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Algebra

92 missions · 41 completed

The study of algebraic structures — groups, rings, and fields — and, through algebraic geometry, the geometry of the solution sets of polynomial equations. Using commutative algebra to describe these varieties, the field provides a common language of symmetry and structure that underlies much of modern mathematics.

Missions

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AnalysisCombinatoricsFunctional Analysis+3·Captain: Lucas

Formal Conjectures Portfolio: Bateman-Horn and CompanionsOpen Problem

1. Motivation

Wikipedia's pages on open problems are, for many mathematicians, the first contact with a conjecture: a one-paragraph statement, a short history, a list of partial results. The Formal Conjectures library (Google DeepMind, Apache-2.0) turned a large part of that material into Lean 4 statements, so that the conjectures can be attacked — and, just as importantly, stated unambiguously — by machine.

This mission ports a coherent slice of that material to Prove2Me. It is deliberately a portfolio mission: the goal theorem is the Bateman–Horn conjecture, the strongest single statement in the collection, and the milestone list gathers the other conjectures and the landmark theorems that surround them. Some milestones are genuine steps toward the goal (the Bunyakovsky conjecture is literally the one-polynomial case); most are independent open problems from other fields, grouped here because they share a source, a level of difficulty, and a need for faithful formal statements. A reader should not assume that proving a milestone advances the goal theorem. The mission's value is that every statement in it has been written against the same Mathlib revision, checked to compile, and documented well enough to be attacked.

A rough timeline of the collection's landmarks:

  • 1947 — Mills: a real A>1A>1A>1 with ⌊A3n⌋\lfloor A^{3^n}\rfloor⌊A3n⌋ always prime.
  • 1962 — Radó: the busy beaver function outgrows every computable function.
  • 1971 — Davies: planar Kakeya sets have Hausdorff dimension 222.
  • 1978 — Apéry: ζ(3)\zeta(3)ζ(3) is irrational.
  • 1985 — Read (after Enflo, 1981): an operator on ℓ1\ell^1ℓ1 with no nontrivial closed invariant subspace.
  • 2001 — Zudilin: one of ζ(5),ζ(7),ζ(9),ζ(11)\zeta(5),\zeta(7),\zeta(9),\zeta(11)ζ(5),ζ(7),ζ(9),ζ(11) is irrational.
  • 2002 — Mihăilescu: 888 and 999 are the only consecutive perfect powers (Catalan's conjecture).
  • 2009 / 2021 — Dvir; Bukh–Chao: the finite-field Kakeya bound and its sharp density constant.
  • 2021 — Gardam: Kaplansky's unit conjecture is false (its zero-divisor and idempotent companions remain open).
  • 2024 — Saito: Mills' constant is irrational; bbchallenge: BB(5)=47 176 870\mathrm{BB}(5)=47\,176\,870BB(5)=47176870.
  • 2025 — Wang–Zahl: the Kakeya set conjecture in R3\mathbb{R}^3R3.

2. Setting

The goal theorem concerns prime values of polynomials. Fix a finite set S={f1,…,fk}⊆Z[X]S=\{f_1,\dots,f_k\}\subseteq\mathbb{Z}[X]S={f1​,…,fk​}⊆Z[X] of distinct polynomials. Say that fff satisfies the Bunyakovsky condition if its leading coefficient is positive, deg⁡f≥1\deg f\ge 1degf≥1, and fff is irreducible over Z\mathbb{Z}Z; say that SSS satisfies the Schinzel condition if for every prime ppp there is an integer nnn with p∤f1(n)⋯fk(n)p\nmid f_1(n)\cdots f_k(n)p∤f1​(n)⋯fk​(n) — i.e. no fixed prime divides the product at every argument.

For a prime ppp let ωp(S)\omega_p(S)ωp​(S) be the number of residue classes n mod pn \bmod pnmodp at which some fif_ifi​ vanishes, let D=∏ideg⁡fiD=\prod_i \deg f_iD=∏i​degfi​, and let

πS(x)=#{ n≤x:∣fi(n)∣ is prime for every i }.\pi_S(x)=\#\{\,n\le x : |f_i(n)| \text{ is prime for every } i\,\}.πS​(x)=#{n≤x:∣fi​(n)∣ is prime for every i}.

The Bateman–Horn constant is the (conditionally convergent) Euler product

C=lim⁡N→∞ ∏p<N(1−1p)−k(1−ωp(S)p).C=\lim_{N\to\infty}\ \prod_{p<N}\Big(1-\tfrac1p\Big)^{-k}\Big(1-\tfrac{\omega_p(S)}{p}\Big).C=N→∞lim​ p<N∏​(1−p1​)−k(1−pωp​(S)​).

The other groups use their own vocabulary, each fixed in a definition item of this mission: Kakeya sets in Rn\mathbb{R}^nRn and over Fq\mathbb{F}_qFq​; Mills' property ⌊A3n⌋∈P\lfloor A^{3^n}\rfloor \in \mathbb{P}⌊A3n⌋∈P; Wagstaff primes and Catalan–Mersenne numbers; polynomial self-maps and their Jacobian matrix; nontrivial closed invariant subspaces; linear extensions of a finite poset; Catalan's constant; and an explicit two-symbol Turing machine model with its maximum-shifts function BB\mathrm{BB}BB.

3. Target

The goal theorem is the Bateman–Horn asymptotic: under the Bunyakovsky and Schinzel hypotheses, CCC exists and is positive and

πS(x) ∼ CD x(log⁡x)k(x→∞).\pi_S(x)\ \sim\ \frac{C}{D}\,\frac{x}{(\log x)^{k}}\qquad (x\to\infty).πS​(x) ∼ DC​(logx)kx​(x→∞).

Weaker statements in the same direction appear as milestones, first of all Bunyakovsky's conjecture: under the same hypotheses with k=1k=1k=1, fff takes prime values infinitely often. The remaining milestones are listed in the milestone panel and are grouped by subject: Diophantine equations (Brocard, Pillai, Lebesgue–Nagell, Catalan/Mihăilescu), Mersenne-type primality (New Mersenne, infinitude of Mersenne primes, Catalan–Mersenne), prime-representing constants (Mills), geometric measure theory (Kakeya in Rn\mathbb{R}^nRn, Kakeya over Fq\mathbb{F}_qFq​, Falconer), operator theory (invariant subspace problem and Read's ℓ1\ell^1ℓ1 counterexample), group algebras (Kaplansky's zero-divisor and idempotent conjectures), affine algebraic geometry (the two-variable Jacobian conjecture), irrationality and transcendence (ζ(5)\zeta(5)ζ(5), all odd zeta values, Zudilin's theorem, e+πe+\pie+π, eπe\pieπ, γ\gammaγ, Catalan's constant), order theory (the 1/31/31/3–2/32/32/3 conjecture), and computability (Radó's theorem).

4. Significance

The results themselves. Bateman–Horn is the quantitative form of Schinzel's hypothesis H: it contains the twin prime conjecture, the infinitude of primes of the form n2+1n^2+1n2+1, and Bunyakovsky as special cases, and it is the standard heuristic behind prime-counting predictions. The other targets are each the headline question of their area: whether every bounded Hilbert-space operator has an invariant subspace; whether group algebras of torsion-free groups are domains; whether Kakeya sets must have full dimension. The solved milestones (Mihăilescu, Davies, Dvir, Zudilin, Read, Saito, Radó) are landmarks whose formal proofs would be significant library contributions in their own right.

Formalizing them. None of the open statements is expected to fall here; the concrete deliverable is a set of faithful, compiling, reusable statements plus formal proofs of the solved milestones, most of which are not in Mathlib today. Several are realistically in reach: the finite-field Kakeya bound (Dvir's polynomial method is short), the elementary fact that π+e\pi+eπ+e and πe\pi eπe cannot both be algebraic, and Radó's diagonal argument.

5. Difficulty

For Bateman–Horn, the obstruction is visible already for k=1k=1k=1, deg⁡f=2\deg f = 2degf=2: sieve methods bound πS(x)\pi_S(x)πS​(x) from above by a constant times the conjectured main term and produce almost-primes, but the parity problem blocks every known sieve from producing a single prime value of an irreducible quadratic. The conditional convergence of the Euler product is a second, smaller trap: the product over p<Np<Np<N must be taken in order, so any reformulation as an unordered infinite product changes the statement.

Each other group has its own obstruction, and they do not transfer: the parity problem says nothing about Kakeya, where the difficulty is that dimension is not stable under the natural compactness arguments, nor about the invariant subspace problem, where the known counterexamples on ℓ1\ell^1ℓ1 show that no soft argument can work.

6. Formalization scope

Conventions this mission commits to, all fixed in the definition items:

  • Polynomials are elements of ℤ[X]; primality of a polynomial value is primality of its absolute value, and the counting function ranges over natural numbers n≤⌊x⌋n \le \lfloor x\rfloorn≤⌊x⌋.
  • The Bateman–Horn constant is the limit of the ordered partial products over p<Np<Np<N, not an unordered infinite product.
  • Kakeya sets carry no compactness or measurability hypothesis, matching the source; the conjecture is stated as an equality of Hausdorff dimensions in [0,∞][0,\infty][0,∞].
  • Falconer's hypothesis is written d<2dim⁡HEd < 2\dim_H Ed<2dimH​E to avoid division in [0,∞][0,\infty][0,∞].
  • Torsion-freeness of a group is spelled out as "every element of finite order is the identity", which is the hypothesis the source intends (it is weaker than Mathlib's IsMulTorsionFree).
  • Linear extensions are order-preserving bijections onto {0,…,∣P∣−1}\{0,\dots,|P|-1\}{0,…,∣P∣−1}, and probabilities are quotients of set cardinalities in Q\mathbb{Q}Q.
  • The busy beaver model is an explicit nnn-state, 222-symbol machine with a bi-infinite Boolean tape; BB\mathrm{BB}BB counts transitions performed (maximum shifts), the halting transition included, and BB(0)=0\mathrm{BB}(0)=0BB(0)=0.
  • Several source statements are phrased as "is XXX true?" with an unknown answer. Prove2Me statements must be definite, so each such question is recorded in its affirmative form (e.g. "e+πe+\pie+π is irrational"); a solver who can refute one should submit a disproof. The one question with no statable answer, "what is BB(6)\mathrm{BB}(6)BB(6)?", is replaced by Radó's growth theorem rather than guessed at.
  • Nothing here is vacuous: each hypothesis set is satisfiable (e.g. closed unit balls are Kakeya sets, and X2+1X^2+1X2+1 satisfies the Bunyakovsky and Schinzel conditions).

Contributions welcome: proofs of the solved milestones; sharper variants; and additional faithful statements from the same source library, which contains far more than fits in one mission.

