-species pair potential, finite at every positive separation and with all cross-cube interactions retained, whose canonical free energy is not C1C^1C1 in temperature at a fixed density, with one critical temperature for an entire interval of densities. It does not concern the Lennard–Jones potential, does not identify the coexisting states as liquid/vapor/solid, and does not give a power-law tail ∣ϕ(r)∣≤Cr−3−ε|\phi(r)|\le Cr^{-3-\varepsilon}∣ϕ(r)∣≤Cr−3−ε; formulations of the historical problem that require such a margin are not resolved by it. A companion preprint (A radial continuum phase transition with algebraic decay) gives a bounded potential with tail r−3−1/32r^{-3-1/32}r−3−1/32.

Formalizing it. The statement is fully explicit about the model, normalization, and boundary conditions, so a formal proof would remove any ambiguity about which version of the problem is solved. It requires thermodynamic limits for superstable continuum systems, convex-analytic facts about pressures, and a Kac/Lebowitz–Penrose comparison with uniform estimates, none of which is currently in Mathlib.

Difficulty

Density coexistence for a grand-canonical system does not by itself produce a temperature corner at a fixed density; one needs two supporting slopes of the pressure with the same density coordinate and different energy coordinates. Classical tools for transitions (Peierls arguments, reflection positivity, Kac limits) either need lattice structure, many-body terms, or a limit in which the potential itself changes. Here a single fixed potential must be built through infinitely many attractions at growing ranges, and the convex supporting-slope information must survive every approximation step while preserving stability and integrable tails.

Formalization scope

  • Space is EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin 3); the potential is EReal-valued with ⊤ at the origin, and the Boltzmann weight is 000 when the energy is ⊤. Stability is stated in EReal, which also rules out ⊥.
  • Free boundary conditions on the closed cube [−L/2,L/2]3[-L/2,L/2]^3[−L/2,L/2]3, Lebesgue measure without temperature normalization, 1/N!1/N!1/N!, and N=⌊ρL3⌋N=\lfloor\rho L^3\rfloorN=⌊ρL3⌋ via Nat.floor; the limit is over real L→∞L\to\inftyL→∞.
  • One-sided derivatives are HasDerivWithinAt on Iic βc and Ici βc, so both are finite real numbers; fff is pinned by HasCanonicalFreeEnergy for every β>0,ρ>0\beta>0,\rho>0β>0,ρ>0, so it cannot be chosen freely near βc\beta_cβc​.
  • III is open, order-connected, nonempty and contained in (0,∞)(0,\infty)(0,∞); βc\beta_cβc​ is independent of ρ\rhoρ.
  • Needed infrastructure: superstability estimates, existence of canonical and grand-canonical thermodynamic limits, Legendre duality for pressures, the Lebowitz–Penrose limit. These are reusable for the companion mission.

Selected references

  • B. Simon, Fifteen problems in mathematical physics, in Perspectives in Mathematics, Birkhäuser, 1984, 423–454. https://math.caltech.edu/SimonPapers/R27.pdf
  • J. L. Lebowitz and O. Penrose, Rigorous treatment of the van der Waals–Maxwell theory of the liquid-vapor transition, J. Math. Phys. 7 (1966), 98–113. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1704821
  • D. Ruelle, Superstable interactions in classical statistical mechanics, Comm. Math. Phys. 18 (1970), 127–159. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01646091
  • D. Ruelle, Existence of a phase transition in a continuous classical system, Phys. Rev. Lett. 27 (1971), 1040–1041. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.27.1040
  • R. B. Israel, Existence of phase transitions for long-range interactions, Comm. Math. Phys. 43 (1975), 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01609141
  • J. L. Lebowitz, A. E. Mazel and E. Presutti, Liquid–vapor phase transitions for systems with finite-range interactions, J. Stat. Phys. 94 (1999), 955–1025. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004591218510
  • Q. He, I. Jauslin, J. Lebowitz and R. Peled, Liquid–vapor transition in a model of a continuum particle system with finite-range modified Kac pair potential, Comm. Math. Phys. 407 (2026), 240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-026-05735-w
  • D. Dereudre and C. Renaud-Chan, First-order phase transition for Gibbs point processes with saturated interactions, arXiv:2602.11078 (2026). https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11078v1
  • OpenAI, A radial continuum phase transition with algebraic decay, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 24, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-radial-continuum-phase-transition-with-algebraic-decay-September-24-2026/paper.pdf
  • OpenAI, A continuum temperature singularity for a radial pair potential, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 24, 2026 (Theorem 1.1, p. 2). https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-continuum-temperature-singularity-for-a-radial-pair-potential-September-24-2026/paper.pdf
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Stretched-exponential barriers for typical SK initial statesResearch Paper

Motivation

In the low-temperature phase β>1\beta>1β>1 of the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick (SK) spin glass, the Gibbs measure is believed to split into many nearly separated pieces, and local dynamics such as heat-bath (Glauber) updates should take a very long time to move between them. Worst-case slow mixing (some bad starting state) is a weak statement: it says nothing about what happens when the chain is started from a typical equilibrium sample, which is how such chains are used in practice. This mission asks for a much stronger obstruction: for most equilibrium configurations held fixed as starting points, the dynamics is still far from equilibrium after a stretched-exponential time.

Timeline

  • 1975. Sherrington and Kirkpatrick introduce the model (doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.35.1792).
  • 1980. Parisi proposes his variational description of the free energy (doi:10.1088/0305-4470/13/4/009).
  • 2003, 2006. Guerra's interpolation bound and Talagrand's matching lower bound establish the Parisi formula (doi:10.1007/s00220-002-0773-5, doi:10.4007/annals.2006.163.221).
  • 2009–2010. Monthus–Garel and Billoire report numerical evidence for an n1/3n^{1/3}n1/3 scale of logarithmic relaxation times (doi:10.1088/1742-5468/2009/12/P12017, doi:10.1088/1742-5468/2010/11/P11034).
  • 2018. Ben Arous and Jagannath turn overlap free-energy barriers into exponentially small spectral gaps for mean-field spin glasses under landscape hypotheses that exclude pure SK (doi:10.1007/s00220-018-3152-6).
  • 2022. El Alaoui, Montanari and Sellke prove an obstruction to stable sampling algorithms at β>1\beta>1β>1 (arXiv:2203.05093).
  • 2025. Sellke proves exponentially slow worst-case Glauber mixing for SK at sufficiently large β\betaβ (arXiv:2511.22621).
  • 2026. Bandeira, El Alaoui and Rödder prove polynomial mixing at every β\betaβ under a large uniform external field (arXiv:2607.06813).

The source of this mission is an OpenAI preprint dated September 24, 2026. It covers the entire range β>1\beta>1β>1, at zero field, for typical rather than worst-case starts.

Setting

For n≥2n\ge2n≥2 and independent standard Gaussians (Jij)i<j(J_{ij})_{i<j}(Jij​)i<j​, put

HJ(x)=1n∑i<jJijxixj,πJ(x)=eβHJ(x)ZJ,x∈{−1,1}n.H^J(x)=\frac1{\sqrt n}\sum_{i<j}J_{ij}x_ix_j,\qquad \pi^J(x)=\frac{e^{\beta H^J(x)}}{Z^J},\qquad x\in\{-1,1\}^n .HJ(x)=n​1​i<j∑​Jij​xi​xj​,πJ(x)=ZJeβHJ(x)​,x∈{−1,1}n.

In continuous-time heat-bath dynamics each site has a rate-one clock; when site iii rings, its spin becomes s∈{±1}s\in\{\pm1\}s∈{±1} with probability eβshi/(2cosh⁡βhi)e^{\beta sh_i}/(2\cosh\beta h_i)eβshi​/(2coshβhi​), where hi=n−1/2∑j≠iJijxjh_i=n^{-1/2}\sum_{j\ne i}J_{ij}x_jhi​=n−1/2∑j=i​Jij​xj​. Let PtJP^J_tPtJ​ be its kernel and KJK^JKJ the discrete kernel that resamples one uniformly chosen site. For a fixed start xxx,

dJ(x,t)=∥PtJ(x,⋅)−πJ∥TV,ddiscJ(x,k)=∥(KJ)k(x,⋅)−πJ∥TV.d^J(x,t)=\|P^J_t(x,\cdot)-\pi^J\|_{\rm TV},\qquad d^J_{\rm disc}(x,k)=\|(K^J)^k(x,\cdot)-\pi^J\|_{\rm TV}.dJ(x,t)=∥PtJ​(x,⋅)−πJ∥TV​,ddiscJ​(x,k)=∥(KJ)k(x,⋅)−πJ∥TV​.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1

Let κ=1/10000\kappa=1/10000κ=1/10000. For every fixed β>1\beta>1β>1,

PJ, x0∼πJ{dJ(x0,enκ)>14}→1,PJ, x0∼πJ{ddiscJ(x0,⌊enκ⌋)>14}→1.\mathbb P_{J,\ x_0\sim\pi^J}\Bigl\{d^J\bigl(x_0,e^{n^\kappa}\bigr)>\tfrac14\Bigr\}\to1,\qquad \mathbb P_{J,\ x_0\sim\pi^J}\Bigl\{d^J_{\rm disc}\bigl(x_0,\lfloor e^{n^\kappa}\rfloor\bigr)>\tfrac14\Bigr\}\to1 .PJ, x0​∼πJ​{dJ(x0​,enκ)>41​}→1,PJ, x0​∼πJ​{ddiscJ​(x0​,⌊enκ⌋)>41​}→1.

The order matters: x0x_0x0​ is drawn from πJ\pi^JπJ and then held fixed as the starting state. Lean: OAI.SK.main, open on the platform; it writes the joint probability as the disorder average of the Gibbs mass of slow starts.

Significance

The theorem shows that throughout the low-temperature phase, a Gibbs-sampled start carries information that local updates cannot erase in time en1/10000e^{n^{1/10000}}en1/10000; in particular (Corollary 1.2) every polynomial time scale is too short from a typical start. This separates the zero-field low-temperature SK model from the high-temperature and large-field regimes, where polynomial mixing holds. The exponent 1/100001/100001/10000 is not claimed to be optimal; numerical studies suggest n1/3n^{1/3}n1/3.

The result is proved in an OpenAI preprint; it has not been peer reviewed, and no machine-checked proof exists.

Difficulty

Integrating the transition kernel over the starting state recovers πJ\pi^JπJ at every time, so averaging arguments are useless; the obstruction must be established start by start, for a set of starts of Gibbs mass tending to one. Free-energy barrier criteria in the style of Ben Arous–Jagannath do not apply to the pure quadratic SK covariance. The proof needs quantitative Parisi-type comparisons for constrained replica overlaps, and a mechanism ("locking") that forces small overlaps with a third replica to stay put when two replicas overlap substantially.

Formalization scope

  • hamiltonian J x = (∑_{i<j} J_{ij} x_i x_j)/√n; disorderLaw n is the product of standard Gaussians over pairs i<ji<ji<j.
  • heatBath β J x y is the one-step kernel: average over sites iii of the conditional resampling probability, nonzero only when yyy agrees with xxx off iii (so holding is included).
  • discreteKernel iterates it; continuousKernel β J t = ∑_k e^{-nt}(nt)^k/k! · K^k, the uniformized rate-nnn chain, equivalent to rate-one clocks per site.
  • continuousBadMass β n and discreteBadMass β n are EJ\mathbb E_JEJ​ of the Gibbs mass of starts with distance >1/4>1/4>1/4 at time timeScale n = exp(n^κ) (resp. its floor).
  • The goal asserts both bad masses tend to 111 for each fixed β>1\beta>1β>1.

Infrastructure: finite Markov chains, Gaussian interpolation (Guerra–Talagrand bounds for constrained overlaps), Parisi functional regularity, and Gaussian concentration. The paper's Theorem 2.4 (quantitative free-energy comparison), Proposition 4.4 (absolute-overlap locking) and Proposition 6.1 (stretched-exponential coverage) are natural intermediate targets.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, Stretched-exponential barriers for typical SK initial states, preprint, September 24, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Stretched-exponential-barriers-for-typical-SK-initial-states-September-24-2026/paper.pdf
  • D. Sherrington, S. Kirkpatrick, Solvable model of a spin-glass, Phys. Rev. Lett., 1975. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.35.1792
  • G. Parisi, A sequence of approximated solutions to the S-K model for spin glasses, J. Phys. A, 1980. https://doi.org/10.1088/0305-4470/13/4/009
  • F. Guerra, Broken replica symmetry bounds in the mean field spin glass model, Comm. Math. Phys., 2003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-002-0773-5
  • M. Talagrand, The Parisi formula, Ann. of Math., 2006. https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2006.163.221
  • G. Ben Arous, A. Jagannath, Spectral gap estimates in mean field spin glasses, Comm. Math. Phys., 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-018-3152-6
  • M. Sellke, Exponentially slow mixing of the low temperature SK model, preprint, 2025. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.22621
  • A. S. Bandeira, A. El Alaoui, A. Rödder, Mixing of Glauber dynamics on high overlap Gibbs measures, preprint, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.06813
  • A. El Alaoui, A. Montanari, M. Sellke, Sampling from the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick Gibbs measure via algorithmic stochastic localization, FOCS 2022. https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.05093
  • D. Panchenko, Free energy in the mixed p-spin models with vector spins, Ann. Probab., 2018. https://doi.org/10.1214/17-AOP1194
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Critical slowing down in the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick modelResearch Paper

Motivation

The Sherrington–Kirkpatrick (SK) model is the mean-field spin glass, and β=1\beta=1β=1 is its equilibrium critical point. Physicists expect critical slowing down: at a phase transition, local dynamics needs time growing polynomially in the system size to relax. For the SK model this was studied through linearized mean-field theory, dynamical equations for correlation and response, and simulations of equilibrium autocorrelations on an n2/3n^{2/3}n2/3 time scale. Rigorous results on Glauber dynamics had concentrated on high temperature, where mixing is fast. This mission asks for a rigorous total-variation obstruction at β=1\beta=1β=1: most equilibrium configurations, used as starting states, are still far from equilibrium after o(n2/3)o(n^{2/3})o(n2/3) time.

Timeline

  • 1975, 1978. Sherrington and Kirkpatrick introduce the model and study Glauber autocorrelations above the critical temperature (doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.35.1792, doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.17.4384).
  • 1976. Kosterlitz, Thouless and Jones analyze the spherical spin glass, with its transition at the spectral edge (doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.36.1217).
  • 1981–1982. Sompolinsky and Zippelius develop dynamical equations for correlation and response (doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.47.359, doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.25.6860).
  • 1996. Comets relates the Ising and spherical partition functions via a Haar-averaging identity (doi:10.24033/ast.331).
  • 2011. Billoire and Campbell numerically examine critical autocorrelations on the n2/3n^{2/3}n2/3 scale (doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.84.054442).
  • 2016, 2022. Baik and Lee, and Landon, prove free-energy fluctuation limits for the spherical model, including criticality (doi:10.1007/s10955-016-1610-0, doi:10.1063/5.0054298).
  • 2019, 2022. Bauerschmidt–Bodineau and Eldan–Koehler–Zeitouni prove functional inequalities at high temperature (doi:10.1016/j.jfa.2019.01.007, doi:10.1007/s00440-021-01085-x).
  • 2026. Du and Huang prove critical free-energy and overlap results (arXiv:2607.02172, arXiv:2608.08752); Wang and Boban–Li–Oveis Gharan prove fast mixing for β<1/2\beta<1/2β<1/2 and β<1/2+ε0\beta<1/2+\varepsilon_0β<1/2+ε0​ (arXiv:2608.22159, arXiv:2609.13138).

The source of this mission is an OpenAI preprint dated September 24, 2026.

Setting

At β=1\beta=1β=1 and zero field, let Wij∼N(0,1/n)W_{ij}\sim N(0,1/n)Wij​∼N(0,1/n) be independent for i<ji<ji<j and

μW(x)∝exp⁡(∑i<jWijxixj),x∈{−1,1}n.\mu_W(x)\propto\exp\Bigl(\sum_{i<j}W_{ij}x_ix_j\Bigr),\qquad x\in\{-1,1\}^n .μW​(x)∝exp(i<j∑​Wij​xi​xj​),x∈{−1,1}n.

A heat-bath update at site iii resamples xix_ixi​ from its conditional law given the other spins. In continuous time every site has an independent rate-one clock (generator ∑i(Ki−I)\sum_i(K_i-I)∑i​(Ki​−I)); in discrete time each step updates a uniformly chosen site (kernel n−1∑iKin^{-1}\sum_iK_in−1∑i​Ki​). For a fixed start xxx, dtct(W,x)d^{\rm ct}_t(W,x)dtct​(W,x) and dkdt(W,x)d^{\rm dt}_k(W,x)dkdt​(W,x) are the total-variation distances to μW\mu_WμW​.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1 (realized equilibrium initial states)

For every deterministic tn≥0t_n\ge0tn​≥0 with tn=o(n2/3)t_n=o(n^{2/3})tn​=o(n2/3) and every deterministic integer kn=o(n5/3)k_n=o(n^{5/3})kn​=o(n5/3),

μW{x: dtnct(W,x)>1/4} → P  1,μW{x: dkndt(W,x)>1/4} → P  1.\mu_W\{x:\ d^{\rm ct}_{t_n}(W,x)>1/4\}\ \xrightarrow{\ \mathbb P\ }\ 1,\qquad \mu_W\{x:\ d^{\rm dt}_{k_n}(W,x)>1/4\}\ \xrightarrow{\ \mathbb P\ }\ 1 .μW​{x: dtn​ct​(W,x)>1/4}  P ​ 1,μW​{x: dkn​dt​(W,x)>1/4}  P ​ 1.

Lean: OAI.CriticalSK.realized_equilibrium_initial_states, open on the platform.

Milestone: Theorem 1.2 (covariance and linear tests)

With Σ=Cov⁡μW(x)\Sigma=\operatorname{Cov}_{\mu_W}(x)Σ=CovμW​​(x), D(f)=∑iμW[Var⁡(f∣x−i)]\mathcal D(f)=\sum_i\mu_W[\operatorname{Var}(f\mid x_{-i})]D(f)=∑i​μW​[Var(f∣x−i​)] and Rlin=sup⁡a≠0Var⁡(aTx)/D(aTx)R_{\rm lin}=\sup_{a\ne0}\operatorname{Var}(a^{\mathsf T}x)/\mathcal D(a^{\mathsf T}x)Rlin​=supa=0​Var(aTx)/D(aTx): for every Mn→∞M_n\to\inftyMn​→∞, with probability tending to one,

∥Σ∥, Rlin ∈ [n2/3/Mn, Mnn2/3].\|\Sigma\|,\ R_{\rm lin}\ \in\ \bigl[n^{2/3}/M_n,\ M_nn^{2/3}\bigr].∥Σ∥, Rlin​ ∈ [n2/3/Mn​, Mn​n2/3].

Milestones: Theorem 1.3 (critical mixing bounds)

For every fixed ϵ>0\epsilon>0ϵ>0,

P{n2/3−ϵ≤tmix≤eϵn}→1,P{n5/3−ϵ≤kmix≤eϵn}→1,\mathbb P\{n^{2/3-\epsilon}\le t_{\rm mix}\le e^{\epsilon n}\}\to1,\qquad \mathbb P\{n^{5/3-\epsilon}\le k_{\rm mix}\le e^{\epsilon n}\}\to1,P{n2/3−ϵ≤tmix​≤eϵn}→1,P{n5/3−ϵ≤kmix​≤eϵn}→1,

with a separate Lean target for the lower bounds alone.

Significance

The theorem shows that at criticality the slow direction is visible from typical equilibrium starts, not only from adversarial ones, and pins the time scale n2/3n^{2/3}n2/3 to the spectral edge of the coupling matrix. Theorem 1.2 identifies the covariance scale n2/3n^{2/3}n2/3, contrasting with bounded covariance at every β<1\beta<1β<1. A companion OpenAI preprint uses Theorems 1.1 and 1.2 as inputs for matching upper bounds n2/3+o(1)n^{2/3+o(1)}n2/3+o(1).

The results are proved in an OpenAI preprint; they have not been peer reviewed, and no machine-checked proof exists.

Difficulty

Averaging over the starting state gives back the stationary law, so the obstruction must be proved start by start. The slow observable is the projection vTxv^{\mathsf T}xvTx on the top eigenvector of the coupling matrix; the difficulty is the static estimate that this projection is rarely small on the n1/3n^{1/3}n1/3 scale under the Ising Gibbs law. This requires edge-of-spectrum random matrix estimates, a precise comparison between the Ising law and a tilted spherical law, and control of the conditioning on the sphere.

Formalization scope

  • hamiltonian W x = ∑_{i<j} W_{ij} x_i x_j; disorderLaw n is the product of gaussianReal 0 (1/n) over pairs i<ji<ji<j.
  • siteKernel W i is the heat-bath kernel on configurations agreeing off iii; discreteKernel = n^{-1}∑_i siteKernel; continuousKernel W t = exp(t ∑_i (siteKernel W i - 1)).
  • continuousGoodMass/discreteGoodMass are the Gibbs masses of starts with distance >1/4>1/4>1/4; convergence in probability is written as P(∣mass−1∣≥δ)→0\mathbb P(|\text{mass}-1|\ge\delta)\to0P(∣mass−1∣≥δ)→0 for all δ>0\delta>0δ>0.
  • covarianceNorm is the Euclidean operator norm; linearRayleigh is a real sSup over nonzero aaa (the quotient is bounded and the set nonempty).
  • Mixing times are sInf over times at which all starts are within 1/41/41/4.

Infrastructure: finite continuous-time Markov chains (matrix exponentials), GOE edge estimates, tridiagonal models, spherical integrals. The intermediate results Proposition 3.1, Theorem 5.3 and Proposition 5.4 are natural further milestones.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, Critical slowing down in the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model, preprint, September 24, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Critical-slowing-down-in-the-Sherrington-Kirkpatrick-model-September-24-2026/paper.pdf
  • D. Sherrington, S. Kirkpatrick, Solvable model of a spin-glass, Phys. Rev. Lett., 1975. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.35.1792
  • H. Sompolinsky, A. Zippelius, Dynamic theory of the spin-glass phase, Phys. Rev. Lett., 1981. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.47.359
  • F. Comets, A spherical bound for the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model, Astérisque, 1996. https://doi.org/10.24033/ast.331
  • H. Du, B. Huang, Fluctuations of the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick free energy at critical temperature, preprint, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.02172
  • H. Du, B. Huang, Overlap distribution of the critical Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model, preprint, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.08752
  • J. Baik, J. O. Lee, Fluctuations of the free energy of the spherical Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model, J. Stat. Phys., 2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10955-016-1610-0
  • B. Landon, Free energy fluctuations of the two-spin spherical SK model at critical temperature, J. Math. Phys., 2022. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0054298
  • A. Billoire, I. A. Campbell, Dynamics in the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick Ising spin glass at and above TgT_gTg​, Phys. Rev. B, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.84.054442
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A spectral gap throughout the high-temperature Sherrington–Kirkpatrick phaseResearch Paper

Motivation

The Sherrington–Kirkpatrick (SK) model (1975) is the basic mean-field spin glass: nnn Ising spins interact through independent Gaussian couplings of variance β2/n\beta^2/nβ2/n, so each spin is weakly coupled to every other one with random signs. The model is the testing ground for questions about disordered systems, about sampling from Gibbs measures, and about the performance of Markov chain Monte Carlo. A central question is whether Glauber (heat-bath) dynamics, which resamples one spin at a time from its conditional law, relaxes at a rate independent of the system size. Equivalently: does the Gibbs measure satisfy a dimension-free Poincaré inequality with respect to the heat-bath Dirichlet form?

The equilibrium high-temperature phase is β<1\beta<1β<1, where the free energy equals its annealed value (Aizenman, Lebowitz and Ruelle 1987). Dynamical results had reached only part of this range.

Timeline

  • 1963. Glauber introduces local stochastic spin dynamics (doi:10.1063/1.1703954).
  • 1975. Sherrington and Kirkpatrick introduce the model (doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.35.1792).
  • 1987. Aizenman, Lebowitz and Ruelle prove the annealed free energy log⁡2+β2/4\log2+\beta^2/4log2+β2/4 for all β<1\beta<1β<1 (doi:10.1007/BF01217677).
  • 2006. Wu proves Poincaré inequalities under a Dobrushin-type condition (doi:10.1214/009117906000000368).
  • 2019. Bauerschmidt and Bodineau prove a high-temperature log-Sobolev inequality for a different (full spin-flip) Dirichlet form (doi:10.1016/j.jfa.2019.01.007).
  • 2022. Eldan, Koehler and Zeitouni give a spectral condition yielding a heat-bath gap for β<1/4\beta<1/4β<1/4 (doi:10.1007/s00440-021-01085-x); Anari, Jain, Koehler, Pham and Vuong prove O(nlog⁡n)O(n\log n)O(nlogn) mixing in the same range (arXiv:2106.04105).
  • 2024. Anari, Koehler and Vuong extend this to β≈0.295\beta\approx0.295β≈0.295 (doi:10.1145/3618260.3649622); Adhikari, Brennecke, Xu and Yau obtain gaps for mixed ppp-spin models under a small-coefficient condition (doi:10.1007/s00440-024-01261-9); El Alaoui and Gaitonde, and Brennecke, Schertzer, Xu and Yau, control the spin covariance for all β<1\beta<1β<1 (arXiv:2212.02445, doi:10.2140/pmp.2024.5.131).
  • 2026. Wang proves optimal mixing for β<1/2\beta<1/2β<1/2 (arXiv:2608.22159); Boban, Li and Oveis Gharan reach β<1/2+ε0\beta<1/2+\varepsilon_0β<1/2+ε0​ (arXiv:2609.13138).

The source of this mission is an OpenAI preprint dated September 24, 2026, which treats every fixed β<1\beta<1β<1.

Setting

Fix 0<β<10<\beta<10<β<1. Let JJJ be a symmetric n×nn\times nn×n matrix with zero diagonal and independent entries Jik∼N(0,β2/n)J_{ik}\sim N(0,\beta^2/n)Jik​∼N(0,β2/n) for i<ki<ki<k. The zero-field Gibbs law on {−1,1}n\{-1,1\}^n{−1,1}n is

μ0(x)=1Zexp⁡{12xTJx}.\mu_0(x)=\frac1{Z}\exp\Bigl\{\tfrac12x^{\mathsf T}Jx\Bigr\}.μ0​(x)=Z1​exp{21​xTJx}.

Let PiP_iPi​ be the conditional expectation under μ0\mu_0μ0​ given all spins except xix_ixi​; it averages fff over xxx and its iii-th flip with Gibbs weights. The unscaled Dirichlet form is

D(f)=∑i=1nEμ0(f−Pif)2.\mathcal D(f)=\sum_{i=1}^n\mathbb E_{\mu_0}\bigl(f-P_if\bigr)^2 .D(f)=i=1∑n​Eμ0​​(f−Pi​f)2.

The discrete heat-bath chain picks a uniform site and resamples it, with transition operator n−1∑iPin^{-1}\sum_iP_in−1∑i​Pi​; its spectral gap is inf⁡fD(f)/(nVar⁡μ0f)\inf_f \mathcal D(f)/(n\operatorname{Var}_{\mu_0}f)inff​D(f)/(nVarμ0​​f) over nonconstant fff.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1

There is a finite constant CβC_\betaCβ​ such that

PJ{Var⁡μ0(f)≤Cβ D(f) for every f:{−1,1}n→R} ⟶ 1,\mathbb P_J\Bigl\{\operatorname{Var}_{\mu_0}(f)\le C_\beta\,\mathcal D(f)\ \text{for every }f:\{-1,1\}^n\to\mathbb R\Bigr\}\ \longrightarrow\ 1,PJ​{Varμ0​​(f)≤Cβ​D(f) for every f:{−1,1}n→R} ⟶ 1,

and consequently the discrete heat-bath chain has spectral gap at least 1/(Cβn)1/(C_\beta n)1/(Cβ​n) with probability tending to one. Lean: OAI.SKGap.sk_main, open on the platform.

Significance

The theorem gives a size-independent relaxation time for continuous-time heat-bath dynamics (rate-one clocks) throughout the high-temperature phase, for every observable simultaneously on one disorder event. It extends the dynamical picture from β<1/2+ε0\beta<1/2+\varepsilon_0β<1/2+ε0​ to the full equilibrium range β<1\beta<1β<1, where only linear-observable (covariance) control was previously known. A Poincaré inequality is the input for L2L^2L2 mixing bounds and for companion results on cutoff and critical slowing down.

The result is proved in an OpenAI preprint; it has not been peer reviewed, and no machine-checked proof exists.

Difficulty

Dobrushin-type influence bounds fail because the sum of absolute couplings at a site grows like n\sqrt nn​; any argument must exploit cancellations from the random signs. Covariance bounds control only linear observables, while the Poincaré inequality must hold for all 22n2^{2^n}22n-dimensional families of test functions at once. The natural route through stochastic localization runs into rare observation events: an event of exponentially small probability can still carry most of the variance of a particular test function, and invertibility of the field equation must hold at every sufficiently accurate solution along the observation path.

Formalization scope

  • Spins are Fin n → Bool, with spinValue mapping to ±1\pm1±1; couplings are indexed by pairs i<ki<ki<k (Edge n) and symmetrized with zero diagonal by coupling.
  • hamiltonian g 0 x = ½ ∑_{i,k} x_i J_{ik} x_k; mass, expectation, variance are exact finite sums over {−1,1}n\{-1,1\}^n{−1,1}n.
  • conditionalExpectation g h i f x is the two-point Gibbs average over xxx and its iii-th flip; dirichlet is the unscaled form ∑iE(f−Pif)2\sum_i\mathbb E(f-P_if)^2∑i​E(f−Pi​f)2.
  • disorderLaw β n = Measure.pi (fun _ => gaussianReal 0 (β^2/n)) over the edges (variance β2/n\beta^2/nβ2/n).
  • discreteGap g is the infimum of D(f)/(nVar⁡f)\mathcal D(f)/(n\operatorname{Var}f)D(f)/(nVarf) over fff with positive variance.
  • MainStatement β asserts a single C>0C>0C>0 for which both the Poincaré event and the gap event have probability tending to 111.

Formalization needs Gaussian product measures, finite Gibbs measures and heat-bath operators, and the analysis behind the proof: matrix concentration, TAP/AMP-type field recursions and stochastic localization. Formal versions of the paper's intermediate results (for example Proposition 8.3, the terminal observation gap) are welcome.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, A spectral gap throughout the high-temperature Sherrington–Kirkpatrick phase, preprint, September 24, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-spectral-gap-throughout-the-high-temperature-Sherrington-Kirkpatrick-phase-September-24-2026/main.pdf
  • D. Sherrington, S. Kirkpatrick, Solvable model of a spin-glass, Phys. Rev. Lett., 1975. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.35.1792
  • M. Aizenman, J. L. Lebowitz, D. Ruelle, Some rigorous results on the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick spin glass model, Comm. Math. Phys., 1987. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01217677
  • R. Eldan, F. Koehler, O. Zeitouni, A spectral condition for spectral gap: fast mixing in high-temperature Ising models, Probab. Theory Related Fields, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00440-021-01085-x
  • N. Anari, F. Koehler, T.-D. Vuong, Trickle-down in localization schemes and applications, STOC 2024. https://doi.org/10.1145/3618260.3649622
  • S. Wang, Optimal mixing of Glauber dynamics for the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model at β<1/2\beta<1/2β<1/2, preprint, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.22159
  • M. Boban, A. Li, S. Oveis Gharan, Rank-1-perturbed trickledown theorems, preprint, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.13138
  • C. Brennecke, A. Schertzer, C. Xu, H.-T. Yau, The two point function of the SK model without external field at high temperature, Probab. Math. Phys., 2024. https://doi.org/10.2140/pmp.2024.5.131
  • Y. Chen, R. Eldan, Localization schemes: a framework for proving mixing bounds for Markov chains, Duke Math. J., 2025. https://doi.org/10.1215/00127094-2024-0063
  • R. Eldan, Thin shell implies spectral gap up to polylog via a stochastic localization scheme, Geom. Funct. Anal., 2013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00039-013-0214-y
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Exponential decay in two-dimensional classical O(n) modelsResearch Paper

Motivation: mass generation in two-dimensional spin systems

The classical O(n)O(n)O(n) model (for n=3n=3n=3, the classical Heisenberg model) places a unit vector σx∈Sn−1\sigma_x\in S^{n-1}σx​∈Sn−1 at each site of the square lattice and favours alignment of neighbouring spins. It is the basic lattice model of a system with continuous symmetry. In two dimensions the Mermin–Wagner theorem rules out spontaneous magnetization at every positive temperature, but it does not say how fast spins decorrelate. For n=2n=2n=2 (the plane rotator) correlations decay only polynomially at low temperature — the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless phase. For n≥3n\ge3n≥3, Polyakov's 1975 renormalization-group argument predicts mass generation: exponential decay of correlations at every positive temperature, the lattice analogue of asymptotic freedom in four-dimensional non-Abelian gauge theory. A rigorous proof at low temperature has long been a central question of rigorous statistical mechanics.

Timeline

  • 1966–1967 — Mermin and Wagner prove absence of order for quantum Heisenberg models (PRL 1966); Mermin gives a classical argument (J. Math. Phys. 1967).
  • 1971–1973 — Berezinskii (Sov. Phys. JETP 1971) and Kosterlitz–Thouless (J. Phys. C 1973) describe the slow-decay phase for two-component spins.
  • 1975 — Polyakov predicts mass generation for n≥3n\ge3n≥3 at every positive temperature (Phys. Lett. B 1975).
  • 1977 — McBryan and Spencer prove algebraic upper bounds on two-dimensional correlations by complex spin rotations (CMP 1977); extended by Gagnebin and Velenik (CMP 2014).
  • 1980 — Aizenman and Simon prove exponential decay at high temperature from local Ward identities and a finite-size criterion (CMP 1980); Kupiainen proves a mass gap in the large-nnn regime via the 1/n1/n1/n expansion (CMP 1980).
  • 1981 — Fröhlich and Spencer prove the Kosterlitz–Thouless transition: polynomial lower bounds for the plane rotator at low temperature (CMP 1981), so no all-temperature exponential decay is possible for n=2n=2n=2.
  • 2002 — Patrascioiu and Seiler study percolation of spin regions as a route to a possible massless phase for n=3n=3n=3 (J. Stat. Phys. 106, 2002).
  • 2025 — Aru, Garban and Sepúlveda record the all-temperature exponential-decay assertion as an open conjecture (CMP 2025).
  • 2026 — An OpenAI preprint, Exponential decay in two-dimensional classical O(n) models (OpenAI Math Release, September 23, 2026), claims exponential decay for every n≥3n\ge3n≥3 and every finite β\betaβ, uniformly over finite free-boundary subgraphs. The preprint has not been peer reviewed and its theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

Let G=(V,E)G=(V,E)G=(V,E) be a finite subgraph of the nearest-neighbour square lattice Z2\mathbb Z^2Z2, and let b=(be)e∈Eb=(b_e)_{e\in E}b=(be​)e∈E​ be edge strengths with 0≤be≤β0\le b_e\le\beta0≤be​≤β. Put a spin σx∈Sn−1\sigma_x\in S^{n-1}σx​∈Sn−1 at each vertex. The free-boundary Gibbs measure is

dμG,b(n)(σ)=1ZG,b(n)exp⁡(∑{x,y}∈Ebxy σx⋅σy)∏x∈Vdωn−1(σx),d\mu^{(n)}_{G,b}(\sigma)=\frac{1}{Z^{(n)}_{G,b}}\exp\Bigl(\sum_{\{x,y\}\in E}b_{xy}\,\sigma_x\cdot\sigma_y\Bigr)\prod_{x\in V}d\omega_{n-1}(\sigma_x),dμG,b(n)​(σ)=ZG,b(n)​1​exp({x,y}∈E∑​bxy​σx​⋅σy​)x∈V∏​dωn−1​(σx​),

where ωn−1\omega_{n-1}ωn−1​ is the uniform probability measure on the unit sphere and ZG,b(n)Z^{(n)}_{G,b}ZG,b(n)​ is the normalizing integral. There are no boundary spins and no external field. The two-point function is ⟨σx⋅σy⟩G,b(n)\langle\sigma_x\cdot\sigma_y\rangle^{(n)}_{G,b}⟨σx​⋅σy​⟩G,b(n)​, and ∥x−y∥2\|x-y\|_2∥x−y∥2​ is Euclidean distance.

Formalization targets

Goal: all-temperature exponential decay (Theorem 1.1)

For every integer n≥3n\ge3n≥3 and every β>0\beta>0β>0 there are A<∞A<\inftyA<∞ and m>0m>0m>0 such that, for every finite nearest-neighbour subgraph GGG of Z2\mathbb Z^2Z2, every b∈[0,β]Eb\in[0,\beta]^Eb∈[0,β]E and all x,y∈Vx,y\in Vx,y∈V,

0 ≤ ⟨σx⋅σy⟩G,b(n) ≤ A e−m∥x−y∥2.0\ \le\ \langle\sigma_x\cdot\sigma_y\rangle^{(n)}_{G,b}\ \le\ A\,e^{-m\|x-y\|_2}.0 ≤ ⟨σx​⋅σy​⟩G,b(n)​ ≤ Ae−m∥x−y∥2​.

The constants depend only on nnn and β\betaβ and may deteriorate as β→∞\beta\to\inftyβ→∞. The goal statement is published on the platform with status Open: no machine-checked proof exists yet.

Significance

The result itself. Uniformity over all finite subgraphs and strengths gives the same bound for free-boundary limits on boxes (Corollary 1.2 of the source) and for their subsequential infinite-volume limits, hence finite susceptibility. It confirms rigorously, for the spin two-point function, the mass-generation prediction for n≥3n\ge3n≥3 at arbitrarily low temperature, the regime left open by high-temperature and large-nnn results, and contrasts sharply with the n=2n=2n=2 case. The source does not claim a transfer-matrix gap for all local observables, correlation-length asymptotics, or uniqueness of Gibbs states.

Formalizing it. The statement is a uniform estimate on explicit finite-dimensional integrals; a formal proof would certify a result the physics literature has expected since 1975. Groundwork includes Gibbs measures on products of spheres, rotation (Ward) identities, and random-cluster/sign-cluster representations, reusable for other lattice spin models.

Difficulty

Mermin–Wagner and McBryan–Spencer type arguments only show that order is destroyed and give polynomial bounds; they allow a zero decay rate and cannot distinguish n≥3n\ge3n≥3 from n=2n=2n=2. Any proof must use the non-Abelian nature of the symmetry group, since the conclusion fails for n=2n=2n=2. Exponential decay at high temperature (small β\betaβ) follows from expansions, but at large β\betaβ spins are strongly aligned over long distances and no small parameter is available. Reducing to three components by conditioning produces random, dependent couplings, so the three-component estimate must hold uniformly over all strength arrays.

Formalization scope

  • Sites are ℤ × ℤ; a LatticeGraph is a finite vertex set with a finite set of positively oriented nearest-neighbour edges (each undirected edge represented once). Strengths are functions G.edges → ℝ with 0≤be≤β0\le b_e\le\beta0≤be​≤β, so deleting edges and weakening couplings are covered.
  • Spins live in Metric.sphere 0 1 of EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin n); the single-site law is the normalized sphere measure (toSphere of Lebesgue measure); the configuration law is the product measure.
  • correlation is the ratio of integrals ∫σx⋅σy eH/∫eH\int\sigma_x\cdot\sigma_y\,e^{H}\big/\int e^{H}∫σx​⋅σy​eH/∫eH; the partition function is strictly positive, so the division is genuine.
  • The quantifier order is ∀n≥3, ∀β>0, ∃A,m\forall n\ge3,\ \forall\beta>0,\ \exists A,m∀n≥3, ∀β>0, ∃A,m with m>0m>0m>0, then ∀G,b,x,y\forall G,b,x,y∀G,b,x,y: constants may not depend on the graph, the strengths or the points. Distance is the Euclidean norm on Z2⊂R2\mathbb Z^2\subset\mathbb R^2Z2⊂R2.
  • Infrastructure needed: integration on spheres, differentiation of partition functions under spin rotations, FKG/Ginibre inequalities, Edwards–Sokal type couplings and percolation crossing estimates.

Selected references

  • N. D. Mermin and H. Wagner, Absence of ferromagnetism or antiferromagnetism in one- or two-dimensional isotropic Heisenberg models, Phys. Rev. Lett. 17 (1966), 1133–1136. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.17.1133
  • A. M. Polyakov, Interaction of Goldstone particles in two dimensions, Phys. Lett. B 59 (1975), 79–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/0370-2693(75)90161-6
  • O. A. McBryan and T. Spencer, On the decay of correlations in SO(n)-symmetric ferromagnets, Comm. Math. Phys. 53 (1977), 299–302. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01609854
  • M. Aizenman and B. Simon, Local Ward identities and the decay of correlations in ferromagnets, Comm. Math. Phys. 77 (1980), 137–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01982713
  • A. J. Kupiainen, On the 1/n expansion, Comm. Math. Phys. 73 (1980), 273–294. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01197703
  • J. Fröhlich and T. Spencer, The Kosterlitz–Thouless transition in two-dimensional Abelian spin systems and the Coulomb gas, Comm. Math. Phys. 81 (1981), 527–602. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01208273
  • M. Gagnebin and Y. Velenik, Upper bound on the decay of correlations in a general class of O(N)-symmetric models, Comm. Math. Phys. 332 (2014), 1235–1255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-014-2075-0
  • J. Aru, C. Garban and A. Sepúlveda, Percolation for 2D classical Heisenberg model and exit sets of vector valued GFF, Comm. Math. Phys. 406 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-024-05208-y
  • OpenAI, Exponential decay in two-dimensional classical O(n) models, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 23, 2026 (source of the goal; Theorem 1.1, p. 1). https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Exponential-decay-in-two-dimensional-classical-On-models-September-23-2026/paper.pdf
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Brownian continuum random tree limits of finite Fortuin–Kasteleyn maps above fourResearch Paper

Motivation

Random planar maps are graphs embedded in the sphere, chosen at random; they are the discrete models of two-dimensional quantum gravity. Decorating a map with a Fortuin–Kasteleyn (FK) random-cluster configuration with parameter qqq couples the geometry of the map to a statistical-mechanics model (percolation, Ising, Potts), and the coupling changes the large-scale shape of the map. For 0<q<40<q<40<q<4 the maps are expected to converge to Liouville quantum gravity surfaces; for q>4q>4q>4 the cluster weight is so strong that the map is predicted to become tree-like at large scales. This mission concerns that tree-like regime.

Timeline

  • 1963. Tutte decomposes planar maps into nonseparable blocks (doi:10.4153/CJM-1963-029-x).
  • 1967. Mullin enumerates tree-rooted maps (doi:10.4153/CJM-1967-010-x).
  • 1972. Fortuin and Kasteleyn introduce the random-cluster model (doi:10.1016/0031-8914(72)90045-6).
  • 1993. Aldous introduces the Brownian continuum random tree (CRT) as the limit of finite-variance conditioned Galton–Watson trees (doi:10.1214/aop/1176989404).
  • 2007–2008. Bernardi gives bijective encodings of tree-rooted maps and connects them to the Tutte polynomial (doi:10.37236/928).
  • 2016. Sheffield's inventory-accumulation (hamburger–cheeseburger) bijection encodes FK-decorated maps and identifies the transition at q=4q=4q=4; his appendix predicts a CRT limit for q>4q>4q>4 (doi:10.1214/15-AOP1061). Panagiotou, Stufler and Weller prove CRT limits for subcritical graph classes (doi:10.1214/15-AOP1048).
  • 2026. Feng proves an infinite-volume counterpart: an infinite FK map with q>4q>4q>4 converges to an infinite CRT in the local Gromov–Hausdorff–Prokhorov topology (doi:10.1007/s00440-025-01424-2); Stufler proves degree-measure CRT limits for maps whose block weights depend only on block size (arXiv:2608.21063).

The source of this mission, an OpenAI preprint dated September 24, 2026, proves the finite-volume CRT prediction for every q>4q>4q>4.

Setting

A rooted planar map is a connected graph embedded in the oriented sphere, up to orientation-preserving homeomorphism, with a distinguished dart (oriented edge); loops and multiple edges are allowed. For an edge subset A⊆E(M)A\subseteq E(M)A⊆E(M), kM(A)k_M(A)kM​(A) is the number of connected components of (V(M),A)(V(M),A)(V(M),A), isolated vertices included. For q>4q>4q>4 and n≥1n\ge1n≥1, sample (Mn,An)(M_n,A_n)(Mn​,An​) with ∣E(Mn)∣=n|E(M_n)|=n∣E(Mn​)∣=n according to

P((Mn,An)=(M,A))=1Zn,q q kM(A)+(∣A∣−∣V(M)∣)/2.\mathbb P\bigl((M_n,A_n)=(M,A)\bigr)=\frac{1}{Z_{n,q}}\,q^{\,k_M(A)+(|A|-|V(M)|)/2}.P((Mn​,An​)=(M,A))=Zn,q​1​qkM​(A)+(∣A∣−∣V(M)∣)/2.

Let dnd_ndn​ be graph distance on V(Mn)V(M_n)V(Mn​) using all edges and μn({v})=deg⁡(v)/(2n)\mu_n(\{v\})=\deg(v)/(2n)μn​({v})=deg(v)/(2n).

For a standard normalized Brownian excursion eee on [0,1][0,1][0,1], de(s,t)=e(s)+e(t)−2min⁡[s∧t, s∨t]ed_e(s,t)=e(s)+e(t)-2\min_{[s\wedge t,\,s\vee t]}ede​(s,t)=e(s)+e(t)−2min[s∧t,s∨t]​e; the quotient by de=0d_e=0de​=0 with the pushforward μe\mu_eμe​ of Lebesgue measure is the Brownian CRT (Te,de,μe)(\mathcal T_e,d_e,\mu_e)(Te​,de​,μe​).

The Gromov–Hausdorff–Prokhorov (GHP) distance between compact metric probability spaces is the infimum, over isometric embeddings into a common space, of the maximum of the Hausdorff distance of the images and the Lévy–Prokhorov distance of the pushed-forward measures.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1

∀q>4 ∃c(q)∈(0,∞):(V(Mn), c(q) n−1/2dn, μn) ⟹ (Te,de,μe)\forall q>4\ \exists c(q)\in(0,\infty):\qquad \bigl(V(M_n),\ c(q)\,n^{-1/2}d_n,\ \mu_n\bigr)\ \Longrightarrow\ (\mathcal T_e,d_e,\mu_e)∀q>4 ∃c(q)∈(0,∞):(V(Mn​), c(q)n−1/2dn​, μn​) ⟹ (Te​,de​,μe​)

in distribution for the GHP topology, as n→∞n\to\inftyn→∞ through all positive integers. The Lean statement OAI.FKCRT.finite_fk_maps_converge_to_brownian_crt is open on the platform.