7. Selected references

  • P. T. Bateman and R. A. Horn, A heuristic asymptotic formula concerning the distribution of prime numbers, Math. Comp. 16 (1962), 363–367. DOI
  • T. Radó, On non-computable functions, Bell System Tech. J. 41 (1962), 877–884. DOI
  • R. O. Davies, Some remarks on the Kakeya problem, Math. Proc. Cambridge Philos. Soc. 69 (1971), 417–421. DOI
  • C. J. Read, A solution to the invariant subspace problem on the space ℓ1\ell_1ℓ1​, Bull. London Math. Soc. 17 (1985), 305–317. DOI
  • K. Falconer, On the Hausdorff dimensions of distance sets, Mathematika 32 (1985), 206–212. DOI
  • W. Zudilin, One of the numbers ζ(5),ζ(7),ζ(9),ζ(11)\zeta(5),\zeta(7),\zeta(9),\zeta(11)ζ(5),ζ(7),ζ(9),ζ(11) is irrational, Russian Math. Surveys 56 (2001), 774–776. DOI
  • P. Mihăilescu, Primary cyclotomic units and a proof of Catalan's conjecture, J. reine angew. Math. 572 (2004), 167–195. DOI
  • Z. Dvir, On the size of Kakeya sets in finite fields, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 22 (2009), 1093–1097. DOI
  • B. Bukh and T.-W. Chao, Sharp density bounds on the finite field Kakeya problem, Discrete Analysis 26 (2021). DOI
  • G. Gardam, A counterexample to the unit conjecture for group rings, Ann. of Math. 194 (2021), 967–979. DOI
  • K. Saito, Mills' constant is irrational, Mathematika 71 (2025), e70027. arXiv:2404.19461
  • H. Wang and J. Zahl, Volume estimates for unions of convex sets, and the Kakeya set conjecture in three dimensions, arXiv:2502.17655
  • Google DeepMind, Formal Conjectures, Apache-2.0, github.com/google-deepmind/formal-conjectures

Provenance note. The Lean statements in this mission are adaptations of the Formal Conjectures library (Apache-2.0), rewritten to depend only on Mathlib and on this mission's own definition items, and checked to compile against the platform's Mathlib revision. Each draft item carries a read-back; those read-backs are non-blind — they were written by the same agent that drafted the statements, and each says so in its first line. They are documentation, not independent testimony.

93 thms14 active usersReviewed
🏆Completed
Captain: Lucas

Fundamental Theorem of Galois Theory I: Galois Extensions and the Galois CorrespondenceTextbook

Motivation

Many questions about polynomial equations — which equations can be solved by radicals, which geometric constructions are possible with ruler and compass, how the roots of a polynomial are related — become questions about the symmetries of a field extension. The fundamental theorem of Galois theory, going back to Évariste Galois, is the dictionary that makes this possible: for a finite Galois extension it matches intermediate fields with subgroups of a finite group, so that questions about fields become questions in finite group theory. The same dictionary underlies Kummer theory and class field theory, and it is the step that turns the unsolvability of the general quintic (Abel–Ruffini) into a statement about solvable groups.

This mission follows the Wikipedia article Fundamental theorem of Galois theory (revision 1345286594): its main statement, its list of properties of the correspondence, three of its worked examples, and its section on the infinite case.

Setting

A field extension E/FE/FE/F is a field EEE with a field FFF inside it; it is finite when EEE is finite-dimensional as an FFF-vector space, of dimension [E:F][E:F][E:F]. An intermediate field is a field KKK with F⊆K⊆EF \subseteq K \subseteq EF⊆K⊆E. The automorphism group G=Aut⁡(E/F)G = \operatorname{Aut}(E/F)G=Aut(E/F) is the group of field automorphisms σ\sigmaσ of EEE with σ(a)=a\sigma(a) = aσ(a)=a for every a∈Fa \in Fa∈F.

The two maps of the correspondence are:

  • for a subgroup H≤GH \le GH≤G, the fixed field EH={x∈E:σ(x)=x for all σ∈H}E^H = \{x \in E : \sigma(x) = x \text{ for all } \sigma \in H\}EH={x∈E:σ(x)=x for all σ∈H};
  • for an intermediate field KKK, the fixing subgroup Aut⁡(E/K)={σ∈G:σ(x)=x for all x∈K}\operatorname{Aut}(E/K) = \{\sigma \in G : \sigma(x) = x \text{ for all } x \in K\}Aut(E/K)={σ∈G:σ(x)=x for all x∈K}.

The extension is Galois when it is normal and separable; for a finite extension this is equivalent to ∣G∣=[E:F]|G| = [E:F]∣G∣=[E:F]. When E/FE/FE/F is Galois, GGG is written Gal⁡(E/F)\operatorname{Gal}(E/F)Gal(E/F).

For an infinite algebraic Galois extension, GGG carries the Krull topology: the coarsest topology for which each restriction map G→Gal⁡(L/F)G \to \operatorname{Gal}(L/F)G→Gal(L/F), with L/FL/FL/F a finite Galois subextension and Gal⁡(L/F)\operatorname{Gal}(L/F)Gal(L/F) discrete, is continuous.

Formalization targets

Goal: Galois if and only if the correspondence is one-to-one

For a finite extension E/FE/FE/F,

E/F is Galois  ⟺  (∀K, EAut⁡(E/K)=K) and (∀H≤G, Aut⁡(E/EH)=H).E/F \text{ is Galois} \iff \Big(\forall K,\ E^{\operatorname{Aut}(E/K)} = K\Big) \text{ and } \Big(\forall H \le G,\ \operatorname{Aut}(E/E^H) = H\Big).E/F is Galois⟺(∀K, EAut(E/K)=K) and (∀H≤G, Aut(E/EH)=H).

Milestones

  1. Basic form (forward direction of the goal, already on the platform): for finite Galois E/FE/FE/F the two maps are mutually inverse.
  2. Non-Galois case: for finite non-Galois E/FE/FE/F, H↦EHH \mapsto E^HH↦EH is injective but not surjective, K↦Aut⁡(E/K)K \mapsto \operatorname{Aut}(E/K)K↦Aut(E/K) is surjective but not injective, and FFF is not the fixed field of any subgroup.
  3. Inclusion reversing: H1≤H2  ⟺  EH2⊆EH1H_1 \le H_2 \iff E^{H_2} \subseteq E^{H_1}H1​≤H2​⟺EH2​⊆EH1​.
  4. Degrees: [E:EH]=∣H∣[E : E^H] = |H|[E:EH]=∣H∣ and [EH:F]=[G:H][E^H : F] = [G : H][EH:F]=[G:H].
  5. Normality: EH/FE^H/FEH/F is normal   ⟺  \iff⟺ HHH is a normal subgroup.
  6. Quotient: if HHH is normal, restriction to EHE^HEH induces an isomorphism G/H≅Gal⁡(EH/F)G/H \cong \operatorname{Gal}(E^H/F)G/H≅Gal(EH/F).
  7. Example 1: K=Q(2,3)K = \mathbb{Q}(\sqrt2, \sqrt3)K=Q(2​,3​) has degree 444, is Galois, its Galois group is a Klein four-group, and it has five subgroups and five intermediate fields.
  8. Example 2: the splitting field of x3−2x^3 - 2x3−2 over Q\mathbb{Q}Q has degree 666, Galois group ≅S3\cong S_3≅S3​, six subgroups and six intermediate fields.
  9. Example 4: Q(23)\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt[3]{2})Q(32​) has degree 333, trivial automorphism group, and is not Galois.
  10. Infinite case, well-definedness: for any Galois extension, Aut⁡(E/K)\operatorname{Aut}(E/K)Aut(E/K) is closed in the Krull topology.
  11. Infinite case (already on the platform): intermediate fields correspond bijectively to closed subgroups.

Significance

The result. The correspondence turns the lattice of intermediate fields of a finite Galois extension into the (reversed) lattice of subgroups of a finite group, with degrees matching indices and normal subextensions matching normal subgroups. This is the tool used to classify subfields, to compute Galois groups of explicit polynomials, and to prove that solvability by radicals corresponds to solvability of the Galois group.

Formalizing it. The theorems are classical, and Mathlib contains formal proofs of the general finite and infinite correspondences (for example IsGalois.intermediateFieldEquivSubgroup and the InfiniteGalois namespace). This mission's contribution is a statement set indexed by the source: the converse direction ("only if Galois") as the goal, the non-Galois behaviour, each listed property, and the concrete examples of the article. The explicit examples require genuine computation: degrees of towers, minimal polynomials, and counting subgroups and subfields.

Difficulty

The general statements reduce to Artin's theorem and a degree count, but the non-Galois milestone asks for four separate claims about injectivity and surjectivity, each needing the correct direction of Artin's theorem. The examples cannot be settled by a general principle: showing that Q(2,3)\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt2,\sqrt3)Q(2​,3​) has exactly five intermediate fields, or that the splitting field of x3−2x^3-2x3−2 has degree 666, requires irreducibility arguments and an explicit transfer through the correspondence. Showing that Q(23)\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt[3]2)Q(32​) has no non-trivial automorphism requires knowing that the other two roots of x3−2x^3-2x3−2 are not real.

Formalization scope

All statements use Mathlib's IntermediateField F E, IntermediateField.fixedField, IntermediateField.fixingSubgroup, the automorphism group E ≃ₐ[F] E, and IsGalois (normal and separable). Finite means FiniteDimensional F E. Subgroups in the finite statements range over all subgroups; in the infinite case the Krull topology is Mathlib's standard topology on E ≃ₐ[F] E. Degrees are Module.finrank, orders are Nat.card, and the index is Subgroup.index. The concrete fields of the examples are taken inside R\mathbb{R}R (for Q(2,3)\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt2,\sqrt3)Q(2​,3​) and Q(23)\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt[3]2)Q(32​), with 23=21/3\sqrt[3]2 = 2^{1/3}32​=21/3 the real cube root) or as the abstract splitting field (for x3−2x^3-2x3−2). The quotient milestone takes the normality of HHH and of EH/FE^H/FEH/F as instance hypotheses; they are equivalent by milestone 5, so neither is vacuous.

The article's Example 3 (the anharmonic group acting on C(λ)\mathbb{C}(\lambda)C(λ)) and the "Applications" section are out of scope for this first mission. No new definitions are needed; contributions of proofs for any milestone are welcome.

Selected references

  • Wikipedia, Fundamental theorem of Galois theory, revision 1345286594. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fundamental_theorem_of_Galois_theory&oldid=1345286594
  • J. S. Milne, Fields and Galois Theory, Kea Books, 2022. https://www.jmilne.org/math/CourseNotes/ft.html
  • The Stacks Project, Theorem 9.21.7 (Fundamental theorem of Galois theory). https://stacks.math.columbia.edu/tag/09DW
  • The Stacks Project, Theorem 9.22.4 (Fundamental theorem of infinite Galois theory). https://stacks.math.columbia.edu/tag/0BML
  • L. Ribes, P. Zalesskii, Profinite Groups, Springer, 2010. ISBN 978-3-642-01641-7.
12 thms6 active usersReviewed
Number Theory·Captain: quesswho

Collapsible CubicsOpen Problem

Motivation

A polynomial f∈Q[x]f \in \mathbb{Q}[x]f∈Q[x] is split if deg⁡f≥1\deg f \ge 1degf≥1 and f(x)=a∏i=1n(x−ri)f(x) = a\prod_{i=1}^{n}(x - r_i)f(x)=a∏i=1n​(x−ri​) for some a∈Q×a \in \mathbb{Q}^\timesa∈Q× and r1,…,rn∈Qr_1,\dots,r_n \in \mathbb{Q}r1​,…,rn​∈Q. Split polynomials are the simplest non-constant maps defined over Q\mathbb{Q}Q that one can apply to an algebraic number: they are exactly the rational polynomials all of whose roots are rational. The question here is how much such a map can do — whether it can always push an algebraic number back down into Q\mathbb{Q}Q.