Significance

The theorem establishes the tree side of the geometric phase transition of FK planar maps at q=4q=4q=4 in the natural finite-volume setting: the law is conditioned on the total size, the metric uses every edge, and the measure is the degree measure. Feng's infinite-volume result does not imply it, and a limit of an unconditioned encoding walk gives neither conditioning nor metric control. Together with companion results for 0<q≤40<q\le40<q≤4, it completes the picture surface versus tree.

The result is proved in an OpenAI preprint; it has not been peer reviewed, and no machine-checked proof exists. A formal proof would also build reusable infrastructure: combinatorial maps as rotation systems, the GHP topology, and the Brownian CRT, none of which is in Mathlib.

Difficulty

The FK weight of a nonseparable block depends on its shape, not only on its size, so the block-weighted map results with uniform blocks do not apply, and exponential moments of block sizes are not available. The proof must show that the block tree is a critical Galton–Watson tree with finite offspring variance, and that graph distance along every ancestral path is asymptotically a constant times the depth, uniformly over all paths, using only a second moment.

Formalization scope

  • A map with n+1n+1n+1 edges is a pair of permutations of Fin (2*(n+1)) (edge involution without fixed points, vertex rotation), connected, with ∣V∣+∣F∣=n+3|V|+|F|=n+3∣V∣+∣F∣=n+3 (genus zero), modulo isomorphisms fixing dart 0. The Lean index nnn corresponds to n+1n+1n+1 edges, and the scale is c/n+1c/\sqrt{n+1}c/n+1​.
  • The FK law sums over all Finsets of edge orbits; clusterCount counts components including isolated vertices; loops are omitted from adjacency only.
  • MetricMeasureData packages a carrier, a distance and a measure; Valid means a compact metric probability space with Borel σ-algebra. ghpEDist is the infimum over pseudometrics on the disjoint union extending both distances.
  • Convergence in distribution is expressed by expectations of bounded tests F continuous for ghpEDist at valid objects.
  • The normalized excursion is realized as ∣B(t)−tB(1)∣\lvert B(t)-tB(1)\rvert∣B(t)−tB(1)∣ for a three-dimensional Brownian motion BBB, and the statement holds for every such realization. The limit expectation is a Bochner integral, so measurability of the integrand is part of what must be proved.

A complete development needs Sheffield's inventory bijection or an equivalent finite word identity, Tutte's block decomposition, conditioned Galton–Watson tree limits with finite variance (Aldous; Broutin–Marckert), and GHP comparison lemmas. Contributions formalizing Proposition 2.2 (finite word identity), Proposition 4.3 (exact finite representation), Theorem 5.5 (uniform marked path sums) and Lemma 6.3 (metric and mass comparison) are welcome.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, Brownian continuum random tree limits of finite Fortuin–Kasteleyn maps above four, preprint, September 24, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Brownian-continuum-random-tree-limits-of-finite-Fortuin-Kasteleyn-maps-above-four-September-24-2026/main.pdf
  • S. Sheffield, Quantum gravity and inventory accumulation, Ann. Probab., 2016. https://doi.org/10.1214/15-AOP1061
  • Y. Feng, Triviality of critical Fortuin–Kasteleyn decorated planar maps for q>4q>4q>4, Probab. Theory Related Fields, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00440-025-01424-2
  • D. Aldous, The continuum random tree III, Ann. Probab., 1993. https://doi.org/10.1214/aop/1176989404
  • C. M. Fortuin, P. W. Kasteleyn, On the random-cluster model I, Physica, 1972. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-8914(72)90045-6
  • W. T. Tutte, A census of planar maps, Canad. J. Math., 1963. https://doi.org/10.4153/CJM-1963-029-x
  • N. Broutin, J.-F. Marckert, Asymptotics of trees with a prescribed degree sequence and applications, Random Structures Algorithms, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1002/rsa.20463
  • K. Panagiotou, B. Stufler, K. Weller, Scaling limits of random graphs from subcritical classes, Ann. Probab., 2016. https://doi.org/10.1214/15-AOP1048
  • B. Stufler, Non-bijective scaling limits and phase transitions of planar maps, preprint, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.21063
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AlgebraAlgebraic GeometryRepresentation Theory·Captain: wurtle

Quadratic stabilization of the canonical Foulkes--Howe mapResearch Paper

Motivation: plethysm, Foulkes' conjecture and the canonical map

Plethysm — decomposing Sym⁡a(Sym⁡bV)\operatorname{Sym}^a(\operatorname{Sym}^b V)Syma(SymbV) into irreducible GL(V)\mathrm{GL}(V)GL(V)-representations — is one of the oldest open problems in the representation theory of the general linear group, and it is central to geometric complexity theory, where the coordinate rings of Chow varieties of products of linear forms control lower-bound arguments. Foulkes' conjecture (1950) predicts that for a≤ba\le ba≤b there is a GL(V)\mathrm{GL}(V)GL(V)-equivariant injection Sym⁡a(Sym⁡bV)↪Sym⁡b(Sym⁡aV)\operatorname{Sym}^a(\operatorname{Sym}^bV)\hookrightarrow\operatorname{Sym}^b(\operatorname{Sym}^aV)Syma(SymbV)↪Symb(SymaV). A natural candidate is supplied by a specific map, the canonical Foulkes–Howe map μa,b,V:Sym⁡b(Sym⁡aV)→Sym⁡a(Sym⁡bV)\mu_{a,b,V}:\operatorname{Sym}^b(\operatorname{Sym}^aV)\to\operatorname{Sym}^a(\operatorname{Sym}^bV)μa,b,V​:Symb(SymaV)→Syma(SymbV); its surjectivity yields such an embedding by complete reducibility. Its image is the degree-bbb part of the coordinate ring of the Chow variety of decomposable aaa-forms, so surjectivity for large bbb is a statement about that variety's normalization. The question is from which degree bbb on the map is surjective, uniformly in dim⁡V\dim VdimV.

Timeline

  • 1950 — Foulkes formulates the plethysm comparison (Foulkes, J. London Math. Soc. 1950).
  • 1993 — Brion proves eventual surjectivity of the canonical map for fixed aaa and VVV (Brion, Manuscripta Math. 1993); in 1997 he gives an effective bound depending on both aaa and dim⁡V\dim VdimV (Séminaires et Congrès 2, SMF, 1997, Theorem 3.3).
  • 2008 — McKay proves a propagation theorem for Foulkes-type injectivity (J. Algebra 2008); Ikenmeyer gives a weight-shift proof (arXiv:1509.04957, 2015).
  • 2015 — Landsberg's introduction to geometric complexity theory asks for a polynomial stabilization bound (Problem 7.19) (Ann. Univ. Ferrara 2015).
  • 2017 — Cheung, Ikenmeyer and Mkrtchyan show that the canonical map has nonzero kernel at (a,b)=(5,5)(a,b)=(5,5)(a,b)=(5,5) and (6,6)(6,6)(6,6) in suitable dimensions (J. Symbolic Comput. 2017).
  • 2022 — Raicu, Sam and Weyman bound the regularity of the Segre ring and modules of covariants on the Chow variety (Vietnam J. Math. 2022), without computing the top degree controlling stabilization.
  • 2026 — An OpenAI preprint, Quadratic stabilization of the canonical Foulkes–Howe map (OpenAI Math Release, September 25, 2026), claims surjectivity for all a≥2a\ge2a≥2, b≥a(a−1)b\ge a(a-1)b≥a(a−1) and every finite-dimensional VVV. The preprint has not been peer reviewed and its theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

Let VVV be a finite-dimensional complex vector space and Sym⁡V\operatorname{Sym}VSymV its symmetric algebra. Sym⁡nV⊆Sym⁡V\operatorname{Sym}^nV\subseteq\operatorname{Sym}VSymnV⊆SymV is the span of products v1⋯vnv_1\cdots v_nv1​⋯vn​ of nnn vectors. For vj,i∈Vv_{j,i}\in Vvj,i​∈V (1≤j≤b1\le j\le b1≤j≤b, 1≤i≤a1\le i\le a1≤i≤a), the canonical Foulkes–Howe map is the linear map determined by

μa,b,V(∏j=1b(vj,1⋯vj,a))=1(a!)b∑σ1,…,σb∈Sa ∏i=1a(∏j=1bvj,σj(i)),\mu_{a,b,V}\Bigl(\prod_{j=1}^{b}\bigl(v_{j,1}\cdots v_{j,a}\bigr)\Bigr) =\frac{1}{(a!)^{b}}\sum_{\sigma_1,\dots,\sigma_b\in S_a}\ \prod_{i=1}^{a}\Bigl(\prod_{j=1}^{b}v_{j,\sigma_j(i)}\Bigr),μa,b,V​(j=1∏b​(vj,1​⋯vj,a​))=(a!)b1​σ1​,…,σb​∈Sa​∑​ i=1∏a​(j=1∏b​vj,σj​(i)​),

where the outer products on the left and right are taken in Sym⁡(Sym⁡aV)\operatorname{Sym}(\operatorname{Sym}^aV)Sym(SymaV) and Sym⁡(Sym⁡bV)\operatorname{Sym}(\operatorname{Sym}^bV)Sym(SymbV) respectively. Equivalently: identify Sym⁡aW\operatorname{Sym}^aWSymaW with symmetric tensors via averaging, multiply bbb such tensors in (Sym⁡V)⊗a(\operatorname{Sym}V)^{\otimes a}(SymV)⊗a, and project back. That this formula is well defined on Sym⁡b(Sym⁡aV)\operatorname{Sym}^b(\operatorname{Sym}^aV)Symb(SymaV) is part of the content.

Formalization targets

Goal: quadratic stabilization (Theorem 1)

For every finite-dimensional complex VVV and integers a≥2a\ge2a≥2, b≥a(a−1)b\ge a(a-1)b≥a(a−1), there is a unique linear map

μ:Sym⁡b(Sym⁡aV)⟶Sym⁡a(Sym⁡bV)\mu:\operatorname{Sym}^b(\operatorname{Sym}^aV)\longrightarrow\operatorname{Sym}^a(\operatorname{Sym}^bV)μ:Symb(SymaV)⟶Syma(SymbV)

satisfying the displayed formula on monomials, and μ\muμ is surjective.

The bound a(a−1)a(a-1)a(a−1) is not claimed to be sharp; the content is a stabilization degree polynomial in aaa and independent of dim⁡V\dim VdimV. The goal statement is published on the platform with status Open: no machine-checked proof exists yet.

Significance

The result itself. Surjectivity gives, by complete reducibility, a GL(V)\mathrm{GL}(V)GL(V)-equivariant embedding Sym⁡a(Sym⁡bV)↪Sym⁡b(Sym⁡aV)\operatorname{Sym}^a(\operatorname{Sym}^bV)\hookrightarrow\operatorname{Sym}^b(\operatorname{Sym}^aV)Syma(SymbV)↪Symb(SymaV) for b≥a(a−1)b\ge a(a-1)b≥a(a−1) (Corollary 4 of the source), e.g. the sixth-power comparison for b≥30b\ge30b≥30. It answers positively the request for a polynomial bound in Landsberg's Problem 7.19, and it says that the coordinate ring of the Chow variety of decomposable aaa-forms agrees with its normalization in every degree b≥a(a−1)b\ge a(a-1)b≥a(a−1). Since the canonical map is known to fail to be injective at (5,5)(5,5)(5,5) and (6,6)(6,6)(6,6), an explicit range of surjectivity is the right kind of statement for this specific map.

Formalizing it. The statement is purely algebraic and uniform in VVV, aaa, bbb. A formal proof would need multilinear algebra over symmetric algebras (symmetric powers of symmetric powers), which is reusable for plethysm and invariant-theory projects.

Difficulty

Surjectivity is equivalent to the vanishing of every symmetric aaa-linear form on Sym⁡bV\operatorname{Sym}^bVSymbV whose diagonal vanishes on products of bbb vectors. The naive induction on aaa fails because the factors in different slots share a common product and cannot be varied independently; the dimension of VVV also grows the space of such forms without bound, so arguments using a fixed basis or dimension count do not give a uniform bound. Brion's effective bound depends on dim⁡V\dim VdimV, and regularity bounds for the normalization do not locate the top degree of the quotient that controls stabilization.

Formalization scope

  • Sym⁡nV\operatorname{Sym}^nVSymnV is represented as the submodule SymPow n V of Mathlib's SymmetricAlgebra ℂ V spanned by products of nnn vectors, and Sym⁡b(Sym⁡aV)\operatorname{Sym}^b(\operatorname{Sym}^aV)Symb(SymaV) is SymPow b (SymPow a V).
  • IsFoulkesMap a b V μ states the monomial formula above, with the normalizing factor (a!)−b(a!)^{-b}(a!)−b and the sum over bbb-tuples of permutations of Fin a.
  • The goal asserts existence, surjectivity and uniqueness of a linear map with this formula; uniqueness rules out choosing an arbitrary surjection, so the theorem is about the canonical map and not merely about dimensions.
  • VVV ranges over all finite-dimensional complex vector spaces in an arbitrary universe; a≥2a\ge2a≥2 and b≥a(a−1)b\ge a(a-1)b≥a(a−1) are natural numbers.
  • Needed infrastructure: symmetric powers inside the symmetric algebra, polarization/annihilator criteria, and directional-derivative operators on polynomial functions.

Selected references

  • H. O. Foulkes, Concomitants of the quintic and sextic up to degree four in the coefficients of the ground form, J. London Math. Soc. 25 (1950), 205–209. https://doi.org/10.1112/jlms/s1-25.3.205
  • M. Brion, Stable properties of plethysm: on two conjectures of Foulkes, Manuscripta Math. 80 (1993), 347–371. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03026558
  • M. Brion, Sur certains modules gradués associés aux produits symétriques, Séminaires et Congrès 2, SMF, 1997, 157–183. https://smf.emath.fr/publications/sur-certains-modules-gradues-associes-aux-produits-symetriques
  • T. McKay, On plethysm conjectures of Stanley and Foulkes, J. Algebra 319 (2008), 2050–2071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalgebra.2007.12.003
  • C. Ikenmeyer, On McKay's propagation theorem for the Foulkes conjecture, arXiv:1509.04957, 2015. https://arxiv.org/abs/1509.04957v1
  • J. M. Landsberg, Geometric complexity theory: an introduction for geometers, Ann. Univ. Ferrara 61 (2015), 65–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11565-014-0202-7
  • M.-W. Cheung, C. Ikenmeyer and S. Mkrtchyan, Symmetrizing tableaux and the 5th case of the Foulkes conjecture, J. Symbolic Comput. 80 (2017), 833–843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsc.2016.09.002
  • C. Raicu, S. V. Sam and J. Weyman, On some modules supported in the Chow variety, Vietnam J. Math. 50 (2022), 501–521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10013-021-00527-2
  • OpenAI, Quadratic stabilization of the canonical Foulkes–Howe map, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 25, 2026 (source of the goal; Theorem 1, p. 1). https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Quadratic-Stabilization-of-the-Canonical-Foulkes-Howe-Map-September-25-2026/paper.pdf
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AlgebraGroup Theory·Captain: wurtle

The Bass trace conjecture and the characteristic-zero Kaplansky idempotent conjectureResearch Paper

Motivation

The Hattori–Stallings trace refines the rank of a finitely generated projective module over a group ring CG\mathbb CGCG into one complex number per conjugacy class of GGG. These numbers enter group-ring Euler characteristics, where they retain information that an ordinary numerical Euler characteristic forgets. Bass's trace conjecture (complex group-ring form) predicts that the trace of every projective module vanishes at every conjugacy class of an element of infinite order. For torsion-free groups this forces the trace to be an integer rank, and that in turn implies the Kaplansky idempotent conjecture: a group ring kGkGkG of a torsion-free group over a field of characteristic zero has no idempotents other than 000 and 111. Both questions date from the 1960s–1970s and were previously known only for restricted classes of groups (linear, elementary amenable, amenable, hyperbolic, or groups satisfying the Farrell–Jones conjecture).

This mission asks for a formal proof of the complex Bass trace conjecture for all discrete groups, with the torsion-free consequences as a milestone, as stated in an OpenAI preprint dated September 24, 2026 (source). The preprint has not been peer reviewed and its claims have not been independently verified; on the platform the Lean goal is open.

Background

  • 1965 — Hattori (Nagoya Math. J. 1965) and Stallings (Topology 1965) introduce the rank element of a projective module.
  • 1973 — Formanek proves the characteristic-zero idempotent statement for torsion-free groups with the ascending chain condition on subgroups (Canad. J. Math. 1973).
  • 1976–1979 — Bass formulates the trace conjectures and proves complex trace vanishing for linear groups (Invent. Math. 1976; Homological Group Theory 1979).
  • 1983 — Linnell restricts the possible coefficients of the integral trace (Proc. LMS 1983).
  • 1985–1986 — Cyclic homology approaches: Connes (Publ. IHÉS 1985), Burghelea (Comment. Math. Helv. 1985), Eckmann (Comment. Math. Helv. 1986).
  • 1998 — Burger and Valette revisit Kaplansky's and Zalesskii's theorems: the canonical trace of an idempotent lies in [0,1][0,1][0,1] and is rational (J. Lie Theory 1998).
  • 2002 — Mineyev–Yu (Invent. Math. 2002) and Puschnigg (Invent. Math. 2002) treat torsion-free hyperbolic groups in Cr∗(G)C^*_r(G)Cr∗​(G).
  • 2003–2008 — Elementary amenable groups (Farrell–Linnell, Math. Ann. 2003); amenable groups (Berrick–Chatterji–Mislin, Math. Ann. 2004); groups satisfying Farrell–Jones (Bartels–Lück–Reich, J. Topol. 2008).
  • September 2026 — The OpenAI preprint claims the complex Bass conjecture for every group (Theorem 1.1, p. 3) and the characteristic-zero idempotent conjecture (Corollary 1.2, p. 3).

Setting

Let GGG be a group and CG\mathbb CGCG its complex group ring. K0(CG)K_0(\mathbb CG)K0​(CG) is the Grothendieck group of finitely generated projective right CG\mathbb CGCG-modules. An idempotent matrix e∈Mq(CG)e\in M_q(\mathbb CG)e∈Mq​(CG) represents the module e(CG)qe(\mathbb CG)^qe(CG)q; its Hattori–Stallings trace is the class of ∑ieii\sum_i e_{ii}∑i​eii​ in CG/[CG,CG]\mathbb CG/[\mathbb CG,\mathbb CG]CG/[CG,CG], extended additively to K0K_0K0​. Identifying this quotient with finitely supported functions on conjugacy classes (sum the coefficients over each class), HSG(x)(C)\mathrm{HS}_G(x)(C)HSG​(x)(C) is the coefficient of x∈K0(CG)x\in K_0(\mathbb CG)x∈K0​(CG) at the class CCC.

For the corollary: GGG is torsion-free if its only element of finite order is 111. The canonical trace is τG(∑agg)=a1\tau_G(\sum a_gg)=a_1τG​(∑ag​g)=a1​, the augmentation is ϵG(∑agg)=∑ag\epsilon_G(\sum a_gg)=\sum a_gϵG​(∑ag​g)=∑ag​, τG,q(b)=∑iτG(bii)\tau_{G,q}(b)=\sum_i\tau_G(b_{ii})τG,q​(b)=∑i​τG​(bii​), and ϵG,q\epsilon_{G,q}ϵG,q​ applies ϵG\epsilon_GϵG​ entrywise. τG,∗:K0(CG)→C\tau_{G,*}:K_0(\mathbb CG)\to\mathbb CτG,∗​:K0​(CG)→C is the coefficient at [1][1][1], and rkϵ:K0(CG)→Z\mathrm{rk}_\epsilon:K_0(\mathbb CG)\to\mathbb Zrkϵ​:K0​(CG)→Z is the augmentation rank.

Formalization targets

Milestone: Corollary 1.2 (p. 3)

Let GGG be torsion-free. (i) For every q≥1q\ge1q≥1 and idempotent e∈Mq(CG)e\in M_q(\mathbb CG)e∈Mq​(CG), τG,q(e)=rank⁡CϵG,q(e)\tau_{G,q}(e)=\operatorname{rank}_{\mathbb C}\epsilon_{G,q}(e)τG,q​(e)=rankC​ϵG,q​(e); hence τG,∗=rkϵ\tau_{G,*}=\mathrm{rk}_\epsilonτG,∗​=rkϵ​ and τG,∗(K0(CG))=Z\tau_{G,*}(K_0(\mathbb CG))=\mathbb ZτG,∗​(K0​(CG))=Z. (ii) For every commutative unital domain RRR of characteristic zero, every e∈RGe\in RGe∈RG with e2=ee^2=ee2=e is 000 or 111.

Goal: Theorem 1.1 (p. 3)

For every group GGG, every x∈K0(CG)x\in K_0(\mathbb CG)x∈K0​(CG) and every g∈Gg\in Gg∈G of infinite order,

HSG(x)([g])=0;\mathrm{HS}_G(x)([g])=0;HSG​(x)([g])=0;

equivalently, HSG(x)\mathrm{HS}_G(x)HSG​(x) is supported on conjugacy classes of finite-order elements.

Significance

The result itself. Theorem 1.1 holds for arbitrary groups, with no amenability, finiteness, assembly-map or homological-dimension hypothesis. Combined with Linnell's restriction it gives the integral Bass conjecture (Corollary 9.1, p. 29) and, via Berrick–Chatterji–Mislin, statements about homotopy idempotents on manifolds (Corollary 9.2, p. 29). Corollary 1.2 settles Kaplansky's idempotent conjecture in characteristic zero, including over commutative domains rather than only fields. The analytic Kadison–Kaplansky statement in Cr∗(G)C^*_r(G)Cr∗​(G) and the positive-characteristic idempotent problem are not addressed.

Formalizing it. The statements need only group rings (MonoidAlgebra), matrices, projective modules and conjugacy classes, all in Mathlib, so both are precise algebraic targets. The proof combines finite path sums in the group with a Pfaffian cocycle (Sections 7–8) and a geometric vanishing theorem for sparse simplicial cycles built from separating filtrations, simplicial volume estimates and free actions on Cantor-type spaces (Sections 2–6). None of this exists in Mathlib; the sparse-chain vanishing theorem (Theorem 2.1, p. 6) is of independent interest. No machine-checked proof of either conjecture, even for special group classes, is known.

Difficulty

Previous proofs pass through analytic completions or assembly maps and therefore need hypotheses on the group (amenability, hyperbolicity, Farrell–Jones), or through cyclic homology and need finite homological dimension of the reduced centralizers. The preprint turns an idempotent and an infinite-order element ggg into simplicial cycles of every even dimension 2m2m2m with connected supports in one graph of bounded degree, and a cocycle evaluating to 2−mHSG(x)([g])2^{-m}\mathrm{HS}_G(x)([g])2−mHSG​(x)([g]) (Propositions 7.3 and 8.3, pp. 24–27). The difficulty is to show that invariant cocycles vanish on such sparse cycles in high dimension for an arbitrary acting group H=CG(g)/⟨g⟩H=C_G(g)/\langle g\rangleH=CG​(g)/⟨g⟩, with no bound on its homological dimension (Theorem 2.1, p. 6): naive filling arguments need either amenability or finite dimensionality.