Say α\alphaα is kkk-collapsible if there are split f1,…,fkf_1,\dots,f_kf1​,…,fk​ with (fk∘⋯∘f1)(α)∈Q(f_k \circ \cdots \circ f_1)(\alpha) \in \mathbb{Q}(fk​∘⋯∘f1​)(α)∈Q, collapsible if it is 111-collapsible, and eventually collapsible if it is kkk-collapsible for some k≥1k \ge 1k≥1. Problem 3 of Griffin Macris's list of open problems asks whether every algebraic number is eventually collapsible. The two notions come apart at degree 333: Jordi Ribes settled the cubic case of eventual collapsibility using a composition of three split polynomials, and for eventual collapsibility the open frontier is deg⁡α≥4\deg\alpha \ge 4degα≥4. For the one-step notion the picture is different — degrees 111 and 222 are settled, and degree 333 is open. That one-step cubic case is this mission's goal.

Setting

Let α\alphaα be an algebraic number with [Q(α):Q]=3[\mathbb{Q}(\alpha):\mathbb{Q}] = 3[Q(α):Q]=3. After an affine change of variable over Q\mathbb{Q}Q one may assume α\alphaα is a root of a depressed cubic

m(x)=x3+d x+e,d,e∈Q,m(x) = x^3 + d\,x + e, \qquad d, e \in \mathbb{Q},m(x)=x3+dx+e,d,e∈Q,

with discriminant Δ=disc⁡(m)=−4d3−27e2\Delta = \operatorname{disc}(m) = -4d^3 - 27e^2Δ=disc(m)=−4d3−27e2. When Δ>0\Delta > 0Δ>0 the cubic is totally real (three real roots); when Δ<0\Delta < 0Δ<0 it has one real root and a complex-conjugate pair. In the latter case write the roots as

α1=−2u,α2,3=u±iv,d=v2−3u2,e=2u(u2+v2),\alpha_1 = -2u, \qquad \alpha_{2,3} = u \pm iv, \qquad d = v^2 - 3u^2, \quad e = 2u(u^2 + v^2),α1​=−2u,α2,3​=u±iv,d=v2−3u2,e=2u(u2+v2),

and set ψ=arctan⁡(3u/v)\psi = \arctan(3u/v)ψ=arctan(3u/v), the parameter that controls the archimedean obstruction below. Scaling α↦wα\alpha \mapsto w\alphaα↦wα sends (d,e)↦(w2d,w3e)(d,e) \mapsto (w^2 d, w^3 e)(d,e)↦(w2d,w3e), so the single rational invariant

τ=e2/d3\tau = e^2/d^3τ=e2/d3

determines the problem up to scaling: the search space is one rational parameter, not two.

Formalization targets

Goal — every cubic algebraic number is collapsible

∀ α∈C,[Q(α):Q]=3 ⟹ ∃ f split with f(α)∈Q.\forall\, \alpha \in \mathbb{C}, \quad [\mathbb{Q}(\alpha):\mathbb{Q}] = 3 \ \Longrightarrow\ \exists\, f \text{ split with } f(\alpha) \in \mathbb{Q}.∀α∈C,[Q(α):Q]=3 ⟹ ∃f split with f(α)∈Q.

This is the weakest statement that settles the case: it fixes no bound on deg⁡f\deg fdegf, and asserts only that some split fff exists. A version with a degree bound would be strictly stronger and is not the goal, because no such bound is known — indeed the archimedean milestone below shows no uniform one can exist.

Supporting targets

The milestone list runs from the reformulation and the invariance reductions, through the known sufficient conditions, to the two obstructions and the two genuinely open sub-targets. Ordered as they are stated there:

  1. the product criterion — α\alphaα is collapsible iff ∏i(α−ri)∈Q\prod_i(\alpha - r_i) \in \mathbb{Q}∏i​(α−ri​)∈Q for some nonempty finite multiset of rationals, which turns collapsibility into a multiplicative relation in K×/Q×K^\times/\mathbb{Q}^\timesK×/Q×;
  2. affine invariance, and the completeness of τ\tauτ as an invariant of the scaling action, which together justify the reduction to one parameter;
  3. two sufficient conditions: square discriminant, and the power-family condition subsuming it;
  4. three obstructions: gap parity in the totally real case; the archimedean degree bound when Δ<0\Delta < 0Δ<0; and the extension of that bound beyond cubics, to any algebraic number possessing both a real and a non-real conjugate.

The mission also carries, as a plain theorem rather than a milestone, the single open instance x3+6x+1x^3 + 6x + 1x3+6x+1 — the smallest cubic within computational reach for which no collapsing is known. It is an instance of the goal rather than a step toward it, which is why it is not on the attack path.

Significance

A proof of the goal closes the one-step cubic case and, with Ribes's composition result, would give a complete picture at degree 333. A disproof would be at least as informative: a single cubic α\alphaα admitting no split fff with f(α)∈Qf(\alpha) \in \mathbb{Q}f(α)∈Q would separate 111-collapsibility from eventual collapsibility by an explicit example, showing that composition is genuinely necessary and not an artefact of the known proof.

The supporting targets have value independent of the goal. The product criterion is the statement everything else is phrased against. The archimedean bound is the only known mechanism forcing deg⁡f→∞\deg f \to \inftydegf→∞, and it is what rules out a uniform-degree approach.

Status, stated precisely. Six of the eight milestones have machine-checked Lean 4 + Mathlib proofs in the author's development, against a newer Mathlib revision than this mission's environment; restating and reproving them here is a port, not new mathematics, and they are included because the goal cannot be attacked without them. The two archimedean milestones are not proved in that form. For the cubic bound both halves exist — the convexity argument and the Möbius reduction — but the statement in terms of a collapsing polynomial has not been assembled. The extension beyond cubics has not been formalised at all; the argument is the same one, since nothing in it uses cubicness beyond the identification of a single circle parameter, but that observation is not a proof. The instance x3+6x+1x^3 + 6x + 1x3+6x+1 and the goal itself are open.

Difficulty

The obvious approach is to write down a split fff with rational roots and force f(α)∈Qf(\alpha) \in \mathbb{Q}f(α)∈Q by solving for the roots. This works when Δ\DeltaΔ is a rational square, and more generally under the power-family condition, and produces the bulk of the known examples — but it cannot work in general, for a reason that is quantitative rather than technical.

Suppose Δ<0\Delta < 0Δ<0 and f=a∏i(x−ri)f = a\prod_i(x - r_i)f=a∏i​(x−ri​) is split with f(α)∈Qf(\alpha) \in \mathbb{Q}f(α)∈Q. Irreducibility of mmm forces f−cf - cf−c to be divisible by mmm, hence f(α1)=f(α2)≠0f(\alpha_1) = f(\alpha_2) \ne 0f(α1​)=f(α2​)=0, hence ∏iα1−riα2−ri=1\prod_i \frac{\alpha_1 - r_i}{\alpha_2 - r_i} = 1∏i​α2​−ri​α1​−ri​​=1. Each factor lies on a fixed circle through 000 and 111 determined by ψ\psiψ, and a convexity argument on log⁡cos⁡\log\coslogcos then forces

deg⁡f ≥ π/ψ.\deg f \ \ge\ \pi/\psi.degf ≥ π/ψ.

As τ→0+\tau \to 0^+τ→0+ one has ψ→0\psi \to 0ψ→0, so the required degree is unbounded: there is no uniform degree in which to search, and any construction must produce split polynomials of growing degree. This is the central difficulty. For x3+6x+1x^3 + 6x + 1x3+6x+1 the bound already gives deg⁡f≥32\deg f \ge 32degf≥32, which is why that cubic resists the searches that settle its neighbours.

Only one step of this argument is special to cubics: the identification of the circle parameter as 3u/v3u/v3u/v. For an algebraic number of any degree with a real conjugate α1\alpha_1α1​ and a non-real conjugate α2\alpha_2α2​, irreducibility gives the same relation ∏i(α1−ri)/(α2−ri)=1\prod_i (\alpha_1 - r_i)/(\alpha_2 - r_i) = 1∏i​(α1​−ri​)/(α2​−ri​)=1, the images again lie on a circle through 000 and 111, and the parameter is λ=(Re⁡α2−α1)/Im⁡α2\lambda = (\operatorname{Re}\alpha_2 - \alpha_1)/\operatorname{Im}\alpha_2λ=(Reα2​−α1​)/Imα2​, which specialises to 3u/v3u/v3u/v in the depressed-cubic case. The obstruction therefore constrains the whole conjecture, not merely its cubic case, which is why the extension is carried as a milestone in its own right.

In the totally real case (Δ>0\Delta > 0Δ>0) the archimedean argument gives nothing at all — the relevant Möbius maps are real and surject onto R^\widehat{\mathbb{R}}R — and the only known constraint is that each gap between consecutive conjugates contains an even number of roots of fff. Whether degrees stay bounded there is itself unsettled.

Formalization scope

Representation. IsSplit f says 0<deg⁡f0 < \deg f0<degf and f=C a⋅∏r∈rs(X−r)f = C\,a \cdot \prod_{r \in rs}(X - r)f=Ca⋅∏r∈rs​(X−r) for a nonzero rational aaa and a multiset rsrsrs of rationals; multiplicities are therefore allowed and the roots need not be distinct. Collapsible α is stated for α\alphaα in an arbitrary field KKK carrying a Q\mathbb{Q}Q-algebra structure, not only for K=CK = \mathbb{C}K=C, so the results apply verbatim to a root in R\mathbb{R}R, in C\mathbb{C}C, or in Q[x]/(m)\mathbb{Q}[x]/(m)Q[x]/(m). The goal theorem is stated over C\mathbb{C}C, with "cubic" expressed as deg⁡(minpoly⁡Qα)=3\deg(\operatorname{minpoly}_{\mathbb{Q}}\alpha) = 3deg(minpolyQ​α)=3.

Ruling out a trivialisation. Collapsible places no lower bound on deg⁡f\deg fdegf and does not require the value c=f(α)c = f(\alpha)c=f(α) to be nonzero, so one must check that the goal is not satisfiable by degenerate means. It is not: c=0c = 0c=0 would make m∣fm \mid fm∣f, impossible for an irreducible cubic mmm dividing a polynomial that splits over Q\mathbb{Q}Q. Constant fff is excluded by 0<deg⁡f0 < \deg f0<degf. Nothing in the statement is vacuous — the hypotheses of the goal are satisfied by every cubic irrationality.

Conventions in the archimedean milestones. In the cubic bound the parameters u,vu, vu,v enter as real numbers satisfying the factorisation identity, with the normalisation 0<uv0 < uv0<uv; this is not a restriction, since vvv is determined only up to sign and the sign may be chosen. Under it ψ=arctan⁡(3u/v)∈(0,π/2)\psi = \arctan(3u/v) \in (0, \pi/2)ψ=arctan(3u/v)∈(0,π/2), and the conclusion is π/ψ≤deg⁡f\pi/\psi \le \deg fπ/ψ≤degf with deg⁡f\deg fdegf the natural-number degree.

In the general bound the corresponding normalisation is 0<(Re⁡α2−α1)Im⁡α20 < (\operatorname{Re}\alpha_2 - \alpha_1)\operatorname{Im}\alpha_20<(Reα2​−α1​)Imα2​. It forces Im⁡α2≠0\operatorname{Im}\alpha_2 \neq 0Imα2​=0, so α2\alpha_2α2​ is genuinely non-real and λ>0\lambda > 0λ>0, hence ψ∈(0,π/2)\psi \in (0,\pi/2)ψ∈(0,π/2) and no division-by-zero value can arise in the conclusion. Passing to the complex conjugate of α2\alpha_2α2​ flips the sign of both factors, so the condition is a choice of conjugate rather than a restriction — except when Re⁡α2=α1\operatorname{Re}\alpha_2 = \alpha_1Reα2​=α1​, which the hypothesis excludes and which cannot occur for a depressed cubic with Δ<0\Delta<0Δ<0. No degree hypothesis on mmm is needed: possessing both a real and a non-real root already forces deg⁡m≥3\deg m \ge 3degm≥3.

Infrastructure. A complete development needs Polynomial, Multiset, minpoly, and for the archimedean bound Real.arctan, Complex.arg, and strict concavity of log⁡cos⁡\log\coslogcos on (−π/2,π/2)(-\pi/2, \pi/2)(−π/2,π/2). The convexity and Möbius lemmas are reusable well beyond this mission — they bound the number of factors in any product of complex numbers constrained to a circle through the origin. Contributions of any of the supporting targets are welcome independently of the goal; so is a disproof, and so is an explicit collapsing of x3+6x+1x^3 + 6x + 1x3+6x+1 of any degree.

Selected references

  • Griffin Macris, List of open problems, Problem 3. https://sites.google.com/view/griffinmacris/open-problems
  • Miles, Collapsible algebraic numbers, 2026. https://quesswho.github.io/miles-blog/2026/08/20/collapsible/ — source of the definitions of split, kkk-collapsible, collapsible and eventually collapsible used above, of Ribes's cubic result for eventual collapsibility, and of the statement that the degree-333 case of one-step collapsibility is open.
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Pure Mathematics·Captain: ShouqiaoWang

Symplectic Modules Free over an Abelian NilradicalResearch Paper

Motivation

Polynomial representations provide a concrete way to study modules over Lie algebras: the underlying vector space is a polynomial ring, while the Lie generators act by explicit multiplication, shift, and differential operators. Chen and Tan classify a family of modules over the symplectic Lie algebra sp2ℓ(C)\mathfrak{sp}_{2\ell}(\mathbb C)sp2ℓ​(C) that are free of rank one over the universal enveloping algebra of an abelian nilradical. Their paper determines the family, its isomorphism classes, its weight and simplicity criteria, its finite-length behavior at exceptional parameters, and an application to Hamiltonian Lie algebras. This mission packages those headline results into one common Lean target, corresponding to Theorems 1.1--1.3 of Chen--Tan.

The common-family formulation matters. The source does not assert three unrelated existence theorems: one explicit two-parameter family τ(C,Φ)\tau(C,\Phi)τ(C,Φ) carries all of the classification, simplicity, finite-length, and Hamiltonian consequences. The Lean goal therefore quantifies that family once and requires all headline properties of the same witness.

Setting

Fix ℓ≥2\ell\ge2ℓ≥2 and the complex symplectic Lie algebra sp2ℓ(C)\mathfrak{sp}_{2\ell}(\mathbb C)sp2ℓ​(C). The relevant maximal parabolic subalgebra has an abelian nilradical n\mathfrak nn. Its enveloping algebra is a polynomial algebra in the root generators, represented formally by a multivariate polynomial ring. A rank-one free U(n)U(\mathfrak n)U(n)-module can consequently be modeled on that polynomial ring.

The definition bundle presents the simple Chevalley generators and their action by explicit operators depending on a scalar C∈CC\in\mathbb CC∈C and a polynomial parameter Φ\PhiΦ. Rather than assuming that these formulas already form a representation, the target asks for a generator presentation satisfying the symplectic Lie relations and for a representation family τ(C,Φ)\tau(C,\Phi)τ(C,Φ) realizing the formulas. It also formalizes module equivalence, weight spaces, simplicity, Noetherian and Artinian conditions, finite composition factors, and the Shen--Larsson construction for a Hamiltonian Lie algebra.

Formalization targets

Common polynomial-module family

Prove that for every ℓ≥2\ell\ge2ℓ≥2 there is one generator presentation and one family

(C,Φ)⟼τ(C,Φ)(C,\Phi)\longmapsto \tau(C,\Phi)(C,Φ)⟼τ(C,Φ)

of sp2ℓ(C)\mathfrak{sp}_{2\ell}(\mathbb C)sp2ℓ​(C)-representations on the polynomial ring, free of rank one over the abelian nilradical, satisfying the explicit generator formulas. Prove the source's classification and isomorphism criteria, including that τ(C,Φ)\tau(C,\Phi)τ(C,Φ) is a weight module exactly when Φ\PhiΦ is constant, and the stated simplicity criterion outside the exceptional arithmetic set

{ℓ+12−n2:n∈Z>0}.\left\{\frac{\ell+1}{2}-\frac{n}{2}:n\in\mathbb Z_{>0}\right\}.{2ℓ+1​−2n​:n∈Z>0​}.

For exceptional CCC, prove the Noetherian/Artinian and finite-composition-series conclusions and the weight/nonweight classification of the composition factors. Finally, prove that the canonical Hamiltonian Shen--Larsson construction has the exact degree-weight spaces and the source's simplicity and weight-module consequences. All clauses must be witnessed by the same family τ\tauτ.

Significance

The result gives a complete algebraic description of a large concrete class of non-highest-weight modules. It separates the generic simple regime from an exceptional finite-length regime and shows how nonweight symplectic modules generate weight modules over an infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian Lie algebra. The explicit formulas make the family suitable for calculation, while the classification prevents duplicate parameter choices from being mistaken for genuinely different modules.

Formalization adds checks that are easy to blur in prose. In particular, the generator formulas cannot be called a Lie representation until the defining relations have been verified, and the same witness must support every later theorem. A completed proof will contribute reusable Lean infrastructure for symplectic root data, polynomial representations, module-theoretic finiteness, exact weight-space descriptions, and Hamiltonian Lie-algebra functors. The paper's proofs are known; the open task is their machine-checked reconstruction.

Difficulty

The first obstacle is structural rather than computational. Checking formulas on individual generators is insufficient: all Chevalley and Serre relations must hold with the correct operator order and signs, after which the action must extend to the full Lie algebra. Classification then requires controlling arbitrary rank-one-free modules, not merely verifying that the displayed examples exist.

The exceptional parameters introduce a second layer. Generic simplicity and exceptional finite length are logically different claims, and the composition-factor statement must be tied to the same parameterized representation. The Hamiltonian application adds another algebra and a tensor construction; exact weight spaces and simplicity cannot be obtained by treating the functor as an opaque interface. The Lean goal deliberately keeps these obligations inside one theorem so that separate convenient witnesses cannot satisfy different portions.

Formalization scope

The mission works over C\mathbb CC with natural rank ℓ≥2\ell\ge2ℓ≥2. The definition bundle uses concrete multivariate polynomials, matrices and linear maps, a presented symplectic Lie algebra, Lie representations, submodules, and tensor products. The exceptional set is expressed with complex coercions, so no accidental natural-number division is involved. The nilradical action, freeness, parameter equivalence, weight-space equalities, simplicity, finite-length properties, and Hamiltonian brackets are transparent propositions in the bundle.

The final theorem is a single conjunction under one existentially quantified presentation and one existentially quantified family τ\tauτ. Several convenient corollaries can be projected from it, but they are not independent targets and do not permit different witnesses. The bundle contains no custom axioms or opaque semantic assumptions, and the only admitted term is the main theorem's sorry. Contributions may split the proof into source-numbered lemmas about generator relations, classification, exceptional submodules, or the Shen--Larsson application, provided the shared-family quantifier structure is preserved.

Selected references

  • Yang Chen and Haijun Tan, Simple sp2ℓ(C)\mathfrak{sp}_{2\ell}(\mathbb C)sp2ℓ​(C)-modules which are free over an abelian nilradical, Journal of Algebra 697 (2026), 341--372, Theorems 1.1--1.3 (formal Theorems 3.7, 3.8, 4.7, 4.9, and 5.2). DOI
  • G. Shen, foundational work on mixed-product constructions for modules over Lie algebras of Cartan type, cited in the source paper for the Shen--Larsson functor.
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Pure Mathematics·Captain: ShouqiaoWang

Arbitrary Torsion in Moment-Angle Homology and Loop HomologyResearch Paper

Motivation

Moment-angle complexes are central objects in toric topology. They convert the combinatorics of a simplicial complex into a topological space assembled from disks and circles, allowing face structure to influence homotopy and homology. When the simplicial complex triangulates a sphere, the resulting space is a moment-angle manifold. Torsion in the integral homology of these manifolds is difficult to realize in low simplicial dimension, and torsion in the homology of their based loop spaces is even more constrained. Yang Han and Keke Li's Theorem 1.7 asserts that dimension four is already universal: every finitely generated abelian group can occur as a subgroup of both homology theories for one and the same simplicial 444-sphere.

This mission formalizes that headline existence statement. It is not restricted to a chosen finite list of groups or primes, and it requires a common simplicial sphere rather than permitting separate witnesses for ordinary and loop homology.

Setting

Let LLL be an abstract simplicial complex on a finite vertex set [m][m][m]. Its geometric realization ∣L∣|L|∣L∣ is formed from probability vectors whose supports are faces of LLL. The condition that LLL is a simplicial 444-sphere means that this realization is homeomorphic to the unit sphere S4⊂R5S^4\subset\mathbb R^5S4⊂R5.

For each face σ∈L\sigma\in Lσ∈L, assign a copy of the closed disk D2D^2D2 at vertices in σ\sigmaσ and the boundary circle S1S^1S1 at vertices outside σ\sigmaσ. The associated moment-angle complex is

ZL=⋃σ∈L∏i=1mYi(σ),Yi(σ)={D2,i∈σ,S1,i∉σ.\mathcal Z_L =\bigcup_{\sigma\in L} \prod_{i=1}^{m}Y_i(\sigma), \qquad Y_i(\sigma)= \begin{cases} D^2,&i\in\sigma,\\ S^1,&i\notin\sigma. \end{cases}ZL​=σ∈L⋃​i=1∏m​Yi​(σ),Yi​(σ)={D2,S1,​i∈σ,i∈/σ.​

The all-ones point is a canonical basepoint. Write ΩZL\Omega\mathcal Z_LΩZL​ for the based loop space with the compact-open topology. For a space XXX, the mission uses total integral singular homology

H∗(X;Z)=⨁q≥0Hq(X;Z)H_*(X;\mathbb Z)=\bigoplus_{q\ge0}H_q(X;\mathbb Z)H∗​(X;Z)=q≥0⨁​Hq​(X;Z)

as an additive abelian group. Saying that an abelian group GGG is a subgroup means that there is an injective additive homomorphism G↪H∗(X;Z)G\hookrightarrow H_*(X;\mathbb Z)G↪H∗​(X;Z).

Formalization targets

Arbitrary torsion in one moment-angle manifold

For every finitely generated abelian group GGG, prove that there are an integer mmm and a simplicial complex LLL on Fin m such that ∣L∣≅S4|L|\cong S^4∣L∣≅S4 and there are injective homomorphisms

G↪H∗(ZL;Z),G↪H∗(ΩZL;Z).G\hookrightarrow H_*(\mathcal Z_L;\mathbb Z), \qquad G\hookrightarrow H_*(\Omega\mathcal Z_L;\mathbb Z).G↪H∗​(ZL​;Z),G↪H∗​(ΩZL​;Z).