Formalization scope

  • K0K_0K0​ of right modules is built in Lean as a quotient of the free abelian group on objects with a finitely generated projective Module (MonoidAlgebra ℂ G)ᵐᵒᵖ structure, by isomorphism and direct-sum relations (ModuleK0); the Hattori–Stallings trace factors through a presentation of each module by an idempotent matrix. Its values are ConjClasses G →₀ ℂ.
  • The goal states both the vanishing at infinite-order classes and the support inclusion in finite-order classes.
  • The corollary uses an idempotent-matrix presentation of K0(CG)K_0(\mathbb CG)K0​(CG) (BassTrace.K0.Group), matrixTrace (sum of identity coefficients of diagonal entries) and augmentedMatrix; part (ii) quantifies over every commutative domain R with CharZero R.
  • TorsionFree G is the usual condition (every finite-order element is 111).
  • Neither statement is vacuous: idempotent matrices and projective modules exist for every GGG, and the conclusions are equalities of explicit traces.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, The Bass trace conjecture and the characteristic-zero Kaplansky idempotent conjecture, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 24, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/The-Bass-trace-conjecture-for-complex-group-rings-September-24-2026/The-Bass-trace-conjecture-for-complex-group-rings-September-24-2026.pdf
  • H. Bass, Euler characteristics and characters of discrete groups, Invent. Math. 35 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01390137
  • H. Bass, Traces and Euler characteristics, Homological Group Theory (1979). https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107325449.003
  • A. Hattori, Rank element of a projective module, Nagoya Math. J. (1965). https://doi.org/10.1017/S002776300001148X
  • J. Stallings, Centerless groups — an algebraic formulation of Gottlieb's theorem, Topology (1965). https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-9383(65)90060-1
  • E. Formanek, Idempotents in Noetherian group rings, Canad. J. Math. (1973). https://doi.org/10.4153/CJM-1973-037-6
  • P. A. Linnell, Decomposition of augmentation ideals and relation modules, Proc. London Math. Soc. (1983). https://doi.org/10.1112/plms/s3-47.1.83
  • M. Burger, A. Valette, Idempotents in complex group rings: theorems of Zalesskii and Bass, J. Lie Theory (1998). https://doi.org/10.5802/jolt.142
  • A. J. Berrick, I. Chatterji, G. Mislin, From acyclic groups to the Bass conjecture for amenable groups, Math. Ann. (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00208-004-0521-6
  • F. T. Farrell, P. A. Linnell, Whitehead groups and the Bass conjecture, Math. Ann. (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00208-003-0424-y
  • A. Bartels, W. Lück, H. Reich, On the Farrell–Jones Conjecture and its applications, J. Topol. (2008). https://doi.org/10.1112/jtopol/jtm008
  • B. Eckmann, Cyclic homology of groups and the Bass conjecture, Comment. Math. Helv. (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02621911
  • H. Alpert, Simplicial volume and 0-strata of separating filtrations, arXiv:2211.06362 (2024). https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.06362v3
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AlgebraRepresentation Theory·Captain: wurtle

An explicit counterexample to the Auslander-Reiten conjectureResearch Paper

Motivation

In the representation theory of finite-dimensional algebras, vanishing of Ext⁡\operatorname{Ext}Ext groups is the standard way of detecting projectivity homologically. The Auslander–Reiten conjecture (1975) asserts that a finitely generated module MMM over an Artin algebra RRR is projective as soon as

Ext⁡Ri(M,M⊕R)=0for every i>0.\operatorname{Ext}^i_R(M,M\oplus R)=0\qquad\text{for every }i>0.ExtRi​(M,M⊕R)=0for every i>0.

It arose from Auslander and Reiten's work on the generalized Nakayama conjecture and sits in a web of homological conjectures (Nakayama, Tachikawa, Gorenstein-projective, Auslander–Gorenstein) that were long expected to hold. A module is Gorenstein-projective if it is a cokernel in a doubly infinite exact complex of finitely generated projectives that stays exact under Hom⁡R(−,R)\operatorname{Hom}_R(-,R)HomR​(−,R); the Gorenstein-projective conjecture is the restriction of the Auslander–Reiten conjecture to such modules.

This mission formalizes the main theorem of an OpenAI preprint dated September 23, 2026 (source), which claims an explicit counterexample to both conjectures. The preprint has not been peer reviewed and its claims have not been independently verified; on the platform the Lean goal is open (stated, not yet proved).

Background

  • 1975 — Auslander and Reiten formulate the conjecture in their work on the generalized Nakayama conjecture (Proc. AMS 1975).
  • 1993 — Auslander, Ding and Solberg prove it for complete local complete intersections (J. Algebra 1993).
  • 1994–1995 — Schulz constructs a nonprojective module without self-extensions over a ring outside the Artin-algebra setting (Arch. Math. 1994) and quantum-exterior-algebra modules with eventually vanishing self-extensions (J. Aust. Math. Soc. 1995).
  • 2004 — Huneke and Leuschke prove the conjecture for excellent Cohen–Macaulay normal domains containing Q\mathbb QQ (J. Algebra 2004); Huneke, Şega and Vraciu treat commutative Artinian local rings with radical cube zero (Illinois J. Math. 2004).
  • 2008 — Luo and Huang record the Gorenstein-projective variant (J. Algebra 2008).
  • 2010 — Christensen and Holm show that rings satisfying Auslander's condition satisfy the conjecture (Math. Z. 2010).
  • 2017–2022 — Erdmann's analysis of weakly symmetric algebras with J3=0J^3=0J3=0 (J. Aust. Math. Soc. 2017); Ringel and Zhang on short local algebras (J. LMS 2022).
  • 2026 — Zhang and Zhou prove the conjecture for split algebras with radical cube zero (arXiv:2609.08679) and for Igusa–Todorov algebras (arXiv:2609.14453); Xia for quantum complete intersections (arXiv:2609.24007); Enomoto shows that Tachikawa's second conjecture for two-fold trivial extensions implies the Auslander–Reiten conjecture (arXiv:2609.19172).
  • September 2026 — Two OpenAI preprints claim counterexamples: an explicit eight-simple Gorenstein-projective example (source) and a symmetric-algebra counterexample to Tachikawa's second conjecture (source).

Setting

Let k=F2(q,H1,H2)k=\mathbb F_2(q,H_1,H_2)k=F2​(q,H1​,H2​) be the field of rational functions in three algebraically independent variables over F2\mathbb F_2F2​. A finite-dimensional kkk-algebra Λ\LambdaΛ is an Artin algebra. For a left Λ\LambdaΛ-module ZZZ, Ext⁡Λi(Z,−)\operatorname{Ext}^i_\Lambda(Z,-)ExtΛi​(Z,−) is computed in the abelian category of left Λ\LambdaΛ-modules. rad⁡Λ\operatorname{rad}\LambdaradΛ denotes the Jacobson radical. ZZZ is Gorenstein-projective when Z≅coker⁡(P1→P0)Z\cong\operatorname{coker}(P_1\to P_0)Z≅coker(P1​→P0​) for an exact complex (Pi)i∈Z(P_i)_{i\in\mathbb Z}(Pi​)i∈Z​ of finitely generated projective modules such that every map Pi→QP_i\to QPi​→Q into a projective QQQ that vanishes on the image of Pi+1P_{i+1}Pi+1​ factors through Pi→Pi−1P_i\to P_{i-1}Pi​→Pi−1​. For a field extension K/kK/kK/k, write ΛK=K⊗kΛ\Lambda_K=K\otimes_k\LambdaΛK​=K⊗k​Λ and ZK=K⊗kZZ_K=K\otimes_kZZK​=K⊗k​Z.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1 (p. 2)

There exist a finite-dimensional kkk-algebra Λ\LambdaΛ and a finite-dimensional nonprojective left Λ\LambdaΛ-module ZZZ such that

Ext⁡Λi(Z,Z)=0=Ext⁡Λi(Z,Λ)(i≥1),\operatorname{Ext}^i_\Lambda(Z,Z)=0=\operatorname{Ext}^i_\Lambda(Z,\Lambda)\qquad(i\ge1),ExtΛi​(Z,Z)=0=ExtΛi​(Z,Λ)(i≥1),

ZZZ is Gorenstein-projective, Λ/rad⁡Λ≅k8\Lambda/\operatorname{rad}\Lambda\cong k^8Λ/radΛ≅k8 as kkk-algebras, and (rad⁡Λ)4≠0(\operatorname{rad}\Lambda)^4\ne0(radΛ)4=0. All of these conclusions hold again for ΛK\Lambda_KΛK​ and ZKZ_KZK​ for every field extension K/kK/kK/k.

Significance

The result itself. The theorem refutes the Auslander–Reiten conjecture for Artin algebras and the Gorenstein-projective conjecture; by extending scalars to an algebraic closure it also refutes them over an algebraically closed field of characteristic two. Since Z⊕ΛZ\oplus\LambdaZ⊕Λ is then a nonprojective generator with no positive self-extensions, the generator formulation fails too. The structural data (888 simple modules, split, rad⁡4≠0\operatorname{rad}^4\ne0rad4=0) place the example just outside the radical-cube-zero class where the conjecture is now known. The commutative case is not resolved.

Formalizing it. A formal proof would require Ext in module categories (available in Mathlib via Abelian.Ext), complete resolutions, triangular matrix algebras, trivial extensions and Hochschild cocycles, and base change of Ext under field extension. The counterexample is concrete, so much of the verification reduces to finite linear algebra over kkk plus an infinite periodic-type resolution with uniform kernel formulas.

Difficulty

All positive results exploit some finiteness or rigidity (complete intersections, Cohen–Macaulay domains, radical cube zero, Auslander's condition), and the natural candidates for counterexamples (Schulz's quantum exterior algebra modules) have self-extensions that only vanish eventually, with Ext⁡1≠0\operatorname{Ext}^1\ne0Ext1=0. Vanishing in every positive degree, simultaneously against ZZZ and Λ\LambdaΛ, is the hard requirement. The preprint (Section 1.2, pp. 3–4) converts a suitable stable map over a symmetric algebra into a module over a triangular algebra Λ=(A0FA)\Lambda=\begin{pmatrix}A&0\\F&A\end{pmatrix}Λ=(AF​0A​) (Proposition 3.1, p. 6), uses powers of qqq for a resolution with uniform kernels, and kills every positive self-extension with two independent twists H1,H2H_1,H_2H1​,H2​, using that H1/H2H_1/H_2H1​/H2​ has infinite multiplicative order.

Formalization scope

  • The field is FractionRing (MvPolynomial (Fin 3) (ZMod 2)), and the goal also asserts that the three generators are algebraically independent over F2\mathbb F_2F2​.
  • The algebra and module are packaged as a System (types in Type, with Ring, Algebra K, Module, and IsScalarTower K Λ Z instances). Conclusions asserts finite dimensionality over kkk, ¬ Module.Projective Λ Z, the totally acyclic witness, Subsingleton of Abelian.Ext in ModuleCat for all i>0i>0i>0 against ZZZ and against Λ\LambdaΛ, a kkk-algebra isomorphism Λ/Jac⁡(Λ)≅k8\Lambda/\operatorname{Jac}(\Lambda)\cong k^8Λ/Jac(Λ)≅k8, and Jac⁡(Λ)4≠⊥\operatorname{Jac}(\Lambda)^4\ne\botJac(Λ)4=⊥.
  • Field extension is quantified over every field E with Algebra K E in an arbitrary universe; the module structure on E⊗kZE\otimes_k ZE⊗k​Z must satisfy (a⊗r)(b⊗z)=ab⊗rz(a\otimes r)(b\otimes z)=ab\otimes rz(a⊗r)(b⊗z)=ab⊗rz, which pins it to the standard one.
  • The totally acyclic condition tests exactness of Hom⁡(−,Q)\operatorname{Hom}(-,Q)Hom(−,Q) for all projective QQQ, which for complexes of finitely generated projectives is equivalent to the source's Hom⁡(−,Λ)\operatorname{Hom}(-,\Lambda)Hom(−,Λ) condition.
  • No trivialization: nonprojectivity and rad⁡4≠0\operatorname{rad}^4\ne0rad4=0 exclude the zero and semisimple cases.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, An explicit counterexample to the Auslander–Reiten conjecture, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 23, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/An-explicit-counterexample-to-the-Auslander-Reiten-conjecture-September-23-2026/paper.pdf
  • OpenAI, A counterexample to Tachikawa's second conjecture, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 23, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-counterexample-to-Tachikawas-second-conjecture-September-23-2026/paper.pdf
  • M. Auslander, I. Reiten, On a generalized version of the Nakayama conjecture, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 52 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1090/S0002-9939-1975-0389977-6
  • M. Auslander, S. Ding, Ø. Solberg, Liftings and weak liftings of modules, J. Algebra (1993). https://doi.org/10.1006/jabr.1993.1076
  • C. Huneke, G. J. Leuschke, On a conjecture of Auslander and Reiten, J. Algebra (2004). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalgebra.2003.07.018
  • L. W. Christensen, H. Holm, Algebras that satisfy Auslander's condition on vanishing of cohomology, Math. Z. (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00209-009-0500-4
  • R. Luo, Z. Huang, When are torsionless modules projective?, J. Algebra (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalgebra.2008.04.027
  • R. Schulz, A non-projective module without self-extensions, Arch. Math. (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01193735
  • H. Enomoto, Tachikawa's second conjecture implies the Auslander–Reiten conjecture, arXiv:2609.19172 (2026). https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19172v1
  • X. Zhang, P. Zhou, The Auslander–Reiten conjecture for algebras with radical cube zero, arXiv:2609.08679 (2026). https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.08679v1
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A Torsion-Free Group Algebra with Zero DivisorsResearch Paper

Motivation: Kaplansky's zero-divisor conjecture

For a field KKK and a group GGG, the group algebra K[G]K[G]K[G] consists of finite formal sums ∑gagg\sum_g a_g g∑g​ag​g with ag∈Ka_g\in Kag​∈K, multiplied by extending the group law bilinearly. If g∈Gg\in Gg∈G has finite order m>1m>1m>1, then (1−g)(1+g+⋯+gm−1)=0(1-g)(1+g+\dots+g^{m-1})=0(1−g)(1+g+⋯+gm−1)=0, so K[G]K[G]K[G] has zero divisors. Kaplansky's zero-divisor conjecture asserts that this is the only source: if GGG is torsion-free, K[G]K[G]K[G] has no nonzero zero divisors. Together with the unit and idempotent conjectures it is one of the central problems connecting ring theory, group theory and topology, and positive answers are known for large classes of groups (elementary amenable groups, groups with the unique-product property, torsion-free 3-manifold groups).

Timeline

  • 1940 — Higman's thesis raises the question and proves the domain property for groups in which every nontrivial subgroup maps onto Z\mathbb ZZ (Higman, Proc. LMS 1940); the thesis formulation is reproduced by Sandling (1981).
  • 1956/1957 — Kaplansky poses the problem (Problem 6 in Problems in the theory of rings, National Research Council, 1957).
  • 1987 — Rips and Segev construct torsion-free groups without the unique-product property, removing the standard route to the conjecture (J. Algebra 1987); Steenbock gives a graphical small-cancellation treatment (J. Algebra 2015).
  • 1988 — Kropholler, Linnell and Moody prove the conjecture for torsion-free elementary amenable groups (Proc. AMS 1988).
  • 2021 — Gardam disproves the related unit conjecture over F2\mathbb F_2F2​ (Ann. of Math. 2021), and later over C\mathbb CC (arXiv:2312.05240, 2024). A nontrivial unit is not a zero divisor, so the zero-divisor conjecture remained open.
  • 2026 — Fisher and Sánchez-Peralta prove the domain conclusion for torsion-free 3-manifold groups and division-ring embeddings for virtually compact special groups (J. Comb. Algebra 2026).
  • 2026 — An OpenAI preprint, A Torsion-Free Group Algebra with Zero Divisors (OpenAI Math Release, September 23, 2026), claims a finitely presented torsion-free group GGG with a finite 2-dimensional classifying space such that F2[G]\mathbb F_2[G]F2​[G] has nonzero zero divisors. The preprint has not been peer reviewed and its theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

A group GGG is torsion-free if gn=1g^n=1gn=1 with n≥1n\ge1n≥1 implies g=1g=1g=1. It is finitely presented if it has a presentation with finitely many generators and relations. A classifying space (or K(G,1)K(G,1)K(G,1)) for GGG is a path-connected space XXX with π1(X)≅G\pi_1(X)\cong Gπ1​(X)≅G whose universal cover is contractible; it is finite two-dimensional if it is a finite CW complex with cells only in dimensions ≤2\le 2≤2. A group with a finite-dimensional classifying space is automatically torsion-free, but the formal goal asks for both properties explicitly.

The coefficient field is F2=Z/2\mathbb F_2=\mathbb Z/2F2​=Z/2, and F2[G]\mathbb F_2[G]F2​[G] is Mathlib's MonoidAlgebra (ZMod 2) G.

Formalization targets

Goal: a counterexample to the zero-divisor conjecture (Theorem 1.1)

There exist a group GGG and α,β∈F2[G]\alpha,\beta\in\mathbb F_2[G]α,β∈F2​[G] such that

G finitely presented,G torsion-free,G has a finite 2-dimensional K(G,1),α≠0, β≠0, αβ=0.G\ \text{finitely presented},\quad G\ \text{torsion-free},\quad G\ \text{has a finite 2-dimensional } K(G,1),\quad \alpha\neq0,\ \beta\neq0,\ \alpha\beta=0.G finitely presented,G torsion-free,G has a finite 2-dimensional K(G,1),α=0, β=0, αβ=0.

This is the full Theorem 1.1 of the source, including its "Moreover" clause. The source proves existence probabilistically; it does not exhibit a concrete presentation. The goal statement is published on the platform with status Open: no machine-checked proof exists yet.

Significance

The result itself. If correct, the theorem disproves Kaplansky's zero-divisor conjecture over F2\mathbb F_2F2​, a problem open since the 1940s, and shows that torsion-freeness — even together with finite presentability and a 2-dimensional classifying space — does not force K[G]K[G]K[G] to be a domain. It implies that GGG fails the unique-product property, and it bears on the implications among the Kaplansky conjectures (zero divisors, units, idempotents) and on approaches through the Atiyah conjecture and division-ring embeddings.

Formalizing it. The claim refutes a long-standing conjecture by an intricate probabilistic and topological construction, which is a strong case for machine verification. A full formal proof needs the probabilistic existence argument, planar separation, and asphericity of a 2-complex — none of which is a routine Mathlib application. Partial contributions (e.g. the characteristic-2 cancellation argument once asphericity and root separation are assumed, or the torsion-freeness of groups with finite-dimensional K(G,1)K(G,1)K(G,1)) are welcome. A related machine-checked result exists only for the weaker non-unique-product property of Gardam's A~2\widetilde A_2A2​ lattice (Mian–Siddique 2026).

Difficulty

Writing down α,β\alpha,\betaα,β whose product cancels in characteristic two is the easy part; the source does this by a parity argument on a graph of simultaneous steps. The hard part is two safeguards in the quotient group: both factors must remain nonzero (no vertex label other than the root can collapse to the identity), and the group must be torsion-free, which the source obtains by proving the 2-complex is aspherical. Standard tools — small-cancellation or CAT(0) criteria — are not applied; instead the source must exclude spherical arrangements of arbitrarily many paths of arbitrary length, which a union bound over sizes cannot handle.

Formalization scope

  • TorsionFree G is the plain group-theoretic notion (gn=1g^n=1gn=1, n>0n>0n>0 implies g=1g=1g=1); finite presentability is Group.IsFinitelyPresented.
  • HasFiniteTwoDimensionalClassifyingSpace G asks for a Hausdorff, path-connected space XXX with a finite CW structure on all of XXX, no cells above dimension 222, at least one 222-cell, a group isomorphism G≃π1(X,x)G\simeq\pi_1(X,x)G≃π1​(X,x), and a surjective covering map from a contractible space onto XXX (so XXX is aspherical). Requiring a 222-cell excludes only the case of free groups, whose group algebras are domains.
  • The witnessing group lives in Type and is existentially quantified together with its group structure; the zero divisors are elements of MonoidAlgebra (ZMod 2) G.
  • A trivializing reading is excluded because all three group properties and both nonvanishing conditions are required simultaneously.
  • Infrastructure needed: CW complexes and covering spaces (partially in Mathlib), the fundamental group of a 2-complex built by attaching cones, Hurewicz/Whitehead-type asphericity arguments, and random graph constructions.

Selected references

  • G. Higman, The units of group-rings, Proc. London Math. Soc. (2) 46 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1112/plms/s2-46.1.231
  • I. Kaplansky, Problems in the theory of rings, Report of a Conference on Linear Algebras (1956), National Research Council, 1957.
  • E. Rips and Y. Segev, Torsion-free group without unique product property, J. Algebra (1987). https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-8693(87)90125-6
  • P. H. Kropholler, P. A. Linnell and J. A. Moody, Applications of a new K-theoretic theorem to soluble group rings, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. (1988). https://doi.org/10.2307/2046771
  • M. Steenbock, Rips–Segev torsion-free groups without the unique product property, J. Algebra (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalgebra.2015.05.004
  • G. Gardam, A counterexample to the unit conjecture for group rings, Ann. of Math. 194 (2021). https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2021.194.3.9
  • G. Gardam, Non-trivial units of complex group rings, preprint, 2024. https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.05240v2
  • S. P. Fisher and P. Sánchez-Peralta, Division rings for group algebras of virtually compact special groups and 3-manifold groups, J. Comb. Algebra (2026). https://doi.org/10.4171/JCA/89
  • I. Mian and S. Siddique, A machine-checked proof that Gardam's A~2\widetilde A_2A2​ lattice does not have unique products, preprint, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.22380v1
  • OpenAI, A Torsion-Free Group Algebra with Zero Divisors, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 23, 2026 (source of the goal; Theorem 1.1, p. 1). https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-Torsion-Free-Group-Algebra-with-Zero-Divisors-September-23-2026/paper.pdf
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Polynomial removal fails for ordered binary matricesResearch Paper

Motivation: removal lemmas and property testing for ordered matrices

A removal lemma says that an object far from having a forbidden substructure must contain many copies of it. Such statements are the combinatorial backbone of property testing: if every matrix that is ϵ\epsilonϵ-far from avoiding a pattern HHH contains at least cHϵCHn2kc_H\epsilon^{C_H}n^{2k}cH​ϵCH​n2k copies of HHH, then sampling a number of rows and columns polynomial in 1/ϵ1/\epsilon1/ϵ detects the pattern with constant probability. Whether removal bounds are polynomial determines whether testers are efficient. For binary matrices whose rows and columns carry a fixed order, qualitative removal is known, and the polynomial version was conjectured.

Timeline

  • 2007 — Alon, Fischer and Newman prove polynomial-query testing for fixed finite forbidden families of binary matrices when row and column order is ignored, and raise the ordered question (SIAM J. Comput. 2007, §7).
  • 2007 — Fischer and Rozenberg obtain nonpolynomial lower bounds for a fixed 2×22\times22×2 pattern in ternary host matrices, order ignored (APPROX–RANDOM 2007).
  • 2017 — Alon, Ben-Eliezer and Fischer establish qualitative removal for ordered graphs and matrices: a positive copy density exists for each fixed positive distance (FOCS 2017).
  • 2020 — Alon and Ben-Eliezer prove polynomial removal for families closed under row (or column) permutations and polynomial bounds for many entry-disjoint copies, and pose the polynomial removal question for finite families of ordered binary matrices (Problem 1.4) (Order 2020).
  • 2022 — Gishboliner and Tomon classify polynomial induced removal for ordered graphs, a different single-order symmetric model (Combinatorial Theory 2022).
  • 2025 — The singleton version appears as Conjecture 4.5 in the survey of Gishboliner and Shapira (Comput. Sci. Rev. 2025).
  • 2026 — An OpenAI preprint, Polynomial removal fails for ordered binary matrices (OpenAI Math Release, September 25, 2026), claims a fixed 66×6666\times6666×66 binary pattern for which no polynomial removal bound holds. The preprint has not been peer reviewed and its theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

A binary matrix of order nnn is a map A:[n]×[n]→{0,1}A:[n]\times[n]\to\{0,1\}A:[n]×[n]→{0,1} (in Lean BinaryMatrix n := Fin n → Fin n → Bool). For a k×kk\times kk×k binary pattern HHH, an ordered copy of HHH in AAA is a pair of strictly increasing maps r,c:[k]→[n]r,c:[k]\to[n]r,c:[k]→[n] with A(ri,cj)=H(i,j)A(r_i,c_j)=H(i,j)A(ri​,cj​)=H(i,j) for all i,ji,ji,j: zeros must match as well as ones, and rows and columns are chosen independently. NH(A)N_H(A)NH​(A) is the number of ordered copies, and AAA is HHH-free if NH(A)=0N_H(A)=0NH​(A)=0. The normalized distance to HHH-freeness is

dist⁡H(A)=1n2min⁡B H-free∣{(r,c):A(r,c)≠B(r,c)}∣,\operatorname{dist}_H(A)=\frac1{n^2}\min_{B\ H\text{-free}}\bigl|\{(r,c):A(r,c)\neq B(r,c)\}\bigr|,distH​(A)=n21​B H-freemin​​{(r,c):A(r,c)=B(r,c)}​,

where every cell may be changed in either direction.