The quantifier order matters: the same mmm and the same LLL must support both embeddings. The target concerns additive subgroups of total graded homology; it does not require the two embeddings to land in the same degree or to preserve multiplicative structures.

Significance

The theorem gives a universality statement for moment-angle manifolds over simplicial 444-spheres. It says that no classification by a bounded list of torsion primes or exponents can describe all such homology and loop-homology groups. Requiring both embeddings for a single LLL connects the ordinary topology of the manifold to its based-loop topology rather than proving two unrelated existence results.

Formalizing the theorem requires reusable foundations in several areas: finite abstract simplicial complexes, geometric realization, polyhedral products, based loop spaces, integral singular homology, graded direct sums, and additive embeddings. The published article presents a human proof; this mission records its intended main theorem as an open Lean target. The definitions do not assume the existence of the required sphere or embeddings, so a solver must supply the mathematical construction and all homological consequences.

Difficulty

The assertion ranges over arbitrary finitely generated abelian groups, including free parts and prime-power torsion of unbounded exponent. A finite check of selected groups cannot establish the target. The same finite simplicial object must simultaneously control two different homology theories, one of which is applied to an infinite-dimensional function space. Standard library support is strongest for singular homology as a functor, while concrete calculations for moment-angle spaces and loop spaces require additional bridges.

There is also a substantial representation boundary between combinatorics and topology. The face data of LLL, the union of disk-circle products, the homeomorphism ∣L∣≅S4|L|\cong S^4∣L∣≅S4, and the induced maps on homology must all refer to compatible spaces and basepoints. A formal solution cannot replace “simplicial sphere” by a mere Boolean flag or replace homology by an arbitrary group-valued field.

Formalization scope

Lean represents LLL using AbstractSimplicialComplex (Fin m). Because Mathlib's structure includes singleton faces automatically, the auxiliary face predicate explicitly restores the conventional empty face where the moment-angle union needs it. The geometric realization is the standard support-restricted probability simplex, and the sphere condition is an actual homeomorphism to the Euclidean unit 444-sphere.

The moment-angle space is a subtype of (Fin m → ℂ) defined by the literal disk/circle coordinate condition. The loop space consists of based continuous paths with matching endpoints and carries the compact-open topology inherited from Mathlib's path construction. Homology is singularHomologyFunctor with coefficients in Z\mathbb ZZ, and total homology is a direct sum over all natural degrees.

The statement permits the two embeddings to occupy different degrees and makes no ring-embedding claim; these choices match the source phrase “contain GGG as a subgroup.” It rules out vacuity by requiring an actual simplicial complex, an actual sphere homeomorphism, and injective additive maps. Contributions that isolate degree-specific refinements, compute homology of standard polyhedral products, or formalize reusable loop-space equivalences are welcome, provided they reconnect to the stated root theorem.

Selected references

  • Yang Han and Keke Li, Moment Angle Manifolds Corresponding to S4S^4S4 Whose Homology and Loop Homology May Have Arbitrary Torsion, International Mathematics Research Notices 2026(4), 1--7, 2026. DOI
  • A. Bahri, M. Bendersky, F. R. Cohen, and S. Gitler, The polyhedral product functor: a method of decomposition for moment-angle complexes, arrangements and related spaces, Advances in Mathematics 225(3), 2010, 1634--1668. DOI
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Quantum Information·Captain: wenxinzhang

Existence of complete sets of mutually unbiased basesOpen Problem

Motivation

Two orthonormal bases of C^d are mutually unbiased when every transition amplitude has squared modulus 1/d. At most d+1 such bases can coexist, and complete families are known in prime-power dimensions through finite-field constructions. Dimension six is the smallest famous composite case where existence of the complete seven-base family remains unknown.

This mission turns CUHK-Shenzhen AI Math Problem 16, Existence of complete sets of mutually unbiased bases, into an auditable Lean campaign. The objective is not merely to transcribe notation: it is to expose the mathematical model, the capstone, and a smaller attack surface as separate artifacts that other formalizers can inspect and reuse.

Setting

Construct seven 6 by 6 unitary-column matrices whose every distinct pair has all transition amplitudes of squared modulus 1/6. The baseline milestone constructs three pairwise mutually unbiased bases, a known lower bound that tests all matrix conventions.

Significance

Solving this target would settle the precise finite or analytic core represented by the Lean statement and would create reusable infrastructure in quantum information theory, mutually unbiased bases, finite fields, Hilbert spaces. Even a rigorous disproof is valuable: several entries in this collection deliberately ask whether an attractive extrapolation is true, and Lean forces a counterexample to satisfy every side condition. The mission therefore treats theorem proving and model criticism as equally legitimate research outcomes.

Difficulty

The equations are a large coupled system of polynomial equalities over complex phases, modulo substantial gauge symmetry. Numerical near-solutions do not certify exact existence, while nonexistence would require a global obstruction beyond currently known bounds. Dimension six lacks the finite-field structure that supplies complete prime-power constructions.

Suggested attack route

Formalize standard gauge reductions: fix the first basis to the identity and dephase transition Hadamard matrices. Verify a three-basis tensor-product construction. Then encode additional bases through complex Hadamard matrices and study algebraic constraints, Gröbner-style eliminations, semidefinite bounds, or exact certificates. Computational searches may guide conjectures, but uploaded proofs must convert numerical evidence to exact algebraic identities or certified inequalities.

Formalization scope

The Lean target is exact: column orthonormality is U-adjoint times U equals identity, and mutual unbiasedness uses Mathlib complex norm squared. Seven bases are indexed by Fin 7. No quotient by phase, permutation, or global unitary is built into the statement, since these symmetries preserve the predicate and can be used within proofs.

The natural-language source remains authoritative for motivation, while the Lean declaration is authoritative for what Prove2Me will verify. The mission description calls out restrictions where the current formal target is a finite-dimensional core, a fixed interpretation of informal terminology, or one sharpened subquestion from a broader classification problem. Those restrictions should not be silently generalized in a proof claim.

Milestones

Publish an exact three-basis construction in dimension six, then formalize dephasing and obstruction lemmas for extending a partial family.

The capstone is marked as the mission's main item and is never duplicated as a milestone. Definitions precede theorem statements in the proposal order. A milestone is considered complete only when its own exact statement is proved; proving a nearby theorem with stronger-looking prose but mismatched quantifiers, signs, supports, dimensions, or asymptotic constants does not complete it.

Timeline and literature status

The CUHK-Shenzhen AI Math Problems page added this problem on June 23, 2026. At the drafting date, August 31, 2026, the status and target corrections described above were checked against the source page and the cited primary material.

Acceptance criteria

A contribution may prove the displayed theorem or refute it by constructing data satisfying every Lean hypothesis while negating the conclusion. Informal changes of model do not count: any proposed correction must be submitted as a separately reviewed statement with an explanation of which source ambiguity or false implication it repairs. Definitions must remain computational or mathematically constrained; fields that simply assume the desired conclusion are not acceptable. Every proof must compile against the mission's pinned Mathlib revision, use no sorry, and expose a top-level theorem solution when submitted to Prove2Me.

The main theorem is intentionally separated from a smaller milestone. Contributors should preserve that dependency order, publish reusable lemmas rather than monolithic tactics, and report whether a lemma is analytic, algebraic, combinatorial, or infrastructure-only. Numerical evidence, external computer algebra, and exhaustive search are welcome for discovery, but a final certificate must be replayable by Lean. If an external result is invoked, its hypotheses must be represented in the formal statement or proved in the dependency tree.

Formal verification policy

The files were built locally with Lean 4.30.0 and Mathlib revision c5ea00351c28e24afc9f0f84379aa41082b1188f, the supported Prove2Me environment at drafting time. The mission definition file is ordered before all theorem files, and each theorem imports exactly that public definition module or Mathlib. Independent blind read-backs accompany the draft items so reviewers can compare what the Lean code literally says with this mathematical description. Human confirmation remains required before the public proposal can be submitted for moderation.

Selected references

  • Original problem
  • Durt et al., review of MUBs
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Number Theory·Captain: mikedeng1

On Ideal Lattices and Learning with Errors over Rings: Multiplication by t ∈ I with tI⁻¹ Coprime to J Induces an R-Module Isomorphism M/JM ≅ IM/IJMResearch Paper

Background and motivation

Ring learning with errors (ring-LWE) is the algebraic variant of the learning-with-errors problem on which most practical lattice-based cryptography is built, including the key-encapsulation scheme ML-KEM standardized by NIST in 2024. Its hardness rests on the paper of Lyubashevsky, Peikert and Regev, On ideal lattices and learning with errors over rings (J. ACM 60(6), 2013, doi:10.1145/2535925; conference version at EUROCRYPT 2010). The paper's main theorem (Theorem 3.6, p. 19) is a polynomial-time quantum reduction from worst-case approximate shortest-vector problems on ideal lattices to the ring-LWE decision problem. Statements about reductions, running times and negligible probabilities are outside the scope of this mission.

What this mission formalizes is the algebraic tool both of the paper's reductions rest on, which the authors list among their main technical contributions (p. 7): a Chinese-remainder technique for clearing an ideal. An arbitrary ideal I\mathcal{I}I of the ring of integers RRR need not be principal, so a reduction that receives samples from a lattice I\mathcal{I}I cannot simply divide by a generator. Lemmas 2.14 and 2.15 show that, modulo an ideal J\mathcal{J}J such as ⟨q⟩\langle q\rangle⟨q⟩, multiplication by a well-chosen t∈It\in\mathcal{I}t∈I identifies R/qRR/qRR/qR with I/qI\mathcal{I}/q\mathcal{I}I/qI, and more generally M/JM\mathcal{M}/\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}M/JM with IM/IJM\mathcal{I}\mathcal{M}/\mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}IM/IJM for every fractional ideal M\mathcal{M}M. Steps 1–3 of the BDD-to-LWE reduction of §4.2 consist of exactly these identifications. The authors note that the lemmas are "probably standard for experts in computational number theory" (p. 16); the formulation used in lattice cryptography is theirs, and it is reused throughout the later literature on algebraic lattices.

Setting

Let KKK be a number field of degree nnn and R=OKR = \mathcal{O}_KR=OK​ its ring of integers. An integral ideal is a nonzero ideal I⊆R\mathcal{I}\subseteq RI⊆R (the paper excludes {0}\{0\}{0}, footnote 2, p. 13). A fractional ideal is a set I⊂K\mathcal{I}\subset KI⊂K such that dId\mathcal{I}dI is an integral ideal for some nonzero d∈Rd\in Rd∈R; the nonzero fractional ideals form a group under multiplication, and I−1\mathcal{I}^{-1}I−1 denotes the inverse. Two integral ideals are coprime when I+J=R\mathcal{I}+\mathcal{J} = RI+J=R.

For t∈Rt\in Rt∈R the cleared ideal is t⋅I−1=⟨t⟩ I−1t\cdot\mathcal{I}^{-1} = \langle t\rangle\,\mathcal{I}^{-1}t⋅I−1=⟨t⟩I−1. When t∈It\in\mathcal{I}t∈I it is an integral ideal, and "t⋅I−1t\cdot\mathcal{I}^{-1}t⋅I−1 is coprime to J\mathcal{J}J" means

t⋅I−1⊆Randt⋅I−1+J=R.t\cdot\mathcal{I}^{-1}\subseteq R \quad\text{and}\quad t\cdot\mathcal{I}^{-1}+\mathcal{J}=R .t⋅I−1⊆Randt⋅I−1+J=R.

For a fractional ideal M\mathcal{M}M and t∈It\in\mathcal{I}t∈I, the map θt(u)=t⋅u\theta_t(u) = t\cdot uθt​(u)=t⋅u sends M\mathcal{M}M into IM\mathcal{I}\mathcal{M}IM, and therefore induces an RRR-linear map

θt: M⟶IM/IJM,u↦tu mod IJM.\theta_t:\ \mathcal{M}\longrightarrow \mathcal{I}\mathcal{M}/\mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M},\qquad u\mapsto t u \bmod \mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}.θt​: M⟶IM/IJM,u↦tumodIJM.

The dual of a fractional ideal L\mathcal{L}L is L∨={x∈K:Tr⁡(xL)⊆Z}\mathcal{L}^\vee = \{x\in K:\operatorname{Tr}(x\mathcal{L})\subseteq\mathbb{Z}\}L∨={x∈K:Tr(xL)⊆Z}; R∨R^\veeR∨ is the codifferent, and I∨=I−1R∨\mathcal{I}^\vee = \mathcal{I}^{-1}R^\veeI∨=I−1R∨. For the cyclotomic field K=Q(ζ)K=\mathbb{Q}(\zeta)K=Q(ζ), ζ\zetaζ a primitive mmm-th root of unity, τk\tau_kτk​ (k∈Zm∗k\in\mathbb{Z}_m^*k∈Zm∗​) is the automorphism with τk(ζ)=ζk\tau_k(\zeta)=\zeta^kτk​(ζ)=ζk, and for a prime q≡1(modm)q\equiv 1\pmod mq≡1(modm) with a primitive mmm-th root of unity ω∈Zq\omega\in\mathbb{Z}_qω∈Zq​ the primes above qqq are qi=⟨q,ζ−ωi⟩\mathfrak{q}_i = \langle q,\zeta-\omega^i\rangleqi​=⟨q,ζ−ωi⟩, i∈Zm∗i\in\mathbb{Z}_m^*i∈Zm∗​. Calligraphic I,J,M\mathcal{I},\mathcal{J},\mathcal{M}I,J,M of the paper are written I, J, M in the milestone texts.

Formalization targets

Goal: Lemma 2.15 (p. 17)

For nonzero ideals I,J⊆R\mathcal{I},\mathcal{J}\subseteq RI,J⊆R, t∈It\in\mathcal{I}t∈I with t⋅I−1t\cdot\mathcal{I}^{-1}t⋅I−1 coprime to J\mathcal{J}J, and a nonzero fractional ideal M\mathcal{M}M,

θt: M→IM/IJM is surjective with kernel JM,soM/JM  ≅  IM/IJM\theta_t:\ \mathcal{M}\to\mathcal{I}\mathcal{M}/\mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}\ \text{is surjective with kernel}\ \mathcal{J}\mathcal{M},\quad\text{so}\quad \mathcal{M}/\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}\;\cong\;\mathcal{I}\mathcal{M}/\mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}θt​: M→IM/IJM is surjective with kernel JM,soM/JM≅IM/IJM

as RRR-modules, via u mod JM↦tu mod IJMu\bmod\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}\mapsto tu\bmod\mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}umodJM↦tumodIJM.

Milestones

  1. The existence content of Lemma 2.13 (a coprime pair has c∈Jc\in\mathcal{J}c∈J with c≡1 mod Ic\equiv 1\bmod\mathcal{I}c≡1modI), already proved on the platform and entered as a reference. Lemma 2.12 (Chinese Remainder Theorem) is also included as a reference item, without being a milestone.
  2. Lemma 2.14 (p. 16): for nonzero I,J\mathcal{I},\mathcal{J}I,J there exists a nonzero t∈It\in\mathcal{I}t∈I with t⋅I−1t\cdot\mathcal{I}^{-1}t⋅I−1 coprime to J\mathcal{J}J.
  3. The kernel claim of the proof of Lemma 2.15: u∈Mu\in\mathcal{M}u∈M and tu∈IJMtu\in\mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}tu∈IJM imply u∈JMu\in\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}u∈JM.
  4. The surjectivity claim of the proof: if c∈t⋅I−1c\in t\cdot\mathcal{I}^{-1}c∈t⋅I−1 and c≡1 mod Jc\equiv1\bmod\mathcal{J}c≡1modJ, then for v∈IMv\in\mathcal{I}\mathcal{M}v∈IM, cv∈tMcv\in t\mathcal{M}cv∈tM and cv−v∈IJMcv-v\in\mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}cv−v∈IJM.

Companion statements

  • §4.2 step 2 (p. 23) and step 3 (p. 24): multiplication by ttt is a bijection R/qR→I/qIR/qR\to\mathcal{I}/q\mathcal{I}R/qR→I/qI and I∨/qI∨→R∨/qR∨\mathcal{I}^\vee/q\mathcal{I}^\vee\to R^\vee/qR^\veeI∨/qI∨→R∨/qR∨ for every integer q≥2q\ge2q≥2, the two instances of Lemma 2.15 the reduction uses.
  • Lemma 2.16 (p. 17): τj(qi)=qi/j\tau_j(\mathfrak{q}_i)=\mathfrak{q}_{i/j}τj​(qi​)=qi/j​ for all i,j∈Zm∗i,j\in\mathbb{Z}_m^*i,j∈Zm∗​.
  • Lemma 2.9 (p. 14): n1/pN(I)1/n≤λ1(I)≤n1/pN(I)1/nΔK1/nn^{1/p}N(\mathcal{I})^{1/n}\le\lambda_1(\mathcal{I})\le n^{1/p}N(\mathcal{I})^{1/n}\sqrt{\Delta_K^{1/n}}n1/pN(I)1/n≤λ1​(I)≤n1/pN(I)1/nΔK1/n​​ in every ℓp\ell_pℓp​ norm, p∈[1,∞]p\in[1,\infty]p∈[1,∞], stated as two items.

Significance

The isomorphism of Lemma 2.15 is what makes ideal lattices usable in worst-case to average-case reductions: it turns a discrete Gaussian sample from an arbitrary ideal I\mathcal{I}I into a uniform element of the fixed ring RqR_qRq​, and turns the ring-LWE secret in Rq∨R^\vee_qRq∨​ back into a coset of qI∨q\mathcal{I}^\veeqI∨. Lemma 2.16 is the corresponding tool for the search-to-decision reductions of §5, which move between the CRT components R/qiR/\mathfrak{q}_iR/qi​ of a completely split qqq. Lemma 2.9 gives the scale of the lattices involved.

On the formal side, none of Lemmas 2.14–2.16 is stated on the platform or in Mathlib in this form. Mathlib has the Chinese remainder theorem for ideals, inverses of fractional ideals in Dedekind domains, trace duals with I∨=I−1R∨\mathcal{I}^\vee=\mathcal{I}^{-1}R^\veeI∨=I−1R∨, and the isomorphism Gal(Q(ζm)/Q)≅(Z/mZ)∗\mathrm{Gal}(\mathbb{Q}(\zeta_m)/\mathbb{Q})\cong(\mathbb{Z}/m\mathbb{Z})^*Gal(Q(ζm​)/Q)≅(Z/mZ)∗; the mission connects these to the quotient modules and explicit primes that lattice cryptography works with. All statements are proved in the paper; what remains is the formal proof.

Difficulty

The obvious argument for Lemma 2.15 — both quotients have cardinality N(J)N(\mathcal{J})N(J), so an injective map is bijective — needs the multiplicativity of the norm on fractional ideals and finiteness of the quotients, and still needs the kernel computation, which uses unique factorization: from tu∈IJMtu\in\mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}tu∈IJM one has to cancel I\mathcal{I}I and M\mathcal{M}M inside the group of fractional ideals and then use coprimality of tI−1t\mathcal{I}^{-1}tI−1 and J\mathcal{J}J. Lemma 2.14 needs the factorization of I\mathcal{I}I along the primes of J\mathcal{J}J and a CRT choice of ttt; for J=0\mathcal{J}=0J=0 it would assert that I\mathcal{I}I is principal, which is why the nonzero convention matters. In Lemma 2.16 the delicate point is the direction of the action: τj\tau_jτj​ sends qi\mathfrak{q}_iqi​ to qi/j\mathfrak{q}_{i/j}qi/j​, not qij\mathfrak{q}_{ij}qij​.

Formalization scope

  • KKK is a NumberField, RRR is 𝓞 K, fractional ideals are FractionalIdeal (𝓞 K)⁰ K, and integral ideals are coerced into them. Ideals are nonzero, per footnote 2: every statement carries I ≠ ⊥ (and J ≠ ⊥, M ≠ 0 where the paper's convention applies); I ≠ ⊥ is essential because Lean defines 0−1=00^{-1}=00−1=0. Two kernel/surjectivity milestones drop the nonzero hypotheses on J\mathcal{J}J and M\mathcal{M}M, which only strengthens them.
  • "tI−1t\mathcal{I}^{-1}tI−1 coprime to J\mathcal{J}J" is the predicate ClearedCoprime: tI−1≤1t\mathcal{I}^{-1}\le 1tI−1≤1 and tI−1+J=1t\mathcal{I}^{-1}+\mathcal{J}=1tI−1+J=1 in the semiring of fractional ideals.
  • M/N\mathcal{M}/\mathcal{N}M/N is the quotient of the RRR-module M\mathcal{M}M by N∩M\mathcal{N}\cap\mathcal{M}N∩M; θt\theta_tθt​ is the given RRR-linear map M→IM/IJM\mathcal{M}\to\mathcal{I}\mathcal{M}/\mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}M→IM/IJM. The goal states surjectivity and the kernel of this map. A bare statement that some isomorphism M/JM≅IM/IJM\mathcal{M}/\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}\cong\mathcal{I}\mathcal{M}/\mathcal{I}\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}M/JM≅IM/IJM exists would be true for unrelated reasons and is not the lemma.
  • Duals are Mathlib's FractionalIdeal.dual ℤ ℚ. τj\tau_jτj​ is the inverse image of jjj under IsCyclotomicExtension.Rat.galEquivZMod, acting on ideals by images; ωi\omega^iωi uses the representative of iii in {0,…,m−1}\{0,\dots,m-1\}{0,…,m−1}. ℓp\ell_pℓp​ norms sum over all nnn complex embeddings; λ1\lambda_1λ1​ bounds are phrased through nonzero elements of I\mathcal{I}I.
  • Dropped algorithmic clauses: "such ttt can be found efficiently" (Lemma 2.14), "this isomorphism may be efficiently inverted" (Lemma 2.15), the "deterministic polynomial-time algorithm" of Lemma 2.13 (only the existence of ccc is referenced), and "which can be efficiently inverted" in §4.2. No complexity notion is encoded.
  • Contributions welcome: proofs of the milestones, of the goal from them, and of the companion statements; general lemmas on quotients M/JM\mathcal{M}/\mathcal{J}\mathcal{M}M/JM of fractional ideals are reusable beyond this mission.