The polynomial ordered binary matrix-removal conjecture asserts that for each fixed HHH there are cH,CH>0c_H,C_H>0cH​,CH​>0 such that NH(A)≥cHϵCHn2kN_H(A)\ge c_H\epsilon^{C_H}n^{2k}NH​(A)≥cH​ϵCH​n2k whenever dist⁡H(A)≥ϵ\operatorname{dist}_H(A)\ge\epsilondistH​(A)≥ϵ, for all n≥1n\ge1n≥1 and 0<ϵ<10<\epsilon<10<ϵ<1.

The pattern HHH is explicit: with s=64s=64s=64 and ηb(a)=⌊a/25−b⌋ mod 2\eta_b(a)=\lfloor a/2^{5-b}\rfloor\bmod 2ηb​(a)=⌊a/25−b⌋mod2, the 64×6464\times6464×64 anchor SSS has S(u,v)=ηv−59(u−33)S(u,v)=\eta_{v-59}(u-33)S(u,v)=ηv−59​(u−33) for 33≤u≤6433\le u\le 6433≤u≤64, 60≤v≤6460\le v\le 6460≤v≤64, and S(u,v)=1[u≠v]S(u,v)=\mathbf 1[u\neq v]S(u,v)=1[u=v] otherwise, and

H=(Se1e2e1T10e2T11)∈{0,1}66×66.H=\begin{pmatrix} S & e_1 & e_2\\ e_1^{\mathsf T} & 1 & 0\\ e_2^{\mathsf T} & 1 & 1\end{pmatrix}\in\{0,1\}^{66\times66}.H=​Se1T​e2T​​e1​11​e2​01​​∈{0,1}66×66.

Formalization targets

Goal: no polynomial removal bound for HHH

For every c,C>0c,C>0c,C>0 there exist n≥1n\ge1n≥1, ϵ∈(0,1)\epsilon\in(0,1)ϵ∈(0,1) and a binary n×nn\times nn×n matrix AAA with

dist⁡H(A)≥ϵandNH(A)<c ϵC n132.\operatorname{dist}_H(A)\ge\epsilon\qquad\text{and}\qquad N_H(A)<c\,\epsilon^{C}\,n^{132}.distH​(A)≥ϵandNH​(A)<cϵCn132.

This is the "consequently" clause of Theorem 1.1 of the source, i.e. the negation of the conjecture for this fixed HHH (here 2k=1322k=1322k=132). The source proves more: for every h≥1h\ge1h≥1, with nh=(386h+2)2hn_h=(386h+2)2^hnh​=(386h+2)2h and ϵh=(386h+2)−2\epsilon_h=(386h+2)^{-2}ϵh​=(386h+2)−2, an explicit AhA_hAh​ has dist⁡H(Ah)≥ϵh\operatorname{dist}_H(A_h)\ge\epsilon_hdistH​(Ah​)≥ϵh​ and NH(Ah)≤ϵh2−hnh132N_H(A_h)\le\epsilon_h2^{-h}n_h^{132}NH​(Ah​)≤ϵh​2−hnh132​. The goal statement is published on the platform with status Open: no machine-checked proof exists yet.

Significance

The result itself. A single explicit pattern shows that ordered binary matrix removal can be super-polynomial, answering the finite-family question of Alon and Ben-Eliezer negatively and disproving the singleton conjecture recorded by Gishboliner and Shapira. It also gives a testing lower bound (Corollary 5.1): a canonical row–column sampler needs q≥exp⁡(Ω(ϵh−1/2))q\ge\exp(\Omega(\epsilon_h^{-1/2}))q≥exp(Ω(ϵh−1/2​)) sampled positions per axis on these examples. Earlier non-polynomial examples needed a third symbol in the host; here the host is binary. The example separates hitting all existing copies (a set of 2h2^h2h cells meets them) from repairing the matrix (at least 4h4^h4h edits are needed).

Formalizing it. The statement is fully finite and explicit, so a formal proof would certify both the construction and the two counting estimates. The construction is intricate (tree-indexed blocks with interleaved orders, a 66-cell pattern), which is exactly where a machine check adds confidence.

Difficulty

Two estimates pull in opposite directions. The distance bound must hold against every binary repair, including repairs that create new copies elsewhere; the obvious argument — delete one cell per copy — fails because changing cells can create copies, and the source must show any repair needs at least m2m^2m2 edits. The copy bound requires locating every ordered copy of the 66-cell pattern in the unedited host, not only the designated anchors, which forces a rigidity analysis of how the anchor SSS can embed.

Formalization scope

  • Matrices are Fin n → Fin n → Bool; ordered copies are pairs of StrictMono maps Fin k → Fin n, counted by copyCount. fixedH : BinaryMatrix 66 encodes HHH with 0-based indices (the anchor rule becomes etaBit (u-32) (v-58) for 32≤u32\le u32≤u, 59≤v59\le v59≤v).
  • fixedMinEdits A is the minimum Hamming distance from AAA to an HHH-free matrix (the all-zero matrix is HHH-free, so the minimum is attained by a genuine matrix, and the sentinel n2+1n^2+1n2+1 is never selected); fixedDistance divides by n2n^2n2.
  • The bound c ϵCn132c\,\epsilon^C n^{132}cϵCn132 uses Real.rpow; c,Cc,Cc,C are arbitrary positive reals, and n,ϵ,An,\epsilon,An,ϵ,A are existentially chosen, so the statement is exactly the failure of the conjectured inequality for this HHH. It is weaker than the explicit quantitative family of Theorem 1.1; a stronger milestone recording nh,ϵhn_h,\epsilon_hnh​,ϵh​ and the bound ϵh2−h\epsilon_h2^{-h}ϵh​2−h would be welcome.
  • Needed infrastructure: the explicit tree matrices AhA_hAh​, counting of ordered copies, and a lower bound for Hamming distance to HHH-freeness.

Selected references

  • N. Alon, E. Fischer and I. Newman, Efficient testing of bipartite graphs for forbidden induced subgraphs, SIAM J. Comput. (2007). https://doi.org/10.1137/050627915
  • E. Fischer and E. Rozenberg, Lower bounds for testing forbidden induced substructures in bipartite-graph-like combinatorial objects, APPROX–RANDOM 2007. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74208-1_34
  • N. Alon, O. Ben-Eliezer and E. Fischer, Testing hereditary properties of ordered graphs and matrices, FOCS 2017. https://doi.org/10.1109/FOCS.2017.83
  • N. Alon and O. Ben-Eliezer, Efficient removal lemmas for matrices, Order (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11083-019-09494-3
  • L. Gishboliner and I. Tomon, Polynomial removal lemmas for ordered graphs, Combinatorial Theory (2022). https://doi.org/10.5070/C62359151
  • L. Gishboliner and A. Shapira, Polynomial property testing, Computer Science Review (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosrev.2025.100806
  • OpenAI, Polynomial removal fails for ordered binary matrices, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 25, 2026 (source of the goal; Theorem 1.1, p. 1). https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Polynomial-removal-fails-for-ordered-binary-matrices-September-25-2026/paper.pdf
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Snaky in 21 Maker movesResearch Paper

Motivation

In a Maker–Breaker achievement game, two players alternately claim cells of a board; Maker wins by owning every cell of some copy of a fixed shape, and Breaker only tries to prevent this. Polyomino achievement games on the infinite square grid, introduced by Frank Harary, ask which small polyominoes are winners (Maker can force a copy) and which are losers (Breaker can prevent it forever). The six-cell shape Snaky is the long-standing hard case: Maker was known to win with a one-stone handicap or in higher dimensions, but the ordinary planar game without handicap remained undecided.

Timeline

  • 2004. Sieben shows that Snaky is a winner in 41 dimensions and records earlier handicap-two strategies of Harary, Harborth and Seemann, as well as the non-existence of a pairing strategy for Breaker (Integers 4, 2004).
  • 2007. Halupczok and Schlage-Puchta prove that Snaky wins in three dimensions, loses on an 8×88\times88×8 board, and has planar handicap number at most one (Integers 7, 2007). Ito and Miyagawa give another handicap-one construction.
  • 2008. Sieben develops proof trees for weak achievement games and gives a finite proof sequence for the handicap-one win, describing the ordinary planar problem as undecided (Integers 8, 2008).
  • 2011. Csernenszky, Martin and Pluhár give a computer-free proof that Breaker has no pairing defense for Snaky (Integers 11, 2011).
  • 2023, 2025. Shaik, Mayer-Eichberger, van de Pol and Saffidine study QBF encodings of finite Maker–Breaker games, including Snaky on a 5×55\times55×5 board (arXiv:2301.07345); Boucher and Villemaire treat strong achievement games (doi:10.21428/594757db.6ae0c84a).

The source of this mission, an OpenAI preprint dated September 25, 2026, settles the ordinary planar game: Snaky is a winner, within 21 Maker moves.

Setting

The board is Z2\mathbb Z^2Z2, initially empty. Snaky is

S={(0,0),(1,0),(2,0),(3,0),(3,1),(4,1)}.S=\{(0,0),(1,0),(2,0),(3,0),(3,1),(4,1)\}.S={(0,0),(1,0),(2,0),(3,0),(3,1),(4,1)}.

An allowed copy is t+R(S)t+R(S)t+R(S) with t∈Z2t\in\mathbb Z^2t∈Z2 and RRR one of the eight 2×22\times22×2 signed permutation matrices (rotations by quarter turns and reflections; no scaling). Maker moves first; then Breaker and Maker alternate, each claiming one previously unclaimed cell. Maker wins when it owns all cells of an allowed copy.

A Maker policy is a rule that, given the current position, returns an unclaimed cell. In the fixed-endpoint formulation, the policy keeps claiming fresh cells even after a win, and one asks that after Maker's NNN-th claim its set of cells contain an allowed copy whenever Breaker's first N−1N-1N−1 replies were legal.

Formalization targets

Milestone: Proposition 10 (finite identities of the 35-move certificate)

A pure computation on a printed certificate of 616 cards: card counts, 1,837 placement terms, required-set/envelope/height data of four interface cards, and uniform bounds for all cards.

Milestone: Theorem 11

∃ Maker policy σ: every legal play⇒an allowed copy of S within 35 Maker claims.\exists\ \text{Maker policy}\ \sigma:\ \text{every legal play} \Rightarrow \text{an allowed copy of } S \text{ within } 35 \text{ Maker claims}.∃ Maker policy σ: every legal play⇒an allowed copy of S within 35 Maker claims.

Goal: Theorem 1

∃ Maker policy σ: every legal play⇒an allowed copy of S within 21 Maker claims.\exists\ \text{Maker policy}\ \sigma:\ \text{every legal play} \Rightarrow \text{an allowed copy of } S \text{ within } 21 \text{ Maker claims}.∃ Maker policy σ: every legal play⇒an allowed copy of S within 21 Maker claims.

The Lean statement OAI.SnakyPrototype.snaky_winning_strategy_21_with_legal_states is open on the platform.

Significance

Theorem 1 decides the ordinary planar Snaky game, recorded as undecided by Sieben (2008), and gives an explicit bound of 21 Maker moves (a win by the 41st individual turn). It also gives a win on the finite 17×1717\times1717×17 board (Corollary 6), and removes the handicap from the earlier handicap-one strategies. The paper does not claim the bound 21 is optimal or address the strong game in which both players seek a copy.

The result is proved in an OpenAI preprint that has not been peer reviewed. Its correctness rests on a soundness lemma for a composition rule together with large finite certificates checked by standalone programs. A machine-checked proof would replace this combination of informal soundness argument and external computation by a single certified statement.

Difficulty

The board is infinite and Breaker may play anywhere, so no finite game-tree search applies directly: a proof must cover all Breaker replies, including those far from the action. Pairing strategies, the usual tool for proving shapes are losers, are known to fail for Snaky, but that does not give Maker a strategy. The certificate approach needs a composition rule whose soundness accounts for arbitrary previous ownership on both sides; the move count must be the number of actual Maker claims, including any replacement moves.

Formalization scope

  • Cells are ℤ × ℤ; snaky is the six-cell set above and HasSnaky M asks for r : Fin 8, t : Cell with snaky.image (placement r t) ⊆ M, where orient lists all eight signed permutations.
  • A Policy is a function of a move counter, the Maker set and the Breaker set; it must never return an owned cell. playState σ N β ∅ ∅ k is the position after kkk Maker claims and kkk Breaker replies.
  • LegalRepliesBeforeFinal σ N β ∅ ∅ constrains only the first N−1N-1N−1 Breaker replies; the theorems conclude a copy of SSS, exactly NNN Maker cells, and disjointness of the two players' sets throughout.
  • The certificate milestone stores the cards as an Array Entry and computes rowAt i (required set, envelope, height) by the composition recursion; it is a decidable statement about explicit finite data.

A trivializing reading is ruled out: the policy is required to be legal on all inputs, and Breaker's replies are arbitrary legal cells of the infinite board. A complete development needs a soundness proof for the composition rule (Lemma 3) and verified evaluation of the certificates; the policy, game and certificate infrastructure is shared between the 21- and 35-move statements. Contributions formalizing Lemma 3, Proposition 5 (the 21-move certificate identities) and Corollary 6 are welcome.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, Snaky in 21 Maker moves, preprint, September 25, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Snaky-in-21-Maker-moves-September-25-2026/article.pdf
  • N. Sieben, Snaky is a 41-dimensional winner, Integers 4, 2004. https://math.colgate.edu/~integers/eg5/eg5.pdf
  • I. Halupczok, J.-C. Schlage-Puchta, Achieving Snaky, Integers 7, 2007. https://math.colgate.edu/~integers/hg2/hg2.pdf
  • N. Sieben, Proof trees for weak achievement games, Integers 8, 2008. https://math.colgate.edu/~integers/ig7/ig7.pdf
  • H. Ito, H. Miyagawa, Snaky is a winner with one handicap, 8th Hellenic European Conference on Computer Mathematics and its Applications, 2007.
  • A. Csernenszky, R. R. Martin, A. Pluhár, On the complexity of Chooser–Picker positional games, Integers 11, 2011. https://math.colgate.edu/~integers/lg2/lg2.pdf
  • I. Shaik, V. Mayer-Eichberger, J. van de Pol, A. Saffidine, Implicit state and goals in QBF encodings for positional games, preprint, 2023. https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07345
  • S. Boucher, R. Villemaire, The QBF Cover encoding for Harary's Tic-Tac-Toe, Canadian Conference on AI, 2025. https://doi.org/10.21428/594757db.6ae0c84a
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A power saving for planar halving linesResearch Paper

Motivation

Given nnn points in the plane with no three on a line, a halving line is a line through two of the points that leaves exactly half of the remaining points on each side. How many halving lines can an nnn-point set have? The question is the middle case of the kkk-set problem: count the kkk-element subsets that a line can cut off. It controls the complexity of levels in line arrangements, and through them the running time of many algorithms in computational geometry (levels, ham-sandwich cuts, kkk-th order Voronoi diagrams).

The gap between the bounds is one of the best known in discrete geometry: the upper bound has been O(n4/3)O(n^{4/3})O(n4/3) since 1998, while the best constructions give only n eΩ(log⁡n)n\,e^{\Omega(\sqrt{\log n})}neΩ(logn​).

Timeline

  • 1971, 1973. Lovász, and Erdős–Lovász–Simmons–Straus, prove the O(n3/2)O(n^{3/2})O(n3/2) upper bound and construct sets with Ω(nlog⁡n)\Omega(n\log n)Ω(nlogn) halving lines.
  • 1992. Pach, Steiger and Szemerédi improve the upper bound by an iterated-logarithm factor (doi:10.1007/BF02187829).
  • 1998. Dey proves that the number of kkk-sets is O(n(k+1)1/3)O(n(k+1)^{1/3})O(n(k+1)1/3), hence O(n4/3)O(n^{4/3})O(n4/3) halving lines, using convex chains and the crossing lemma (doi:10.1007/PL00009354).
  • 2001, 2008. Tóth constructs sets with n eΩ(log⁡n)n\,e^{\Omega(\sqrt{\log n})}neΩ(logn​) halving lines (doi:10.1007/s004540010022); Nivasch simplifies the construction and improves the constant (doi:10.1090/conm/453/08804).
  • 2009. Pinchasi relates changes between balanced cuts to measure concentration in the plane (doi:10.1145/1542362.1542393).
  • 2024. Alonso, López and Rodrigo improve a lower-order term while keeping the exponent 4/34/34/3 (doi:10.3390/sym16070936).

The source of this mission is an OpenAI preprint dated September 25, 2026, which claims the first power saving below 4/34/34/3.

Setting

Let P=(P1,…,Pn)P=(P_1,\dots,P_n)P=(P1​,…,Pn​) be distinct points of R2\mathbb R^2R2 with no three collinear. For i≠ji\ne ji=j, the orientation orient⁡(Pi,Pj,Pl)\operatorname{orient}(P_i,P_j,P_l)orient(Pi​,Pj​,Pl​) is the usual 2×22\times22×2 determinant; its sign says on which side of the line PiPjP_iP_jPi​Pj​ the point PlP_lPl​ lies. For even nnn, an unordered pair {i,j}\{i,j\}{i,j} is a halving pair if exactly (n−2)/2(n-2)/2(n−2)/2 points lie strictly on each side of the line PiPjP_iP_jPi​Pj​; h(P)h(P)h(P) is the number of halving pairs.

A configuration is generic if moreover its xxx-coordinates are distinct, the slopes of the (n2)\binom n2(2n​) segments PiPjP_iP_jPi​Pj​ are distinct, and no point where two of these segments properly cross lies on a third segment. Fix a rank 0≤k≤n0\le k\le n0≤k≤n. For a slope sss, mark the kkk points with smallest value of y−sxy-sxy−sx. As sss increases from −∞-\infty−∞ to +∞+\infty+∞, the marked set changes by exchanging one point for another; each change is a switch, and Sk(P)S_k(P)Sk​(P) is the total number of switches. A switch at rank kkk happens at the slope of PiPjP_iP_jPi​Pj​ exactly when k−1k-1k−1 points lie strictly below the line PiPjP_iP_jPi​Pj​. At the middle rank, switches are halving pairs.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorems 1.1 and 1.2

∃ ε>0, C, n0:h(P)≤C n4/3−εfor all even n≥n0 and all P with no three collinear;\exists\,\varepsilon>0,\ C,\ n_0:\quad h(P)\le C\,n^{4/3-\varepsilon}\quad\text{for all even } n\ge n_0 \text{ and all } P \text{ with no three collinear};∃ε>0, C, n0​:h(P)≤Cn4/3−εfor all even n≥n0​ and all P with no three collinear; ∃ ε>0, C:Sk(P)≤C n4/3−εfor all n≥1, generic P, 0≤k≤n.\exists\,\varepsilon>0,\ C:\quad S_k(P)\le C\,n^{4/3-\varepsilon}\quad\text{for all } n\ge1,\ \text{generic } P,\ 0\le k\le n.∃ε>0, C:Sk​(P)≤Cn4/3−εfor all n≥1, generic P, 0≤k≤n.

The Lean statement OAI.PlanarHalving.power_bounds is the conjunction of these two clauses and is open on the platform. Neither ε\varepsilonε nor CCC is specified, so the goal asserts only the shape of the improvement and survives any later numerical sharpening.

Significance

A power saving n4/3−εn^{4/3-\varepsilon}n4/3−ε is the first improvement of the exponent in Dey's bound since 1998. The uniform version over all ranks gives, through shallow cuttings, a kkk-sensitive bound O(n(k+1)1/3−ε0)O(n(k+1)^{1/3-\varepsilon_0})O(n(k+1)1/3−ε0​) for planar kkk-sets and for the complexity of the kkk-level in an arrangement of lines (Corollary 1.3). The saving is non-quantitative: the paper's compactness argument gives no numerical ε\varepsilonε.

The result is proved in an OpenAI preprint; it has not been peer reviewed and no machine-checked proof exists. Formalizing it would certify a long compactness argument (limiting measures, rank coordinates, differentiation of monotone functions) whose ineffective nature makes informal checking hard.

Difficulty

Dey's argument decomposes the halving graph into convex chains and applies the crossing lemma; both ingredients are tight on their own, so a power saving must show that configurations nearly attaining the crossing-lemma bound cannot exist. The bound must also hold uniformly over all ranks kkk, because restricting a block of switches to the points that take part in it changes the rank. Since the lower-bound constructions are far below n4/3n^{4/3}n4/3, there is no extremal example to guide the argument.

Formalization scope

  • Points are ℝ × ℝ, configurations are P : Fin n → Point; GeneralPosition P is injectivity plus nonvanishing orient for every triple of distinct indices.
  • halvingCount P counts pairs i < j with sideCount P i j = (n-2)/2 and sideCount P j i = (n-2)/2, where sideCount counts points with strictly positive orientation. Natural-number division is harmless because nnn is even.
  • Generic P adds distinct first coordinates, distinct slopes of index pairs, and the condition that no proper crossing of two determined open segments lies on a third closed segment.
  • switchCount P k counts pairs i < j with 0 < k < n and exactly k - 1 points strictly below the line through P i, P j in the order y−sxy-sxy−sx. Ranks 000 and nnn therefore contribute zero, as in the paper.
  • slope divides by the xxx-difference; the generic hypothesis makes it nonzero.

A complete development needs the crossing lemma, convex-chain decompositions of the rotating-line process, weak compactness of finite Borel measures, the Radon–Nikodym and Lebesgue differentiation theorems, Rademacher-type differentiability of monotone functions, and planar Jordan-curve separation. Contributions formalizing Dey's O(n4/3)O(n^{4/3})O(n4/3) bound, Theorem 2.1 (uniform activity packing) and Proposition 8.1 (the fixed-scale recurrence) are welcome.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, A power saving for planar halving lines, preprint, September 25, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-power-saving-for-planar-halving-lines-September-25-2026/main.pdf
  • T. K. Dey, Improved bounds for planar kkk-sets and related problems, Discrete Comput. Geom., 1998. https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00009354
  • J. Pach, W. Steiger, E. Szemerédi, An upper bound on the number of planar kkk-sets, Discrete Comput. Geom., 1992. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02187829
  • P. Erdős, L. Lovász, A. Simmons, E. G. Straus, Dissection graphs of planar point sets, in A Survey of Combinatorial Theory, 1973.
  • L. Lovász, On the number of halving lines, Ann. Univ. Sci. Budapest. Eötvös Sect. Math., 1971.
  • G. Tóth, Point sets with many kkk-sets, Discrete Comput. Geom., 2001. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004540010022
  • G. Nivasch, An improved, simple construction of many halving edges, Contemp. Math. 453, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1090/conm/453/08804
  • R. Pinchasi, Halving lines and measure concentration in the plane, SoCG 2009. https://doi.org/10.1145/1542362.1542393
  • E. Alonso, M. López, J. Rodrigo, An improvement of the upper bound for the number of halving lines of planar sets, Symmetry, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym16070936
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A power saving for square-difference-free setsResearch Paper

Motivation: how large can a set avoid square differences?

A set A⊆{1,…,N}A\subseteq\{1,\dots,N\}A⊆{1,…,N} is square-difference-free if no two of its elements differ by a perfect square m2m^2m2 with m≥1m\ge1m≥1. The Furstenberg–Sárközy theorem says such sets have density tending to zero; the question is how fast. Writing s(N)s(N)s(N) for the largest size of a square-difference-free subset of {1,…,N}\{1,\dots,N\}{1,…,N}, the problem is a prototype for polynomial patterns in dense sets: it is the simplest case of finding differences in the image of a polynomial, and it is the model problem on which Fourier-analytic, ergodic and density-increment methods for polynomial configurations are tested. A long-standing gap separates the upper bounds, which until recently saved only a power of log⁡N\log NlogN (with a slowly growing exponent), from the lower bounds, which are powers N0.73…N^{0.73\ldots}N0.73… and beyond. Whether a fixed power saving s(N)≤CN1−cs(N)\le CN^{1-c}s(N)≤CN1−c holds was posed explicitly by Green and Sawhney.

Background and timeline

  • 1977–1978 — Answering a question of Lovász, Furstenberg (J. Analyse Math. 1977, Theorem 1.2) and Sárközy (Acta Math. Hungar. 1978) independently prove s(N)=o(N)s(N)=o(N)s(N)=o(N); Sárközy's bound is N/(log⁡N)1/3+o(1)N/(\log N)^{1/3+o(1)}N/(logN)1/3+o(1).
  • 1984 — Ruzsa constructs square-difference-free sets of size ≫N0.7330…\gg N^{0.7330\ldots}≫N0.7330… (Period. Math. Hungar. 1984).
  • 1988 — Pintz, Steiger and Szemerédi prove s(N)≪N/(log⁡N)clog⁡log⁡log⁡log⁡Ns(N)\ll N/(\log N)^{c\log\log\log\log N}s(N)≪N/(logN)cloglogloglogN (J. LMS 1988).
  • 2008/2015 — Beigel and Gasarch (arXiv:0804.4892) and Lewko (Electron. J. Combin. 2015) improve the lower exponent to 0.7334…0.7334\ldots0.7334….
  • 2022 — Bloom and Maynard prove s(N)≪N/(log⁡N)clog⁡log⁡log⁡Ns(N)\ll N/(\log N)^{c\log\log\log N}s(N)≪N/(logN)clogloglogN (Compos. Math. 2022).
  • 2024/2025 — Green and Sawhney prove s(N)≪Nexp⁡(−clog⁡N)s(N)\ll N\exp(-c\sqrt{\log N})s(N)≪Nexp(−clogN​) and ask for a fixed power saving (arXiv:2411.17448, Theorem 1.1 and §1.1).
  • 2026 — Adajar et al. extend the arithmetic level-ddd approach to intersective polynomials (arXiv:2605.16216); Krachun pushes the lower exponent past 3/43/43/4, to 0.7527…0.7527\ldots0.7527… (arXiv:2608.01325).
  • 2026 — The OpenAI preprint A power saving for square-difference-free sets (OpenAI Math Release, September 24, 2026) claims s(N)≤CN1−cs(N)\le CN^{1-c}s(N)≤CN1−c with absolute constants. It has not been peer reviewed and its theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

For a positive integer NNN write [N]={1,…,N}[N]=\{1,\dots,N\}[N]={1,…,N}. A set A⊆[N]A\subseteq[N]A⊆[N] is square-difference-free if

(A−A)∩{m2:m∈N, m≥1}=∅,(A-A)\cap\{m^2 : m\in\mathbb N,\ m\ge1\}=\varnothing,(A−A)∩{m2:m∈N, m≥1}=∅,

that is, a−b≠m2a-b\neq m^2a−b=m2 for all a,b∈Aa,b\in Aa,b∈A and all integers m≥1m\ge1m≥1. (Differences are taken in Z\mathbb ZZ; a−b=0a-b=0a−b=0 is allowed since 000 is excluded from the squares.)

In Lean (namespace OAI.SquareDifference), sets are Finset ℤ contained in Finset.Icc 1 N, and IsSquareDifferenceFree A states a - b ≠ (m : ℤ)^2 for all a b ∈ A and m : ℕ with 1 ≤ m.

Formalization targets

Goal: a fixed power saving (Theorem 1.1)

There are absolute constants c>0c>0c>0 and C<∞C<\inftyC<∞ such that for every integer N≥1N\ge1N≥1 and every square-difference-free A⊆[N]A\subseteq[N]A⊆[N],

∣A∣≤C N1−c.|A|\le C\,N^{1-c}.∣A∣≤CN1−c.

Equivalently, every subset of [N][N][N] with more than CN1−cCN^{1-c}CN1−c elements contains two elements differing by a nonzero perfect square. The Lean goal is published on the platform with status Open. The statement fixes no numerical value of ccc, so any improvement of the exponent leaves the goal unchanged.

Significance

The result itself. Every earlier upper bound saved less than any fixed power of NNN; the best, due to Green and Sawhney, saved exp⁡(−clog⁡N)\exp(-c\sqrt{\log N})exp(−clogN​). A fixed power saving changes the nature of the problem: it shows that the extremal exponent lim sup⁡log⁡s(N)/log⁡N\limsup \log s(N)/\log Nlimsuplogs(N)/logN lies strictly below 111, so both upper and lower bounds are now polynomial and the remaining question is the value of the exponent, now known to lie between 0.7527…0.7527\ldots0.7527… and 1−c1-c1−c. As an immediate consequence (Remark 1.2 of the source), the graph on [N][N][N] joining integers differing by a square has chromatic number at least C−1NcC^{-1}N^cC−1Nc, a polynomial bound for the square-difference coloring problem.

Formalizing it. The statement is elementary and self-contained, involving only finite sets of integers. The proof combines a graph/tuple reformulation, reflection-positivity (chessboard) inequalities for a finite-field probability law, and an induction with fixed finite constructions. A formal proof would certify an argument whose constants are explicitly noted to be extremely small and not computed.

Difficulty

Density-increment arguments, starting from Sárközy's circle-method proof, gain a constant factor of density at each step but lose a power of the length of the progression on which they pass, so after the log⁡(1/α)\log(1/\alpha)log(1/α) increments needed the saving is only logarithmic or quasi-logarithmic. The Green–Sawhney level-ddd approach controls the relevant rational Fourier coefficients through hypercontractivity but still gives only exp⁡(−clog⁡N)\exp(-c\sqrt{\log N})exp(−clogN​). A power saving requires an argument whose loss does not compound with the number of iterations — a single estimate that converts square-difference-freeness into a polynomial density loss.

Formalization scope

  • Sets are Finset ℤ inside Finset.Icc 1 N and N≥1N\ge1N≥1 is a natural number; the bound is uniform in NNN.
  • The constants are existentially quantified before NNN and AAA; c>0c>0c>0 is required and CCC is a real number. The power N1−cN^{1-c}N1−c is the real power.
  • Differences a−ba-ba−b are in Z\mathbb ZZ and the excluded squares are m2m^2m2 with m≥1m\ge1m≥1, so only nonzero squares are forbidden; differences in either order are covered because both a−ba-ba−b and b−ab-ab−a are tested.
  • Needed infrastructure: Fourier analysis on Z/pZ\mathbb Z/p\mathbb ZZ/pZ and on [N][N][N], reflection-positivity/chessboard estimates, and graph-norm inequalities. Reusable pieces include a chessboard-estimate library and finite-field Fourier tools.

Selected references

  • H. Furstenberg, Ergodic behavior of diagonal measures and a theorem of Szemerédi on arithmetic progressions, J. Analyse Math. 31 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02813304
  • A. Sárközy, On difference sets of sequences of integers. I, Acta Math. Acad. Sci. Hungar. 31 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01896079
  • I. Z. Ruzsa, Difference sets without squares, Period. Math. Hungar. 15 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02454169
  • J. Pintz, W. L. Steiger and E. Szemerédi, On sets of natural numbers whose difference set contains no squares, J. London Math. Soc. 37 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1112/jlms/s2-37.2.219
  • R. Beigel and W. Gasarch, Square-difference-free sets of size Ω(n0.7334…)\Omega(n^{0.7334\ldots})Ω(n0.7334…), arXiv:0804.4892 (2008). https://arxiv.org/abs/0804.4892v3
  • M. Lewko, An improved lower bound related to the Furstenberg–Sárközy theorem, Electron. J. Combin. 22 (2015). https://doi.org/10.37236/4656
  • T. F. Bloom and J. Maynard, A new upper bound for sets with no square differences, Compos. Math. 158 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1112/S0010437X22007679
  • B. Green and M. Sawhney, New bounds for the Furstenberg–Sárközy theorem, arXiv:2411.17448 (2025). https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.17448v2
  • D. Krachun, Square-difference-free sets beyond the three-quarter barrier, arXiv:2608.01325 (2026). https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.01325v1
  • OpenAI, A power saving for square-difference-free sets, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 24, 2026 (Theorem 1.1, p. 2). https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-power-saving-for-square-difference-free-sets-September-24-2026/paper.pdf
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A linear cycle-and-edge decomposition of every graphResearch Paper

Motivation

How efficiently can the edges of a graph be split into cycles? Some single edges must be allowed, since a forest has no cycles at all, and a tree on nnn vertices already needs n−1n-1n−1 single-edge parts. The Erdős–Gallai cycle decomposition conjecture asserts that this is essentially the only obstruction: every graph on nnn vertices can have its edge set partitioned into O(n)O(n)O(n) simple cycles and single edges. Equivalently, every graph with all degrees even partitions into O(n)O(n)O(n) cycles. The problem is a basic question about edge decompositions, and the partial bounds O(nlog⁡n)O(n\log n)O(nlogn), O(nlog⁡log⁡n)O(n\log\log n)O(nloglogn) and O(nlog⁡∗n)O(n\log^*n)O(nlog∗n) trace several decades of progress on it.

This mission asks for a formal proof of the linear bound, as stated in an OpenAI preprint dated September 24, 2026 (source). The preprint has not been peer reviewed and its claims have not been independently verified; on the platform the Lean goal is open.

Background

  • 1966 — Erdős, Goodman and Pósa record the problem and an O(nlog⁡n)O(n\log n)O(nlogn) bound, distinguishing covers from edge-disjoint partitions (Canad. J. Math. 1966).
  • 1968 — Lovász: every graph on nnn vertices partitions into at most ⌊n/2⌋\lfloor n/2\rfloor⌊n/2⌋ paths and cycles (On covering of graphs, 1968).
  • 1985 — Pyber shows that n−1n-1n−1 cycles and edges suffice to cover (not partition) every graph (Combinatorica 1985).
  • 2014 — Conlon, Fox and Sudakov prove O(nlog⁡log⁡n)O(n\log\log n)O(nloglogn) in general and linear bounds for random graphs and graphs of linear minimum degree (RSA 2014).
  • 2015–2021 — Asymptotically sharp counts for random graphs (Korándi–Krivelevich–Sudakov, CPC 2015); (3/2+δ)n(3/2+\delta)n(3/2+δ)n for dense graphs (Girão–Granet–Kühn–Osthus, J. LMS 2021).
  • 2024 — Bucić and Montgomery prove O(nlog⁡∗n)O(n\log^*n)O(nlog∗n) (Adv. Math. 2024).
  • 2025 — Akbari, Aloni, Beikmohammadi and Clow prove n−1n-1n−1 for maximum degree at most four (arXiv:2509.01901).
  • September 2026 — The OpenAI preprint claims the linear bound (Theorem 1.1, p. 1).

Setting

A finite simple graph GGG has vertex set of size nnn and edge set E(G)E(G)E(G) of unordered pairs of distinct vertices. A cycle is a closed walk of length at least 333 with no repeated vertices except the endpoints; its edge set is the set of edges it traverses. A cycle-and-edge decomposition of GGG into kkk parts is a family E1,…,EkE_1,\dots,E_kE1​,…,Ek​ of pairwise disjoint subsets of E(G)E(G)E(G) with union E(G)E(G)E(G), where each EiE_iEi​ is either the edge set of a cycle of GGG or a single edge of GGG. Parts may share vertices; isolated vertices need not be covered; for an edgeless graph k=0k=0k=0 is allowed.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1 (p. 1)

There is an absolute constant C>0C>0C>0 such that for every nnn and every simple graph GGG on nnn vertices,

G has a cycle-and-edge decomposition into at most Cn parts.G\ \text{has a cycle-and-edge decomposition into at most } Cn \text{ parts}.G has a cycle-and-edge decomposition into at most Cn parts.

The value of CCC is left unspecified, which keeps the goal stable under future improvements of the constant (the best possible constant is at least 3/23/23/2, by complete bipartite examples).

Significance

The result itself. The order nnn is optimal (trees). The theorem implies that every Eulerian graph (all degrees even) partitions into O(n)O(n)O(n) cycles (Corollary 1.2, p. 2), and via known equivalences it gives the sharp Δ(G)/2+δn\Delta(G)/2+\delta nΔ(G)/2+δn cycle bound for Eulerian graphs satisfying a large-cut condition. It removes the last iterated-logarithm loss from the Bucić–Montgomery bound.

Formalizing it. The statement uses only Mathlib's SimpleGraph.Walk.IsCycle and edge sets, so it is a clean combinatorial target. A complete development needs Lovász's path-cycle decomposition theorem, the Aharoni–Haxell hypergraph matching theorem, expansion and routing lemmas, and binomial tail bounds; all are reusable in extremal graph theory. No machine-checked proof of any o(nlog⁡n)o(n\log n)o(nlogn) bound is known.

Difficulty

Covering is easy (Pyber's n−1n-1n−1 bound), but a cover does not yield a partition: deleting repeated edges can break cycles into many paths. For partitions, the standard strategy decomposes the graph into expanding pieces at a sequence of scales, and paying a cost proportional to the full order at every scale accumulates a factor from the number of scales — this is where the log⁡log⁡n\log\log nloglogn and log⁡∗n\log^*nlog∗n losses come from. The preprint (Introduction, pp. 2–3) charges the work on a prefix of scales to a single expanding layer and saves a fixed fraction of vertices by identifying pairs, then lifts quotient cycles back with reserved edge-disjoint routes (Lemma 3.1, p. 5); keeping a separate assignment for each original edge throughout is what makes the induction close.

Formalization scope

  • Graphs are SimpleGraph (Fin n) for arbitrary n (including 0 and edgeless graphs).
  • CycleOrSingleEdge G s: either sss is p.edgeSet for some p : G.Walk v v with p.IsCycle (Mathlib cycles have length at least 333), or s={e}s=\{e\}s={e} for an edge e∈Ge\in Ge∈G.
  • EdgeDecomposition G k: parts indexed by Fin k, each a cycle or single edge, pairwise disjoint, with union G.edgeSet.
  • MainStatement: ∃C>0, ∀n ∀G, ∃k,\exists C>0,\ \forall n\ \forall G,\ \exists k,∃C>0, ∀n ∀G, ∃k, EdgeDecomposition G k ∧ k≤Cn\wedge\ k\le Cn∧ k≤Cn.
  • Trivializations are ruled out: parts must be nonempty edge sets of the required shape and must exactly partition the edge set, so the count kkk is a genuine count.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, A linear cycle-and-edge decomposition of every graph, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 24, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-linear-cycle-and-edge-decomposition-of-every-graph-September-24-2026/main.pdf
  • P. Erdős, A. W. Goodman, L. Pósa, The representation of a graph by set intersections, Canad. J. Math. 18 (1966). https://doi.org/10.4153/CJM-1966-014-3
  • L. Lovász, On covering of graphs, Theory of Graphs (Proc. Colloq. Tihany, 1966), 1968.
  • L. Pyber, An Erdős–Gallai conjecture, Combinatorica 5 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02579444
  • D. Conlon, J. Fox, B. Sudakov, Cycle packing, Random Structures Algorithms (2014). https://doi.org/10.1002/rsa.20574
  • D. Korándi, M. Krivelevich, B. Sudakov, Decomposing random graphs into few cycles and edges, Combin. Probab. Comput. (2015). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963548314000844
  • A. Girão, B. Granet, D. Kühn, D. Osthus, Path and cycle decompositions of dense graphs, J. London Math. Soc. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1112/jlms.12455
  • M. Bucić, R. Montgomery, Towards the Erdős–Gallai cycle decomposition conjecture, Adv. Math. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aim.2023.109434
  • R. Aharoni, P. Haxell, Hall's theorem for hypergraphs, J. Graph Theory 35 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0118(200010)35:2<83::AID-JGT2>3.0.CO;2-V
  • S. Akbari, J. Aloni, A. Beikmohammadi, A. Clow, Tight bounds for cycle-edge decompositions and covers, arXiv:2509.01901 (2025). https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.01901v2
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Bounded-degree coboundary expanders in every dimensionResearch Paper

Motivation: high-dimensional analogues of expander graphs

An expander graph is a sparse graph in which every set of vertices has a large edge boundary relative to its size. Expanders with bounded degree are a basic tool across combinatorics, computer science and group theory. High-dimensional expanders are simplicial complexes that extend this behavior to faces of every dimension, and coboundary expansion over F2\mathbb F_2F2​ is the strongest of the standard notions: the coboundary of any set of iii-faces must be large unless the set is already close to a coboundary. Gromov connected such filling inequalities with topological overlap of maps to Euclidean space. The basic existence question is whether there are arbitrarily large complexes of fixed dimension with bounded vertex degree and uniform coboundary expansion in every degree.

Background and timeline

  • 2006–2009 — Linial–Meshulam (Combinatorica 2006) and Meshulam–Wallach (Random Struct. Alg. 2009) develop the coisoperimetric viewpoint through random complexes.
  • 2010 — Gromov connects cohomological filling inequalities with topological overlap and asks for large complexes with bounded vertex incidence and uniform filling bounds (GAFA 2010, §§2.3–2.5, 2.14).
  • 2015 — Lubotzky and Meshulam construct random Latin-square coboundary expanders in dimension two, with bounded codimension-one degree (Adv. Math. 2015).
  • 2016 — Kaufman, Kazhdan and Lubotzky prove cosystolic and topological expansion for two-dimensional skeleta of Ramanujan complexes, with bounded vertex degree (GAFA 2016).
  • 2019 — Lubotzky, Luria and Rosenthal construct random Steiner-system coboundary expanders in every dimension, again with bounded codimension-one degree but growing vertex degree (Discrete Comput. Geom. 2019).
  • 2024 — Evra and Kaufman obtain bounded-degree cosystolic expanders in every dimension (JAMS 2024); cosystolic expansion allows nonzero cohomology.
  • 2025 — Chapman and Lubotzky prove existence of bounded-degree two-dimensional coboundary expanders over F2\mathbb F_2F2​ and state the general problem (Adv. Math. 2025, Problem 1.3, Theorem 1.9); Kaufman–Oppenheim–Weinberger (arXiv:2411.02819) prove degree-one coboundary expansion for coset complexes; Oppenheim and Valentiner-Branth prove cosystolic expansion for Kac–Moody–Steinberg complexes (arXiv:2504.05823).
  • 2026 — The OpenAI preprint Bounded-degree coboundary expanders in every dimension (OpenAI Math Release, September 24, 2026) claims bounded-degree F2\mathbb F_2F2​ coboundary expanders in every dimension d≥3d\ge3d≥3. It has not been peer reviewed and its theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

A finite simplicial complex YYY is a downward-closed family of finite sets (faces) of vertices; Y(i)Y(i)Y(i) denotes the faces with i+1i+1i+1 vertices. YYY is pure of dimension sss if it has sss-faces and every face lies in one. An iii-cochain is a function f:Y(i)→F2f:Y(i)\to\mathbb F_2f:Y(i)→F2​; its coboundary is (δif)(τ)=∑σ⊂τ, ∣σ∣=i+1f(σ)(\delta_if)(\tau)=\sum_{\sigma\subset\tau,\,|\sigma|=i+1}f(\sigma)(δi​f)(τ)=∑σ⊂τ,∣σ∣=i+1​f(σ). Let Bi(Y)=im⁡δi−1B^i(Y)=\operatorname{im}\delta_{i-1}Bi(Y)=imδi−1​, with B0(Y)B^0(Y)B0(Y) the constant functions. Faces are weighted by

wi(σ)=#{τ∈Y(s):σ⊆τ}(s+1i+1)∣Y(s)∣,∥f∥i=∑σ: f(σ)≠0wi(σ),w_i(\sigma)=\frac{\#\{\tau\in Y(s):\sigma\subseteq\tau\}}{\binom{s+1}{i+1}|Y(s)|},\qquad \|f\|_{i}=\sum_{\sigma:\,f(\sigma)\ne0}w_i(\sigma),wi​(σ)=(i+1s+1​)∣Y(s)∣#{τ∈Y(s):σ⊆τ}​,∥f∥i​=σ:f(σ)=0∑​wi​(σ),

so ∥f∥i\|f\|_i∥f∥i​ is the probability that fff is nonzero on a random iii-face of a uniformly random top face, and dist⁡i(f,A)=min⁡a∈A∥f−a∥i\operatorname{dist}_i(f,A)=\min_{a\in A}\|f-a\|_idisti​(f,A)=mina∈A​∥f−a∥i​.

In Lean (namespace OAI.CoboundaryExpanders), a Complex has vertex set Fin vertexCount, a Finset of faces that is downward closed and contains every singleton; Pure, Connected (connected 111-skeleton), weight, norm, coboundary, coboundaries and distance follow these definitions, and topDegree X d v counts ddd-faces containing vvv.

Formalization targets

Goal: bounded-degree coboundary expanders (Theorem 1.1)

For every d≥3d\ge3d≥3 there are D<∞D<\inftyD<∞, ε>0\varepsilon>0ε>0 and finite connected pure ddd-dimensional complexes XmX_mXm​ with ∣Xm(0)∣→∞|X_m(0)|\to\infty∣Xm​(0)∣→∞, every vertex in at most DDD faces of dimension ddd, and

∥δif∥Xm,i+1 ≥ ε dist⁡Xm,i(f,Bi(Xm))(f∈Ci(Xm;F2), 0≤i<d),\|\delta_if\|_{X_m,i+1}\ \ge\ \varepsilon\,\operatorname{dist}_{X_m,i}\bigl(f,B^i(X_m)\bigr)\qquad(f\in C^i(X_m;\mathbb F_2),\ 0\le i<d),∥δi​f∥Xm​,i+1​ ≥ εdistXm​,i​(f,Bi(Xm​))(f∈Ci(Xm​;F2​), 0≤i<d),

with constants independent of mmm, iii and fff. The Lean goal is published on the platform with status Open.

Significance

The result itself. Together with the classical graph case and the Chapman–Lubotzky two-dimensional theorem, Theorem 1.1 gives bounded-degree F2\mathbb F_2F2​ coboundary expanders in every positive dimension, answering the existence question in the form stated by Chapman and Lubotzky. Earlier bounded-vertex-degree constructions gave cosystolic expansion, which permits nonvanishing cohomology, or degree-one expansion only; earlier coboundary expanders in all dimensions had vertex degrees growing with size. Coboundary expansion in all degrees implies vanishing F2\mathbb F_2F2​-cohomology below the top dimension, the property Gromov related to topological overlap.