Selected references

  • V. Lyubashevsky, C. Peikert, O. Regev, On ideal lattices and learning with errors over rings, J. ACM 60(6), Article 43, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1145/2535925
  • V. Lyubashevsky, C. Peikert, O. Regev, On ideal lattices and learning with errors over rings, EUROCRYPT 2010, LNCS 6110, pp. 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13190-5_1
  • O. Regev, On lattices, learning with errors, random linear codes, and cryptography, J. ACM 56(6), 2009. https://doi.org/10.1145/1568318.1568324
  • NIST, FIPS 203: Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism Standard, 2024. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.FIPS.203
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Algebraic Geometry·Captain: Lucas

Hilbert's Nullstellensatz (Wikipedia) I: Formulations over Algebraically Closed FieldsTextbook

Motivation

Hilbert's Nullstellensatz ("theorem of zeros") is the basic link between algebra and geometry. It was proved by David Hilbert in his second major paper on invariant theory in 1893, after his 1890 paper that proved the basis theorem, and it is a foundational result of algebraic geometry. It gives an algebraic criterion for when a system of polynomial equations over an algebraically closed field has a solution, and an algebraic criterion for when one polynomial vanishes wherever a given family does. Every dictionary between affine varieties and ideals — points and maximal ideals, algebraic sets and radical ideals, irreducible sets and prime ideals — is a consequence.

This mission follows the Wikipedia article Hilbert's Nullstellensatz (snapshot of 27 September 2026): its introduction, its section Formulations, the statement of Zariski's lemma from Proofs, and the first theorem of Generalizations (finitely generated algebras over Jacobson rings).

Setting

Let kkk be a field and KKK an algebraically closed field extension of kkk (every non-constant polynomial over KKK has a root in KKK). Write k[X1,…,Xn]k[X_1,\dots,X_n]k[X1​,…,Xn​] for the polynomial ring in nnn variables. A point is an nnn-tuple a=(a1,…,an)∈Kna = (a_1,\dots,a_n) \in K^na=(a1​,…,an​)∈Kn, and f(a)f(a)f(a) is the value of a polynomial fff at aaa.

  • For an ideal JJJ, the algebraic set (zero locus) is V(J)={a∈Kn:f(a)=0 for all f∈J}\mathrm V(J) = \{a \in K^n : f(a) = 0 \text{ for all } f \in J\}V(J)={a∈Kn:f(a)=0 for all f∈J}.
  • For U⊆KnU \subseteq K^nU⊆Kn, the vanishing ideal is I(U)={p:p(a)=0 for all a∈U}\mathrm I(U) = \{p : p(a) = 0 \text{ for all } a \in U\}I(U)={p:p(a)=0 for all a∈U}.
  • The radical of JJJ is J={p:pr∈J for some r∈N}\sqrt J = \{p : p^r \in J \text{ for some } r \in \mathbb N\}J​={p:pr∈J for some r∈N}.
  • For a∈Kna \in K^na∈Kn, ma=(X1−a1,…,Xn−an)\mathfrak m_a = (X_1 - a_1, \dots, X_n - a_n)ma​=(X1​−a1​,…,Xn​−an​) is the ideal of the point.
  • A subset W⊆KnW \subseteq K^nW⊆Kn is irreducible (Zariski topology) if it is nonempty and is not covered by two algebraic sets without lying in one of them.
  • A commutative ring is Jacobson if every radical ideal is an intersection of maximal ideals.

Formalization targets

Goal: the Nullstellensatz

If p∈k[X1,…,Xn]p \in k[X_1,\dots,X_n]p∈k[X1​,…,Xn​] vanishes on V(J)⊆Kn\mathrm V(J) \subseteq K^nV(J)⊆Kn, then

∃ r∈N,pr∈J.\exists\, r \in \mathbb N,\qquad p^r \in J.∃r∈N,pr∈J.

This is the statement of the article's section Formulations, with the coefficient field kkk and the algebraically closed field KKK allowed to differ.

Milestones

  1. Systems of equations. Over algebraically closed KKK: a system f1=⋯=fm=0f_1 = \dots = f_m = 0f1​=⋯=fm​=0 has no solution in KnK^nKn iff g1f1+⋯+gmfm=1g_1 f_1 + \dots + g_m f_m = 1g1​f1​+⋯+gm​fm​=1 for some gig_igi​; and fff vanishes on all solutions iff fr=g1f1+⋯+gmfmf^r = g_1 f_1 + \dots + g_m f_mfr=g1​f1​+⋯+gm​fm​ for some rrr and gig_igi​.
  2. Geometric form. I(V(J))=J\mathrm I(\mathrm V(J)) = \sqrt JI(V(J))=J​.
  3. Weak Nullstellensatz. A proper ideal of k[X1,…,Xn]k[X_1,\dots,X_n]k[X1​,…,Xn​] has a common zero in KnK^nKn; algebraic closedness is needed, as (X2+1)⊆R[X](X^2+1) \subseteq \mathbb R[X](X2+1)⊆R[X] shows; for K=CK = \mathbb CK=C, n=1n = 1n=1 this is the fundamental theorem of algebra: PPP has a complex root iff deg⁡P≠0\deg P \ne 0degP=0.
  4. Correspondences. V\mathrm VV is an order-reversing bijection from radical ideals onto algebraic sets, with inverse I\mathrm II; I({a})=ma\mathrm I(\{a\}) = \mathfrak m_aI({a})=ma​ is maximal; every maximal ideal of K[X1,…,Xn]K[X_1,\dots,X_n]K[X1​,…,Xn​] is some ma\mathfrak m_ama​; an algebraic set WWW is irreducible iff I(W)\mathrm I(W)I(W) is prime.
  5. Intersections. J=⋂m⊇Jm=⋂a∈V(J)ma\sqrt J = \bigcap_{\mathfrak m \supseteq J} \mathfrak m = \bigcap_{a \in \mathrm V(J)} \mathfrak m_aJ​=⋂m⊇J​m=⋂a∈V(J)​ma​.
  6. Zariski's lemma. A field finitely generated as an algebra over a field KKK is a finite extension of KKK.
  7. Jacobson rings. A finitely generated algebra SSS over a Jacobson ring RRR is Jacobson, and for a maximal ideal n⊆S\mathfrak n \subseteq Sn⊆S, n∩R\mathfrak n \cap Rn∩R is maximal and S/nS/\mathfrak nS/n is finite over R/(n∩R)R/(\mathfrak n \cap R)R/(n∩R).

Significance

The Nullstellensatz makes the zero sets of polynomial systems accessible through ideals: solvability of a system becomes the ideal-membership question 1∈J1 \in J1∈J, and the geometry of algebraic sets becomes the algebra of radical ideals. Consequences include the identification of the points of KnK^nKn with the maximal ideals of K[X1,…,Xn]K[X_1,\dots,X_n]K[X1​,…,Xn​], the description of irreducible algebraic sets by prime ideals, and the reduction of the fundamental theorem of algebra to the case n=1n=1n=1. The Jacobson-ring version extends the first equality of the intersection formula to every finitely generated algebra over a field.

All statements here are classical and proved. Mathlib already contains versions of several of them in its own vocabulary (Jacobson rings, Zariski's lemma, and a Nullstellensatz over an algebraically closed coefficient field). What this mission adds is a single set of statements matching the article's formulations: the version with separate fields k⊆Kk \subseteq Kk⊆K, the explicit systems-of-equations form, the point-ideal and irreducibility correspondences over KnK^nKn, and the intersection formula — and, for solvers, the bridges from these concrete statements to Mathlib's abstract ones.

Difficulty

The inclusion J⊆I(V(J))\sqrt J \subseteq \mathrm I(\mathrm V(J))J​⊆I(V(J)) is immediate; the content is the reverse inclusion, which requires producing a point of KnK^nKn from purely algebraic data. When k≠Kk \ne Kk=K the ideal JJJ lives over kkk while the points live over KKK, so a result stated only for K[X1,…,Xn]K[X_1,\dots,X_n]K[X1​,…,Xn​] does not apply directly: an ideal of k[X]k[X]k[X] must be related to the ideal it generates in K[X]K[X]K[X] without losing membership information. For the correspondences, the explicit ideals ma\mathfrak m_ama​ and the closed-set definition of irreducibility must be matched with the abstract notions (maximal spectrum, irreducible closed subsets) used in the library.

Formalization scope

  • Points of KnK^nKn are functions Fin n→K\mathrm{Fin}\,n \to KFinn→K; polynomials are MvPolynomial (Fin n) k. When k≠Kk \ne Kk=K, KKK is a kkk-algebra and evaluation of a polynomial over kkk at a point of KnK^nKn goes through k→Kk \to Kk→K.
  • n=0n = 0n=0 is allowed throughout; so is the unit ideal J=k[X]J = k[X]J=k[X], where V(J)=∅\mathrm V(J) = \emptysetV(J)=∅ and empty intersections of ideals are the whole ring.
  • Irreducibility is stated through closed sets (algebraic sets) without putting a topology on KnK^nKn. The degree in the n=1n=1n=1 statement is Mathlib's Polynomial.degree, with deg⁡0=−∞\deg 0 = -\inftydeg0=−∞.
  • In the goal, the exponent rrr may be 000; that witness only works when JJJ is the unit ideal, so it does not trivialize the statement.
  • Out of scope: the proofs via resultants and Gröbner bases, the effective Nullstellensatz, Lang's infinite-variable version, the scheme-theoretic generalizations, and the projective and analytic Nullstellensätze.
  • Reusable output: the definitions V\mathrm VV, I\mathrm II, algebraic set, irreducible set and ma\mathfrak m_ama​, and bridges to Mathlib's MvPolynomial.zeroLocus, MvPolynomial.vanishingIdeal, and IsJacobsonRing.

Selected references

  • D. Hilbert, Ueber die vollen Invariantensysteme, Mathematische Annalen 42 (1893).
  • Wikipedia contributors, Hilbert's Nullstellensatz. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert%27s_Nullstellensatz
  • M. F. Atiyah, I. G. Macdonald, Introduction to Commutative Algebra, Addison-Wesley, 1969, Chapters 5 and 7.
  • D. Eisenbud, Commutative Algebra with a View Toward Algebraic Geometry, Springer GTM 150, 1995, Chapter 4.
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Representation Theory·Captain: lisamegawatts

Clifford Casimir I: Odd-Sector Adjoint Spectrum on Cl(6,0)Research Paper

Motivation

The real Clifford algebra Cl(6,0)\mathrm{Cl}(6,0)Cl(6,0) is the smallest Euclidean Clifford algebra whose full structure carries a nontrivial multiplicity-eight representation-theoretic decomposition, and it has become a recurring object in programs that build internal gauge and family structure from Clifford generators rather than imposing it by hand. Within such programs, the single most basic representation-theoretic question one can ask about the algebra is: how does a distinguished su(2)\mathfrak{su}(2)su(2) subalgebra, acting by the adjoint action, decompose the odd part of the algebra as a representation?

This mission answers that question exactly, for the specific triple of bivectors built on the index set {0,2,5}\{0,2,5\}{0,2,5}. The computation was carried out structurally (by splitting active indices from spectator indices) in the LeanProofs research program in 2026 and recorded with exact multiplicities; no machine-checked proof exists yet. The purpose here is to close that gap: the result is finite-dimensional linear algebra, completely within reach of a Lean 4 + Mathlib development, and every constant in it is explicit.