Formalizing it. The definitions are elementary finite combinatorics, so the statement is completely precise; the proof combines group-theoretic coset complexes over SLN(k[t])\mathrm{SL}_N(k[t])SLN​(k[t]), congruence quotients and a quantitative cosystolic input. A formal proof would require formalizing that input (Oppenheim–Valentiner-Branth), which is substantial.

Difficulty

Coboundary expansion requires two things at once: a quantitative isoperimetric inequality against cocycles (cosystolic expansion) and exact vanishing of Hi(Xm;F2)H^i(X_m;\mathbb F_2)Hi(Xm​;F2​) for every i<di<di<d. Random constructions give vanishing cohomology but force growing vertex degree; algebraic bounded-degree constructions (Ramanujan complexes, coset complexes) give the quantitative inequality but typically have nonzero cohomology that cannot be controlled uniformly. A cocycle that is not a coboundary has zero coboundary and positive distance, so any nonzero cohomology class destroys the inequality. The difficulty is a family of bounded-degree complexes whose cohomology vanishes in every degree below ddd, uniformly along the tower.

Formalization scope

  • Vertices are Fin vertexCount and every vertex is a face; faces are Finsets, and an iii-face has exactly i+1i+1i+1 vertices.
  • Purity requires at least one ddd-face; connectivity is of the 111-skeleton and requires a nonempty vertex set, so empty or disconnected complexes do not satisfy the hypotheses.
  • Cochains are ZMod 2-valued; B0B^0B0 is the constant cochains (reduced cohomology in degree 000). Distance is a real sInf over the image of a nonempty finite set, hence a minimum.
  • The inequality is required for every i<di<di<d and every cochain, with DDD and ε\varepsilonε chosen before the sequence and depending only on ddd. Only d≥3d\ge3d≥3 is asserted; dimensions 111 and 222 are separate known results.
  • Needed infrastructure: coset complexes, local spectral expansion and cosystolic expansion theorems, and cohomology of congruence quotients. A library of simplicial cochain complexes over F2\mathbb F_2F2​ would be reusable for many high-dimensional-expansion problems.

Selected references

  • N. Linial and R. Meshulam, Homological connectivity of random 2-complexes, Combinatorica 26 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00493-006-0027-9
  • R. Meshulam and N. Wallach, Homological connectivity of random k-dimensional complexes, Random Structures Algorithms 34 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1002/rsa.20238
  • M. Gromov, Singularities, expanders and topology of maps. Part 2, Geom. Funct. Anal. 20 (2010), 416–526. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00039-010-0073-8
  • A. Lubotzky and R. Meshulam, Random Latin squares and 2-dimensional expanders, Adv. Math. 272 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aim.2014.12.015
  • T. Kaufman, D. Kazhdan and A. Lubotzky, Isoperimetric inequalities for Ramanujan complexes and topological expanders, Geom. Funct. Anal. 26 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00039-016-0362-y
  • A. Lubotzky, Z. Luria and R. Rosenthal, Random Steiner systems and bounded degree coboundary expanders of every dimension, Discrete Comput. Geom. 62 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00454-018-9991-2
  • S. Evra and T. Kaufman, Bounded degree cosystolic expanders of every dimension, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 37 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1090/jams/1019
  • M. Chapman and A. Lubotzky, Stability of homomorphisms, coverings and cocycles II: Examples, applications and open problems, Adv. Math. 463 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aim.2025.110117
  • T. Kaufman, I. Oppenheim and S. Weinberger, Coboundary expansion of coset complexes, arXiv:2411.02819 (STOC 2025). https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.02819v1
  • I. Oppenheim and I. Valentiner-Branth, New cosystolic high-dimensional expanders from KMS groups, arXiv:2504.05823. https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.05823v2
  • OpenAI, Bounded-degree coboundary expanders in every dimension, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 24, 2026 (Theorem 1.1, p. 1). https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Bounded-degree-coboundary-expanders-in-every-dimension-September-24-2026/paper.pdf
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The second Kahn–Kalai conjectureResearch Paper

Motivation

When does the Erdős–Rényi random graph G(n,p)G(n,p)G(n,p) contain a copy of a prescribed graph HHH? A necessary condition is visible from first moments: if some subgraph F⊆HF\subseteq HF⊆H has expected copy count below a constant, then HHH is unlikely to appear. Kahn and Kalai conjectured in 2007 that this elementary obstruction determines the containment threshold up to a logarithmic factor, uniformly over all target graphs, including spanning ones such as perfect matchings, Hamilton cycles or cubes (CPC 2007). Their abstract conjecture for general increasing families (the "first" conjecture) was proved by Park and Pham; the graph-specific "second" conjecture compares the threshold with the smaller, purely subgraph-count-based graph expectation threshold, and is not implied by the abstract theorem.

This mission asks for a formal proof of the second Kahn–Kalai conjecture with explicit constants, as stated in an OpenAI preprint dated September 24, 2026 (source). The preprint has not been peer reviewed and its claims have not been independently verified; on the platform the Lean goal is open.

Background

  • 1960–1981 — Erdős and Rényi's evolution of random graphs (1960) and perfect matchings (1966); Bollobás determines thresholds for fixed subgraphs (Math. Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc. 1981).
  • 2007 — Kahn and Kalai state both conjectures (CPC 2007).
  • 2010 — Talagrand introduces fractional expectation thresholds (STOC 2010).
  • 2021 — Frankston, Kahn, Narayanan and Park prove pc=O(qflog⁡ℓ)p_c=O(q_f\log\ell)pc​=O(qf​logℓ) (Annals 2021), building on the sunflower methods of Alweiss–Lovett–Wu–Zhang (Annals 2021).
  • 2022–2025 — Mossel, Niles-Weed, Sun and Zadik obtain a single-log bound for a modified graph threshold (arXiv:2209.03326) and a Bayesian proof of the spread lemma (RSA 2025).
  • 2024 — Park and Pham prove the abstract Kahn–Kalai conjecture (JAMS 2024).
  • 2025 — Dubroff, Kahn and Park prove pc=O(pElog⁡3n)p_c=O(p_E\log^3n)pc​=O(pE​log3n) and special cases (arXiv:2508.14269, arXiv:2510.02005).
  • 2026 — Tran reduces the loss to O(log⁡2(2e(H)))O(\log^2(2e(H)))O(log2(2e(H))) and proves the conjecture for trees and other classes (arXiv:2609.20546); the OpenAI preprint claims the general case (Theorem 1.1, p. 1).

Setting

For finite simple graphs G,FG,FG,F let N(G,F)N(G,F)N(G,F) be the number of subgraphs of GGG isomorphic to FFF (ordinary, non-induced copies). G(n,p)G(n,p)G(n,p) is the random graph on [n][n][n] with each of the (n2)\binom n2(2n​) edges present independently with probability ppp. For a graph HHH with at least one edge and at most nnn vertices,

pc(n,H)=inf⁡{p∈[0,1]: Pr⁡[N(G(n,p),H)>0]≥12},p_c(n,H)=\inf\{p\in[0,1]:\ \Pr[N(G(n,p),H)>0]\ge\tfrac12\},pc​(n,H)=inf{p∈[0,1]: Pr[N(G(n,p),H)>0]≥21​}, pE(n,H)=inf⁡{p∈[0,1]: E N(G(n,p),F)≥12 for every subgraph F⊆H}.p_E(n,H)=\inf\{p\in[0,1]:\ \mathbb E\,N(G(n,p),F)\ge\tfrac12\ \text{for every subgraph }F\subseteq H\}.pE​(n,H)=inf{p∈[0,1]: EN(G(n,p),F)≥21​ for every subgraph F⊆H}.

The first is the containment threshold, the second the graph expectation threshold; always pE≤pcp_E\le p_cpE​≤pc​. Write h=e(H)h=e(H)h=e(H) for the number of edges.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1 (p. 1)

For every n≥2n\ge2n≥2 and every finite simple graph HHH with h≥1h\ge1h≥1 edges and at most nnn vertices,

pc(n,H) ≤ min⁡{1, 2048 e50 pE(n,H) (1+log⁡2h)},pc(n,H) ≤ 6144 e50 pE(n,H)log⁡2n.p_c(n,H)\ \le\ \min\bigl\{1,\ 2048\,e^{50}\,p_E(n,H)\,(1+\log_2 h)\bigr\},\qquad p_c(n,H)\ \le\ 6144\,e^{50}\,p_E(n,H)\log_2 n .pc​(n,H) ≤ min{1, 2048e50pE​(n,H)(1+log2​h)},pc​(n,H) ≤ 6144e50pE​(n,H)log2​n.

The constants are explicit and universal; HHH may vary with nnn.

Significance

The result itself. The bound says that, up to a universal constant times log⁡h\log hlogh, the only obstruction to containing HHH is a subgraph with too few expected copies. The logarithm cannot be removed: for a perfect matching pE=Θ(1/n)p_E=\Theta(1/n)pE​=Θ(1/n) while pc=Θ(log⁡n/n)p_c=\Theta(\log n/n)pc​=Θ(logn/n), because isolated vertices must disappear. This settles the problem left by the abstract Park–Pham theorem, whose bound is in terms of the possibly larger integral expectation threshold of the family of graphs containing HHH.

Formalizing it. Both thresholds are finite, explicit optimization problems over Bernoulli product measures on the edges of KnK_nKn​, so the statement is fully elementary. Mathlib has SimpleGraph.copyCount but no random-graph or threshold theory; the spread-family resampling lemma and the tree covering theorem would be reusable for other threshold results (Park–Pham, Frankston–Kahn–Narayanan–Park). No machine-checked proof of any Kahn–Kalai-type theorem is known.

Difficulty

The abstract theorem compares pcp_cpc​ with the integral expectation threshold of the family FH\mathcal F_HFH​ of edge sets containing a copy of HHH, and covers of FH\mathcal F_HFH​ may be much cheaper than the copies of a single subgraph, so it does not give a bound in terms of pEp_EpE​. Previous graph-specific approaches lost extra logarithms because each conditional extension step paid the sampling cost again. The preprint (Section 1.2, pp. 3) builds a tree of nested subgraph extensions with geometrically growing, pairwise disjoint labels along each path, and must reuse one random set at every level of the tree while keeping the spread property under conditioning (Theorem 3.1, p. 6).

Formalization scope

  • G(n,p)G(n,p)G(n,p) is encoded as a Bernoulli product weight on Finset (Edge n), where Edge n is the type of non-diagonal Sym2 (Fin n); expectations and probabilities are finite sums, defined for every real ppp but used only on [0,1][0,1][0,1].
  • expectedCopies and containmentProbability use Mathlib's copyCount of the graph built from the edge set; both are ordinary (non-induced) copies.
  • criticalThreshold and expectationThreshold are sInf over p∈[0,1]p\in[0,1]p∈[0,1]; the sets are nonempty (they contain p=1p=1p=1 when HHH has at most nnn vertices), so the infima are the true thresholds. The expectation constraint ranges over all H.Subgraphs, including subgraphs with isolated vertices, whose constraints are automatically satisfied.
  • HHH is a SimpleGraph on an arbitrary finite type V with Fintype.card V ≤ n, 2 ≤ n and at least one edge; logTwo is log⁡x/log⁡2\log x/\log 2logx/log2.
  • The constants 2048e502048e^{50}2048e50 and 6144e506144e^{50}6144e50 are hard-coded, as in the source.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, The second Kahn–Kalai conjecture, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 24, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/The-second-Kahn-Kalai-conjecture-September-24-2026/paper.pdf
  • J. Kahn, G. Kalai, Thresholds and expectation thresholds, Combin. Probab. Comput. 16 (2007), 495–502. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963548307008474
  • J. Park, H. T. Pham, A proof of the Kahn–Kalai conjecture, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 37 (2024), 235–243. https://doi.org/10.1090/jams/1028
  • K. Frankston, J. Kahn, B. Narayanan, J. Park, Thresholds versus fractional expectation-thresholds, Ann. of Math. 194 (2021), 475–495. https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2021.194.2.2
  • R. Alweiss, S. Lovett, K. Wu, J. Zhang, Improved bounds for the sunflower lemma, Ann. of Math. 194 (2021), 795–815. https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2021.194.3.5
  • M. Talagrand, Are many small sets explicitly small?, STOC 2010. https://doi.org/10.1145/1806689.1806693
  • E. Mossel, J. Niles-Weed, N. Sun, I. Zadik, On the second Kahn–Kalai conjecture, arXiv:2209.03326 (2022). https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.03326v1
  • E. Mossel, J. Niles-Weed, N. Sun, I. Zadik, A Bayesian proof of the spread lemma, Random Structures Algorithms 66 (2025), e70008. https://doi.org/10.1002/rsa.70008
  • Q. Dubroff, J. Kahn, J. Park, On the "second" Kahn–Kalai conjecture, arXiv:2508.14269 (2025). https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.14269v1
  • T. Tran, Fractional expectation thresholds and the "second" Kahn–Kalai conjecture, arXiv:2609.20546 (2026). https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20546v2
  • B. Bollobás, Threshold functions for small subgraphs, Math. Proc. Cambridge Philos. Soc. 90 (1981), 197–206. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305004100058655
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The strong thin tree conjectureResearch Paper

Motivation

A spanning tree keeps a graph connected with as few edges as possible. A spanning tree is thin if, in addition, it uses only a small fraction of the edges of every cut. Thin trees were introduced as a tool for the asymmetric traveling salesman problem (ATSP): Asadpour, Goemans, Mądry, Oveis Gharan and Saberi showed that thin trees, together with cost control, can be augmented cheaply into tours, which gave an O(log⁡n/log⁡log⁡n)O(\log n/\log\log n)O(logn/loglogn)-approximation (doi:10.1287/opre.2017.1603). Goddyn's thin tree conjecture asks whether high edge connectivity alone forces an ε\varepsilonε-thin spanning tree, independently of the number of vertices; the strong form asks for thinness C/kC/kC/k in a kkk-edge-connected graph.

Background. Goddyn recorded the conjecture in a 2004 problem list. The Nash–Williams–Tutte theorem (1961) gives ⌊k/2⌋\lfloor k/2\rfloor⌊k/2⌋ edge-disjoint spanning trees in a kkk-edge-connected graph (doi:10.1112/jlms/s1-36.1.445, doi:10.1112/jlms/s1-36.1.221), so each cut is used about 2/k2/k2/k times on average, but no single tree need be good for every cut. Oveis Gharan and Saberi proved the bound for planar and bounded-genus graphs (2011, doi:10.1137/1.9781611973082.75). Anari and Oveis Gharan obtained thinness poly(log⁡log⁡n)/k\mathrm{poly}(\log\log n)/kpoly(loglogn)/k in general (2015, arXiv:1411.4613), using the Marcus–Spielman–Srivastava interlacing-families method (doi:10.4007/annals.2015.182.1.8). Klein and Olver handled any prescribed laminar family of cuts (2023, doi:10.1109/FOCS57990.2023.00011), and Klein, Olver and Yeoh controlled all near-minimum cuts (2026, doi:10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.129). Constant-factor ATSP approximations were obtained by other means (Svensson–Tarnawski–Végh 2020, doi:10.1145/3424306; Traub–Vygen 2022, doi:10.1137/20M1339313), but the thin tree question stayed unresolved.

The source of this mission, an OpenAI preprint dated September 23, 2026, claims the strong thin tree conjecture.

Setting

Let G=(V,E)G=(V,E)G=(V,E) be a finite undirected multigraph without loops; parallel edges are counted separately. For a nonempty proper subset ∅≠S⊊V\varnothing\ne S\subsetneq V∅=S⊊V, let δG(S)\delta_G(S)δG​(S) be the set of edges with exactly one endpoint in SSS. GGG is kkk-edge-connected if ∣δG(S)∣≥k|\delta_G(S)|\ge k∣δG​(S)∣≥k for every such SSS. For an edge set T⊆ET\subseteq ET⊆E, δT(S)=δG(S)∩T\delta_T(S)=\delta_G(S)\cap TδT​(S)=δG​(S)∩T. A spanning tree TTT is α\alphaα-thin if ∣δT(S)∣≤α∣δG(S)∣|\delta_T(S)|\le\alpha|\delta_G(S)|∣δT​(S)∣≤α∣δG​(S)∣ for every nonempty proper SSS.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1 (strong thin trees)

There is a universal constant C>0C>0C>0 such that for every k≥1k\ge1k≥1, every finite loopless kkk-edge-connected multigraph with at least two vertices has a spanning tree TTT with

∣δT(S)∣≤Ck ∣δG(S)∣(∅≠S⊊V).|\delta_T(S)|\le\frac{C}{k}\,|\delta_G(S)|\qquad(\varnothing\ne S\subsetneq V).∣δT​(S)∣≤kC​∣δG​(S)∣(∅=S⊊V).

Lean: OAI.StrongThinTree.strongThinTree, open on the platform.

Significance

The order 1/k1/k1/k is optimal (two vertices joined by kkk parallel edges). The theorem would settle both Goddyn's thin tree conjecture and its strong form, removing the poly(log⁡log⁡n)\mathrm{poly}(\log\log n)poly(loglogn) loss of Anari–Oveis Gharan. It shows that connectivity alone controls all cuts at once, and gives a structural route to ATSP integrality-gap bounds through thin trees. An algorithmic version (deterministic polynomial-time construction) is the subject of the companion mission in this family. The result is claimed in an OpenAI preprint that has not been peer reviewed; no machine-checked proof exists.

Difficulty

Averaging over a Nash–Williams–Tutte packing controls each cut on average but not all cuts simultaneously: there are exponentially many cuts and a union bound over them loses a factor depending on nnn. Spectral approaches control all cuts via a matrix inequality, but spectrally thin trees need not exist when some edges have large effective resistance, which is why previous spectral arguments lost log⁡log⁡n\log\log nloglogn factors. One must instead keep a large tree packing on low-resistance edges through a sequence of sparsifications whose relative losses stay bounded.

Formalization scope

  • MultiGraph n m: vertices Fin n, edges Fin m with endpoint maps and a looplessness proof; parallel edges are distinct edges.
  • cut G T S: the edges of T with exactly one endpoint in S. Connected G T: every nonempty proper S is crossed by T. SpanningTree G T: T connected and every proper deletion disconnects.
  • EdgeConnected G k: every nonempty proper cut has at least k edges.
  • MainStatement: ∃ C > 0, ∀ k ≥ 1, ∀ n ≥ 2, ∀ G k-edge-connected, ∃ T spanning tree, ∀ S nonempty proper, |cut T S| ≤ (C/k)|cut G S| (real arithmetic).

Needed infrastructure: graph Laplacians and effective resistance, the Nash–Williams–Tutte theorem, the Marcus–Spielman–Srivastava mixed-characteristic-polynomial bound, and a Brouwer-type fixed point theorem (the paper proves the finite-dimensional case via Sperner's lemma). Contributions formalizing Theorem 2.3 (Nash–Williams–Tutte), Theorem 3.2, Theorem 4.1, Proposition 6.2 or Theorem A.1 are welcome.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, The strong thin tree conjecture, preprint, September 23, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/The-strong-thin-tree-conjecture-September-23-2026/paper.pdf
  • L. A. Goddyn, Some open problems I like, problem list, 2004.
  • A. Asadpour, M. X. Goemans, A. Mądry, S. Oveis Gharan, A. Saberi, An O(log n/log log n)-approximation algorithm for the asymmetric traveling salesman problem, Oper. Res., 2017. https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.2017.1603
  • N. Anari, S. Oveis Gharan, Effective-resistance-reducing flows, spectrally thin trees, and asymmetric TSP, FOCS, 2015. https://arxiv.org/abs/1411.4613
  • A. W. Marcus, D. A. Spielman, N. Srivastava, Interlacing families II: mixed characteristic polynomials and the Kadison–Singer problem, Ann. of Math., 2015. https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2015.182.1.8
  • S. Oveis Gharan, A. Saberi, The asymmetric traveling salesman problem on graphs with bounded genus, SODA, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1137/1.9781611973082.75
  • N. Klein, N. Olver, Thin trees for laminar families, FOCS, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1109/FOCS57990.2023.00011
  • N. Klein, N. Olver, Z. S. Yeoh, Thin trees for near minimum cuts, ICALP, 2026. https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.129
  • C. St. J. A. Nash-Williams, Edge-disjoint spanning trees of finite graphs, J. London Math. Soc., 1961. https://doi.org/10.1112/jlms/s1-36.1.445
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Sharp logarithmic exponents for fixed off-diagonal Ramsey numbersResearch Paper

Motivation: the logarithmic factor in r(s,t)r(s,t)r(s,t)

For integers s,t≥2s,t\ge2s,t≥2 the Ramsey number r(s,t)r(s,t)r(s,t) is the least NNN such that every simple graph on NNN vertices contains a clique of order sss or an independent set of order ttt. Ramsey's theorem guarantees these numbers are finite. In the off-diagonal regime, sss is fixed and t→∞t\to\inftyt→∞; the classical upper bounds give r(s,t)=Os ⁣(ts−1/(log⁡t)s−2)r(s,t)=O_s\!\left(t^{s-1}/(\log t)^{s-2}\right)r(s,t)=Os​(ts−1/(logt)s−2), while for a long time lower-bound constructions did not reach the power ts−1t^{s-1}ts−1. Once the power was settled, the remaining question was the power of log⁡t\log tlogt.

Timeline

  • 1930 — Ramsey proves finiteness of these numbers (Ramsey 1930, Thm B).
  • 1935 — Erdős and Szekeres: r(s,t)≤(s+t−2s−1)=Os(ts−1)r(s,t)\le\binom{s+t-2}{s-1}=O_s(t^{s-1})r(s,t)≤(s−1s+t−2​)=Os​(ts−1) (Erdős–Szekeres 1935).
  • 1977 — Spencer's local-lemma construction: r(s,t)=Ωs((t/log⁡t)(s+1)/2)r(s,t)=\Omega_s\big((t/\log t)^{(s+1)/2}\big)r(s,t)=Ωs​((t/logt)(s+1)/2) (Spencer 1977).
  • 1980 — Ajtai, Komlós and Szemerédi: r(s,t)=Os(ts−1/(log⁡t)s−2)r(s,t)=O_s\big(t^{s-1}/(\log t)^{s-2}\big)r(s,t)=Os​(ts−1/(logt)s−2) (AKS 1980).
  • 1995 — Kim: r(3,t)=Θ(t2/log⁡t)r(3,t)=\Theta(t^2/\log t)r(3,t)=Θ(t2/logt) (Kim 1995).
  • 2001 — Li, Rousseau and Zang: upper leading coefficient 1+o(1)1+o(1)1+o(1) (Li–Rousseau–Zang 2001).
  • 2010 — Bohman and Keevash, via the random KsK_sKs​-free process: r(s,t)=Ωs(t(s+1)/2(log⁡t)1/(s−2)−(s+1)/2)r(s,t)=\Omega_s\big(t^{(s+1)/2}(\log t)^{1/(s-2)-(s+1)/2}\big)r(s,t)=Ωs​(t(s+1)/2(logt)1/(s−2)−(s+1)/2) (Bohman–Keevash 2010, Thm 1.2).
  • 2024 — Mubayi and Verstraëte show that suitable optimally pseudorandom KsK_sKs​-free graphs would give ts−1/(log⁡t)2s−4t^{s-1}/(\log t)^{2s-4}ts−1/(logt)2s−4 (Mubayi–Verstraëte 2024); Mattheus and Verstraëte prove r(4,t)=Ω(t3/(log⁡t)4)r(4,t)=\Omega(t^3/(\log t)^4)r(4,t)=Ω(t3/(logt)4) (Mattheus–Verstraëte 2024).
  • 2026 — Bradač proves r(s,t)≥cs ts−1/(log⁡t)2s−4r(s,t)\ge c_s\,t^{s-1}/(\log t)^{2s-4}r(s,t)≥cs​ts−1/(logt)2s−4 for every s≥3s\ge3s≥3, fixing the polynomial exponent (Bradač 2026, Thm 1.1).
  • 2026 — An OpenAI preprint, Sharp logarithmic exponents for fixed off-diagonal Ramsey numbers (OpenAI Math Release, September 24, 2026), claims r(s,t)=ts−1/(log⁡t)s−2+o(1)r(s,t)=t^{s-1}/(\log t)^{s-2+o(1)}r(s,t)=ts−1/(logt)s−2+o(1) for every fixed s≥6s\ge6s≥6; a companion preprint treats s=5s=5s=5. Neither has been peer reviewed, and the main theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

A graph on NNN vertices is a SimpleGraph (Fin N). The Lean development defines

  • RamseyProperty s t N: every graph on Fin N has an sss-clique, or its complement has a ttt-clique (an independent set of size ttt);
  • ramsey s t := sInf {N | RamseyProperty s t N}, the Ramsey number r(s,t)r(s,t)r(s,t).

All logarithms are natural; real powers of log⁡t\log tlogt use Real.rpow.

Formalization targets

Goal: sharp logarithmic exponent for every fixed s≥6s\ge6s≥6

For every integer s≥6s\ge6s≥6 there is Cs>0C_s>0Cs​>0 such that for every ε>0\varepsilon>0ε>0 and every sufficiently large ttt (threshold depending on s,εs,\varepsilons,ε)

ts−1(log⁡t)s−2+ε ≤ r(s,t) ≤ Cs ts−1(log⁡t)s−2,andlim⁡t→∞(s−1)log⁡t−log⁡r(s,t)log⁡log⁡t=s−2.\frac{t^{s-1}}{(\log t)^{s-2+\varepsilon}}\ \le\ r(s,t)\ \le\ C_s\,\frac{t^{s-1}}{(\log t)^{s-2}}, \qquad\text{and}\qquad \lim_{t\to\infty}\frac{(s-1)\log t-\log r(s,t)}{\log\log t}=s-2 .(logt)s−2+εts−1​ ≤ r(s,t) ≤ Cs​(logt)s−2ts−1​,andt→∞lim​loglogt(s−1)logt−logr(s,t)​=s−2.

This is Theorem 1.1 of the source, formalized as main (s) (hs : 6 ≤ s) : MainBounds s ∧ MainLimit s. The goal is published on the platform with status Open; no machine-checked proof exists.

Significance

The result itself. Together with the companion s=5s=5s=5 preprint and the earlier results for s=3,4s=3,4s=3,4 on the polynomial exponent, the theorem identifies the exact power of log⁡t\log tlogt in r(s,t)r(s,t)r(s,t) up to (log⁡t)o(1)(\log t)^{o(1)}(logt)o(1) for each fixed sss: the classical AKS upper bound is sharp in its logarithmic exponent. It does not give a matching constant-factor lower bound. The main new ingredient is a prime-indexed construction (Theorem 1.2 of the source): for fixed d≥5d\ge5d≥5 and large primes qqq, a Kd+1K_{d+1}Kd+1​-free graph on ⌊qdlog⁡q⌋\lfloor q^d\log q\rfloor⌊qdlogq⌋ vertices with independence number below q(log⁡q)1+ηq(\log q)^{1+\eta}q(logq)1+η, built from random incident point–hyperplane flags of PG(d,q)\mathrm{PG}(d,q)PG(d,q).

Formalizing it. The upper half is classical (Proposition 7.3 of the source restates the AKS estimate for all fixed sss). The lower half is a long argument combining finite projective geometry, entropy of a selected subsequence, and incidence bounds in positive characteristic; formal verification would independently check an unrefereed claim.

Difficulty

Bradač's projective graph has the right number of vertices but its independent sets were only controlled up to logarithmic exponent 2s−42s-42s−4. Improving to s−2+o(1)s-2+o(1)s−2+o(1) requires bounding long independent sequences in a random stream of flags. A union bound over sequences loses too much, and a sequence selected from the random stream need not have independent or uniform flags. The source pays for this with an entropy lower bound on the selected sequence and a compression upper bound, which in turn requires a description theorem for sparse point–hyperplane pairs in arbitrary dimension (repeated projections and a high-rank two-row description based on a finite-field Zariski-closure inequality of Nie and Wang).

Formalization scope

  • Graphs are SimpleGraph (Fin N); independent sets are cliques of the complement graph. ramsey is an sInf, equal to r(s,t)r(s,t)r(s,t) because the defining set is nonempty by Ramsey's theorem.
  • MainBounds s fixes one C>0C>0C>0 (depending on sss) before quantifying over ε\varepsilonε; natural subtraction s - 1, s - 2 is harmless because s≥6s\ge6s≥6. MainLimit s is a Filter.Tendsto over natural ttt.
  • The case s=5s=5s=5 belongs to the companion preprint and is not part of this goal; s=3,4s=3,4s=3,4 are not covered.
  • Needed infrastructure: projective spaces over Fq\mathbb F_qFq​, Shannon entropy and conditional entropy, concentration inequalities, polynomial-method incidence bounds over finite fields, and AKS-type independent-set bounds for locally sparse graphs. The incidence and entropy layers are reusable.

Selected references

  • F. P. Ramsey, On a problem of formal logic, Proc. London Math. Soc. (2) 30 (1930), 264–286. https://doi.org/10.1112/plms/s2-30.1.264
  • P. Erdős and G. Szekeres, A combinatorial problem in geometry, Compositio Math. 2 (1935), 463–470. https://www.numdam.org/item/CM_1935__2__463_0/
  • J. Spencer, Asymptotic lower bounds for Ramsey functions, Discrete Math. 20 (1977), 69–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-365X(77)90044-9
  • M. Ajtai, J. Komlós and E. Szemerédi, A note on Ramsey numbers, J. Combin. Theory Ser. A 29 (1980), 354–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/0097-3165(80)90030-8
  • J. H. Kim, The Ramsey number R(3,t) has order of magnitude t²/log t, Random Structures Algorithms 7 (1995), 173–207. https://doi.org/10.1002/rsa.3240070302
  • Y. Li, C. C. Rousseau and W. Zang, Asymptotic upper bounds for Ramsey functions, Graphs Combin. 17 (2001), 123–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s003730170060
  • T. Bohman and P. Keevash, The early evolution of the H-free process, Invent. Math. 181 (2010), 291–336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00222-010-0247-x
  • D. Mubayi and J. Verstraëte, A note on pseudorandom Ramsey graphs, J. Eur. Math. Soc. 26 (2024), 153–161. https://doi.org/10.4171/JEMS/1359
  • S. Mattheus and J. Verstraëte, The asymptotics of r(4,t), Ann. of Math. 199 (2024), 919–941. https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2024.199.2.8
  • D. Bradač, Off-diagonal Ramsey numbers, arXiv:2605.28793 (2026). https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.28793v3
  • Z. Nie and A. Y. Wang, Hilbert functions and the finite degree Zariski closure in finite field combinatorial geometry, J. Combin. Theory Ser. A 134 (2015), 196–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcta.2015.03.011
  • OpenAI, Sharp logarithmic exponents for fixed off-diagonal Ramsey numbers, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 24, 2026 (Theorem 1.1, p. 2). https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Sharp-Logarithmic-Exponents-for-Fixed-Off-Diagonal-Ramsey-Numbers-September-24-2026/paper.pdf
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The sharp logarithmic exponent of r(5,t)Research Paper

Motivation: the growth of off-diagonal Ramsey numbers

For integers s,t≥2s,t\ge 2s,t≥2 the Ramsey number r(s,t)r(s,t)r(s,t) is the least nnn such that every simple graph on nnn vertices contains either a complete subgraph KsK_sKs​ or an independent set of ttt vertices. Determining how r(s,t)r(s,t)r(s,t) grows when sss is fixed and t→∞t\to\inftyt→∞ is one of the central problems of extremal and probabilistic combinatorics: upper bounds come from counting and local density arguments, lower bounds require explicit or random constructions of KsK_sKs​-free graphs with no large independent set, and for decades the two sides did not even agree on the power of ttt.

Timeline

  • 1935 — Erdős and Szekeres prove r(s,t)≤(s+t−2s−1)r(s,t)\le\binom{s+t-2}{s-1}r(s,t)≤(s−1s+t−2​) (Erdős–Szekeres 1935).
  • 1977 — Spencer's local-lemma method gives r(5,t)≳(t/log⁡t)3r(5,t)\gtrsim (t/\log t)^3r(5,t)≳(t/logt)3 (Spencer 1977).
  • 1980 — Ajtai, Komlós and Szemerédi improve the fixed-sss upper bound to O(ts−1/(log⁡t)s−2)O(t^{s-1}/(\log t)^{s-2})O(ts−1/(logt)s−2) (AKS 1980).
  • 1995 — Kim shows r(3,t)r(3,t)r(3,t) has order t2/log⁡tt^2/\log tt2/logt (Kim 1995).
  • 2001 — Li, Rousseau and Zang obtain upper leading constant 1+o(1)1+o(1)1+o(1) for fixed sss (Li–Rousseau–Zang 2001).
  • 2010 — Bohman and Keevash's analysis of the K5K_5K5​-free process gives r(5,t)≳t3/(log⁡t)8/3r(5,t)\gtrsim t^3/(\log t)^{8/3}r(5,t)≳t3/(logt)8/3 (Bohman–Keevash 2010, Thm 1.2).
  • 2024 — Mattheus and Verstraëte prove r(4,t)≥c t3/(log⁡t)4r(4,t)\ge c\,t^3/(\log t)^4r(4,t)≥ct3/(logt)4 via Hermitian unitals, settling the power of ttt for s=4s=4s=4 (Mattheus–Verstraëte 2024).
  • 2026 — Bradač's projective construction gives r(s,t)≥cs ts−1/(log⁡t)2s−4r(s,t)\ge c_s\,t^{s-1}/(\log t)^{2s-4}r(s,t)≥cs​ts−1/(logt)2s−4 for all s≥3s\ge3s≥3; for s=5s=5s=5 the logarithmic exponent is 666 (Bradač 2026, Thm 1.1).
  • 2026 — An OpenAI preprint, The sharp logarithmic exponent of r(5,t) (OpenAI Math Release, September 24, 2026), claims r(5,t)=t4/(log⁡t)3+o(1)r(5,t)=t^4/(\log t)^{3+o(1)}r(5,t)=t4/(logt)3+o(1), closing the gap between exponent 666 and the AKS-type exponent 333. The preprint has not been peer reviewed and its main theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

A graph on nnn vertices is a SimpleGraph (Fin n). A kkk-clique is a set of kkk pairwise adjacent vertices and a kkk-independent set a set of kkk pairwise non-adjacent vertices. The Lean development defines

  • RamseyProperty s t n: every simple graph on Fin n has an sss-clique or a ttt-independent set;
  • ramsey s t := sInf {n | RamseyProperty s t n}, the Ramsey number r(s,t)r(s,t)r(s,t).

All logarithms are natural.

Formalization targets

Goal: sharp bounds and logarithmic exponent for r(5,t)r(5,t)r(5,t)

There is an absolute constant C>0C>0C>0 such that for every ε>0\varepsilon>0ε>0 and all sufficiently large ttt (threshold depending on ε\varepsilonε)

t4(log⁡t)3+ε ≤ r(5,t) ≤ C t4(log⁡t)3,\frac{t^4}{(\log t)^{3+\varepsilon}}\ \le\ r(5,t)\ \le\ C\,\frac{t^4}{(\log t)^3},(logt)3+εt4​ ≤ r(5,t) ≤ C(logt)3t4​,

and consequently

lim⁡t→∞4log⁡t−log⁡r(5,t)log⁡log⁡t=3.\lim_{t\to\infty}\frac{4\log t-\log r(5,t)}{\log\log t}=3 .t→∞lim​loglogt4logt−logr(5,t)​=3.

This is Theorem 1.1 of the source, formalized as SharpBounds ∧ SharpExponent. The goal is published on the platform with status Open; no machine-checked proof exists.

Significance

The result itself. The theorem determines r(5,t)r(5,t)r(5,t) up to a factor (log⁡t)o(1)(\log t)^{o(1)}(logt)o(1), the first case beyond s=4s=4s=4 in which the logarithmic exponent of a fixed off-diagonal Ramsey number is known. It shows that the classical upper-bound exponent s−2=3s-2=3s−2=3 is the truth for s=5s=5s=5, and it leaves open only a constant-factor asymptotic for t4/(log⁡t)3t^4/(\log t)^3t4/(logt)3. The lower-bound construction (random incident point–hyperplane pairs in projective space PG(4,q)\mathrm{PG}(4,q)PG(4,q), ordered by position) together with its entropy/compression analysis is the new part.

Formalizing it. The upper bound is an elementary argument (triangle-free independent-set bounds plus random sampling), stated separately in the source as Theorem 2.1 for all t≥2t\ge2t≥2; its formalization is a self-contained milestone. The lower bound is a long probabilistic and finite-geometric argument whose formal verification would independently certify an unrefereed claim.

Difficulty

The lower bound needs a K5K_5K5​-free graph on about t4/(log⁡t)3+εt^4/(\log t)^{3+\varepsilon}t4/(logt)3+ε vertices with no independent set of size ttt. Random graph processes lose logarithmic factors and even the power of ttt; Bradač's projective graph has the right power but its independent sets were only controlled to logarithmic exponent 666. The obstacle is to bound long independent sequences in a random stream of flags: a direct union bound over sequences is far too weak, and the selected sequence can have a heavily biased law. The source handles this with an entropy lower bound and a matching compression (description) upper bound that relies on a new theorem about sparse point–hyperplane incidences.

Formalization scope

  • Graphs are SimpleGraph (Fin n); cliques and independent sets use Mathlib's IsNClique and IsNIndepSet. ramsey is an sInf, which is the true Ramsey number because the defining set is nonempty by Ramsey's theorem; a proof must use that nonemptiness rather than the junk value 0.
  • SharpBounds fixes one C>0C>0C>0 before ε\varepsilonε; the threshold t0t_0t0​ may depend on ε\varepsilonε. The power (log⁡t)3+ε(\log t)^{3+\varepsilon}(logt)3+ε is Real.rpow. SharpExponent is a Filter.Tendsto statement over natural ttt with real logarithms.
  • Needed infrastructure: finite projective geometry over Fq\mathbb F_qFq​, entropy and conditional entropy of finite random variables, concentration inequalities, and independent-set bounds for triangle-free graphs (Shearer/AKS type). The upper-bound half and the triangle-free bounds are reusable in other Ramsey formalizations.

Selected references

  • P. Erdős and G. Szekeres, A combinatorial problem in geometry, Compositio Math. 2 (1935), 463–470. https://www.numdam.org/item/CM_1935__2__463_0/
  • J. Spencer, Asymptotic lower bounds for Ramsey functions, Discrete Math. 20 (1977), 69–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-365X(77)90044-9
  • M. Ajtai, J. Komlós and E. Szemerédi, A note on Ramsey numbers, J. Combin. Theory Ser. A 29 (1980), 354–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/0097-3165(80)90030-8
  • J. H. Kim, The Ramsey number R(3,t) has order of magnitude t²/log t, Random Structures Algorithms 7 (1995), 173–207. https://doi.org/10.1002/rsa.3240070302
  • Y. Li, C. C. Rousseau and W. Zang, Asymptotic upper bounds for Ramsey functions, Graphs Combin. 17 (2001), 123–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s003730170060
  • T. Bohman and P. Keevash, The early evolution of the H-free process, Invent. Math. 181 (2010), 291–336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00222-010-0247-x
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A power saving for planar unit distancesResearch Paper

Motivation

The unit-distance problem of Erdős asks how many pairs among nnn points in the plane can be at distance exactly one. By rescaling, this is the same as asking how often a single distance can repeat. It is one of the central extremal questions of combinatorial geometry and a benchmark for incidence methods. The bound u(n)=O(n4/3)u(n)=O(n^{4/3})u(n)=O(n4/3) of Spencer, Szemerédi and Trotter (1984) has resisted improvement of its exponent for four decades, and the same exponent is sharp for the closely related Szemerédi–Trotter point–line incidence theorem, so any improvement must use geometry specific to circles in the Euclidean plane.

This mission formalizes the main theorem of an OpenAI preprint dated September 23, 2026 (source), which claims a fixed power saving: u(n)=O(nβ)u(n)=O(n^{\beta})u(n)=O(nβ) for some absolute β<4/3\beta<4/3β<4/3. The preprint has not been peer reviewed and its claims have not been independently verified; on the platform the Lean goal is open (stated, not yet proved).

Background

  • 1946 — Erdős introduces the problem and the lattice lower bound n1+c/log⁡log⁡nn^{1+c/\log\log n}n1+c/loglogn (Amer. Math. Monthly 1946).
  • 1982–1983 — The crossing inequality of Ajtai, Chvátal, Newborn and Szemerédi (1982) and Leighton (1983).
  • 1984 — Spencer, Szemerédi and Trotter prove u(n)=O(n4/3)u(n)=O(n^{4/3})u(n)=O(n4/3) (Unit distances in the Euclidean plane, Graph Theory and Combinatorics, 1984).
  • 1997 — Székely's crossing-number proof and incidence theorem for curves (CPC 1997).
  • 2022 — Ágoston and Pálvölgyi improve the leading constant (Studia Sci. Math. Hungar. 2022).
  • 2026 — Pach, Raz and Solymosi obtain a logarithmic improvement conditional on a rigidity conjecture (SoCG 2026). Erdős's conjecture u(n)=n1+o(1)u(n)=n^{1+o(1)}u(n)=n1+o(1) is disproved by an OpenAI construction with n1+εn^{1+\varepsilon}n1+ε unit distances, simplified by Alon, Bloom, Gowers, Litt et al. (arXiv:2605.20695) and sharpened by Sawin to n1.014114n^{1.014114}n1.014114 (arXiv:2605.20579).
  • September 2026 — The OpenAI preprint claims the upper exponent can be lowered below 4/34/34/3 (Theorem 1.1, p. 1).

Setting

For a finite set X⊂R2X\subset\mathbb R^2X⊂R2 let

u(X)=#{{x,y}⊂X: ∥x−y∥=1},u(X)=\#\bigl\{\{x,y\}\subset X:\ \|x-y\|=1\bigr\},u(X)=#{{x,y}⊂X: ∥x−y∥=1},

the number of unordered pairs of distinct points at Euclidean distance one, and let

u(n)=max⁡X⊂R2, ∣X∣=nu(X).u(n)=\max_{X\subset\mathbb R^2,\ |X|=n}u(X).u(n)=X⊂R2, ∣X∣=nmax​u(X).

The maximum exists because u(X)≤(n2)u(X)\le\binom n2u(X)≤(2n​).

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1 (p. 1)

There are absolute constants 0<C<∞0<C<\infty0<C<∞ and 1≤β<4/31\le\beta<4/31≤β<4/3 such that

u(n)≤C nβfor every integer n≥0.u(n)\le C\,n^{\beta}\qquad\text{for every integer }n\ge0.u(n)≤Cnβfor every integer n≥0.

Equivalently, u(n)=O(n4/3−δ)u(n)=O(n^{4/3-\delta})u(n)=O(n4/3−δ) for an absolute δ>0\delta>0δ>0. The goal leaves CCC and β\betaβ unspecified, so it is stable under any later numerical improvement.

Significance

The result itself. It answers the long-standing question of whether the Spencer–Szemerédi–Trotter exponent 4/34/34/3 can be lowered by a fixed amount. Combined with the recent lower bounds u(n)≥n1+εu(n)\ge n^{1+\varepsilon}u(n)≥n1+ε along a sequence, it confines the true exponent to an interval strictly inside (1,4/3)(1,4/3)(1,4/3). Because point–line incidences do attain n4/3n^{4/3}n4/3, the result also isolates a genuine difference between unit circles and lines in incidence geometry.

Formalizing it. The proof combines random cuttings in the Clarkson–Shor framework, an entropy-based prediction lemma, the product formula and absolute heights of algebraic numbers, and an algebraic obstruction using derivations and valuations of function fields. A formal proof would add these to Mathlib and would also require the O(n4/3)O(n^{4/3})O(n4/3) bound itself (via the crossing lemma) as background. No machine-checked unit-distance bound beyond trivial ones is known.

Difficulty

Every known proof of O(n4/3)O(n^{4/3})O(n4/3) uses only two combinatorial properties of unit circles (two circles meet in at most two points; two points lie on at most two unit circles), and those properties are shared by systems attaining n4/3n^{4/3}n4/3, so no argument using only them can save a power. The saving must exploit arithmetic or algebraic rigidity of the Euclidean metric. In the preprint the scheme is a contradiction argument on a hypothetical sequence with t4−o(1)t^{4-o(1)}t4−o(1) unit pairs among t3t^3t3 points: transfer to number fields, measure edge-jump profiles at all absolute values, and show that either a bounded-scale configuration violates a determinant identity (Proposition 4.4, p. 19) or a dense pair graph with low-height rectangle products arises, which is excluded algebraically (Proposition 8.1, p. 42). The hard step is transferring concentration from predicted states to actual points under the true edge and history laws (Lemma 6.2, p. 29).

Formalization scope

  • Points are in EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin 2); unitPairCount X counts elements of X.sym2 (unordered pairs, diagonal included but never at distance 111) with dist = 1.
  • u n is the natural-number sSup of unitPairCount X over nnn-element Finsets; the set is nonempty and bounded by (n2)\binom n2(2n​), so it is the true maximum.
  • The goal is ∃ C β : ℝ, 0 < C ∧ 1 ≤ β ∧ β < 4/3 ∧ ∀ n, (u n : ℝ) ≤ C * n ^ β with real-power exponent. At n=0n=0n=0 both sides vanish.
  • There is no trivialization: β<4/3\beta<4/3β<4/3 is strict and the bound must hold for every nnn with constants independent of the configuration.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, A power saving for planar unit distances, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 23, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/A-power-saving-for-planar-unit-distances-September-23-2026/paper.pdf
  • P. Erdős, On sets of distances of n points, Amer. Math. Monthly 53 (1946), 248–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/00029890.1946.11991674
  • J. Spencer, E. Szemerédi, W. T. Trotter, Unit distances in the Euclidean plane, Graph Theory and Combinatorics (1984). https://trotter.math.gatech.edu/papers/44.pdf
  • L. A. Székely, Crossing numbers and hard Erdős problems in discrete geometry, Combin. Probab. Comput. (1997). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963548397002976
  • P. Ágoston, D. Pálvölgyi, An improved constant factor for the unit distance problem, Studia Sci. Math. Hungar. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1556/012.2022.01517
  • J. Pach, O. E. Raz, J. Solymosi, Erdős's unit distance problem and rigidity, SoCG 2026. https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.83
  • N. Alon, T. F. Bloom, W. T. Gowers, D. Litt et al., Remarks on the disproof of the unit distance conjecture, arXiv:2605.20695 (2026). https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.20695v1
  • W. Sawin, An explicit lower bound for the unit distance problem, arXiv:2605.20579 (2026). https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.20579v1
  • K. L. Clarkson, P. W. Shor, Applications of random sampling in computational geometry, II, Discrete Comput. Geom. (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02187740
  • N. H. Katz, G. Tardos, A new entropy inequality for the Erdős distance problem, Contemp. Math. 342 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1090/conm/342/06136
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