Setting

Fix R6\mathbb{R}^6R6 with its standard inner product and the associated quadratic form Q60=diag(1,1,1,1,1,1)Q_{60} = \mathrm{diag}(1,1,1,1,1,1)Q60​=diag(1,1,1,1,1,1), and let Cl(6,0)=CliffordAlgebra(Q60)\mathrm{Cl}(6,0) = \mathrm{CliffordAlgebra}(Q_{60})Cl(6,0)=CliffordAlgebra(Q60​) be the real Clifford algebra generated by symbols e0,…,e5e_0,\dots,e_5e0​,…,e5​ with

ei2=1,eiej=−ejei  (i≠j).e_i^2 = 1, \qquad e_i e_j = -e_j e_i \ \ (i \neq j).ei2​=1,ei​ej​=−ej​ei​  (i=j).

The algebra is Z\mathbb{Z}Z-graded in the usual sense: it is the direct sum of its grade-kkk subspaces, spanned by products of kkk distinct generators, of dimension (6k)\binom{6}{k}(k6​). The odd sector is the linear span of the odd grades,

Cl−(6,0)  =  grade1⊕grade3⊕grade5,dim⁡RCl−(6,0)=6+20+6=32.\mathrm{Cl}^-(6,0) \;=\; \mathrm{grade}_1 \oplus \mathrm{grade}_3 \oplus \mathrm{grade}_5, \qquad \dim_{\mathbb{R}} \mathrm{Cl}^-(6,0) = 6 + 20 + 6 = 32.Cl−(6,0)=grade1​⊕grade3​⊕grade5​,dimR​Cl−(6,0)=6+20+6=32.

On it, register three bivectors and their halved adjoint actions:

E1=e0e2,E2=e2e5,E3=e0e5,Ti=12 adEi,E_1 = e_0 e_2, \quad E_2 = e_2 e_5, \quad E_3 = e_0 e_5, \qquad T_i = \tfrac{1}{2}\,\mathrm{ad}_{E_i},E1​=e0​e2​,E2​=e2​e5​,E3​=e0​e5​,Ti​=21​adEi​​,

where adX(Y)=XY−YX\mathrm{ad}_{X}(Y) = XY - YXadX​(Y)=XY−YX. The triple satisfies the su(2)\mathfrak{su}(2)su(2) relations [E1,E2]=2E3[E_1,E_2]=2E_3[E1​,E2​]=2E3​ and cyclic permutations, so the TiT_iTi​ generate a copy of su(2)\mathfrak{su}(2)su(2) with [T1,T2]=T3[T_1,T_2]=T_3[T1​,T2​]=T3​ cyclically. The associated quadratic Casimir is the endomorphism

C  =  −(T12+T22+T32).C \;=\; -(T_1^2 + T_2^2 + T_3^2).C=−(T12​+T22​+T32​).

Because each EiE_iEi​ is even, every TiT_iTi​ preserves the odd sector, and so does CCC.

Formalization targets

Goal — the Casimir spectrum with exact multiplicities

C∣Cl−(6,0) has eigenvalue 2 with multiplicity 24 and eigenvalue 0 with multiplicity 8,C\big|_{\mathrm{Cl}^-(6,0)} \ \text{has eigenvalue } 2 \text{ with multiplicity } 24 \ \text{and eigenvalue } 0 \text{ with multiplicity } 8,C​Cl−(6,0)​ has eigenvalue 2 with multiplicity 24 and eigenvalue 0 with multiplicity 8,

the two eigenspaces spanning the whole odd sector. Equivalently, as a representation of the generated Spin(3)≅SU(2)\mathrm{Spin}(3) \cong \mathrm{SU}(2)Spin(3)≅SU(2),

Cl−(6,0)  ≅  8 Vj=1  ⊕  8 Vj=0,\mathrm{Cl}^-(6,0) \;\cong\; 8\,V_{j=1} \;\oplus\; 8\,V_{j=0},Cl−(6,0)≅8Vj=1​⊕8Vj=0​,

eight copies of the spin-1 module and eight copies of the trivial module. The goal deliberately asserts only the eigenspace dimensions and their spanning property — the decomposition shape — not any particular basis or pairing.

Stronger — the Cartan weight decomposition

T3-weights on Cl−(6,0):0 (multiplicity 16),+1 and −1 (multiplicity 8 each),T_3\text{-weights on } \mathrm{Cl}^-(6,0): \quad 0 \ \text{(multiplicity } 16\text{)}, \qquad +1 \ \text{and} \ -1 \ \text{(multiplicity } 8 \text{ each)},T3​-weights on Cl−(6,0):0 (multiplicity 16),+1 and −1 (multiplicity 8 each),

the three weight spaces spanning the sector. This refines the goal: each j=1j=1j=1 copy contributes weights −1,0,+1-1,0,+1−1,0,+1 and each j=0j=0j=0 copy contributes weight 000.

Significance

The result itself. The spectrum pins down exactly how an su(2)\mathfrak{su}(2)su(2) acting from inside the algebra sees the odd sector: not irreducibly, but as a clean 8⊕88 \oplus 88⊕8 multiplicity split between spin-1 and spin-0. In the LeanProofs program this decomposition is load-bearing for everything downstream that distinguishes "active" indices from "spectator" indices — the multiplicity 888 is the number of spectator degrees of freedom, and its appearance in the spectrum is what makes the split structural rather than coincidental. The weight decomposition further identifies the Cartan grading and is the natural first test case for any technology that must eventually handle larger Clifford algebras or other subalgebras.

Formalizing it. The computation is proved (structurally, by hand, in the research record) but not machine-checked. Everything needed lives in Mathlib: CliffordAlgebra, its Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ grading CliffordAlgebra.evenOdd, Submodule, LinearMap, Module.finrank. What the mission produces is a fully verified finite spectral computation inside Clifford algebra — a reusable certificate that the platform's Clifford and grading infrastructure supports exact representation-theoretic bookkeeping, not just algebraic identities.

Difficulty

The obstruction is bookkeeping, not ideas. The natural attack — split indices into active {0,2,5}\{0,2,5\}{0,2,5} and spectator {1,3,4}\{1,3,4\}{1,3,4}, decompose Cl(active)⊗Cl(spectator)\mathrm{Cl}(\text{active}) \otimes \mathrm{Cl}(\text{spectator})Cl(active)⊗Cl(spectator) as a tensor product of graded pieces, and read off the 8=238 = 2^38=23 multiplicity from the spectator sector — requires transferring the su(2)\mathfrak{su}(2)su(2) action across such a tensor decomposition, which Mathlib does not provide ready-made for Clifford algebras. A purely computational route (fix the 64-element blade basis, build the 32×3232 \times 3232×32 matrices of the TiT_iTi​ explicitly, compute kernels) is straightforwardly correct but laborious; making it readable is the real work. The statement is stated through arbitrary endomorphisms bound pointwise to the halved adjoint actions precisely so that solvers may choose either route.

Formalization scope

The mission commits to: the quadratic form Q60 as QuadraticMap.weightedSumSquares ℝ (fun _ : Fin 6 => 1); generators e6 i = CliffordAlgebra.ι Q60 (Pi.single i 1); the odd sector as the Mathlib-native CliffordAlgebra.evenOdd Q60 1; and the registered triple as products of two generators. All theorems quantify over endomorphism witnesses bound pointwise to 12 adEi\tfrac12\,\mathrm{ad}_{E_i}21​adEi​​, so no particular matrix realization is privileged. Spectra are stated as eigenspace decompositions with exact Module.finrank multiplicities — never as pointwise eigenvalue claims, which would be false for mixed vectors. No trivializing formalization exists: the multiplicities are hard constants, and the dimension gate (32) rules out statements about degenerate sector choices. The definition file is reusable for any future mission on Cl(6,0)\mathrm{Cl}(6,0)Cl(6,0); the su(2) relations and dimension gate are self-contained milestones. Contributions of either a structural (active/spectator split) or computational (explicit blade basis) proof are equally welcome.

Selected references

  • Lawson & Michelsohn, Spin Geometry, Princeton University Press, 1989 (Clifford algebra grading and structure).
  • MonumentalSystems, LeanProofs research record #2561 (2026): exact full-sector SU(2) decomposition of Cl−(6,0)\mathrm{Cl}^-(6,0)Cl−(6,0) with multiplicities, https://github.com/MonumentalSystems/LeanProofs
  • Mathlib, Mathlib.LinearAlgebra.CliffordAlgebra.Grading (the evenOdd grading used as the odd sector).
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Number Theory·Captain: Lucas

Grothendieck-Teichmüller: the graded Lie algebra grt_1 and the Deligne-Drinfeld-Ihara conjectureOpen Problem

Motivation

The Grothendieck-Teichmüller group organises a family of symmetries that act on braided monoidal categories, on quantised universal enveloping algebras, on the little-discs operad, and on the ring of periods of the projective line minus three points. Three versions exist: a profinite one GT^\widehat{GT}GT, introduced by Grothendieck and Drinfeld and containing the absolute Galois group Gal(Q‾/Q)\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb Q}/\mathbb Q)Gal(Q​/Q); a pro-ℓ\ellℓ one; and a pro-unipotent one GTGTGT, together with its graded companion GRTGRTGRT. This mission is about the graded, pro-unipotent side, which is the version that governs the homological-algebra and deformation-quantisation applications, and which is closest to a concrete, computable object: a Lie algebra of Lie polynomials in two variables, cut out by three explicit equations.

Its Lie algebra grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ carries a distinguished family of elements σ3,σ5,σ7,…\sigma_3, \sigma_5, \sigma_7, \dotsσ3​,σ5​,σ7​,…, one in each odd degree at least 333, produced from the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov associator. Deligne, Drinfeld and Ihara conjectured that grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ is the free Lie algebra on such a family. A timeline of what is actually known:

  • 1990 - V. Drinfeld, On quasitriangular quasi-Hopf algebras and a group closely connected with Gal(Q‾/Q)\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb Q}/\mathbb Q)Gal(Q​/Q), introduces GTGTGT, GRTGRTGRT, associators, and the defining equations of grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​; the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov associator shows the set of associators is non-empty, hence σ3,σ5,…\sigma_3, \sigma_5, \dotsσ3​,σ5​,… exist and are non-zero.
  • 2012 - F. Brown, Mixed Tate motives over Z\mathbb ZZ (Annals of Mathematics 175, 949-976, doi:10.4007/annals.2012.175.2.10), proves that the ζf(r1,…,rn)\zeta^{\mathfrak f}(r_1,\dots,r_n)ζf(r1​,…,rn​) with rj∈{2,3}r_j \in \{2,3\}rj​∈{2,3} form a basis of the algebra of motivic multiple zeta values. One half of the conjecture follows: the Lie subalgebra of grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ generated by the σ2p+1\sigma_{2p+1}σ2p+1​ is free on them.
  • The converse half - that these elements generate all of grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ - is open.

Setting

Let F(x,y)\mathbb{F}(x,y)F(x,y) be the free Lie algebra over Q\mathbb QQ on two generators xxx and yyy, graded by total word length. For a Lie algebra AAA over Q\mathbb QQ and a,b∈Aa, b \in Aa,b∈A, write ψ(a,b)\psi(a,b)ψ(a,b) for the image of ψ∈F(x,y)\psi \in \mathbb{F}(x,y)ψ∈F(x,y) under the unique Lie algebra morphism sending x↦ax \mapsto ax↦a and y↦by \mapsto by↦b.

For n≥1n \ge 1n≥1, the Drinfeld-Kohno Lie algebra tn\mathfrak t_ntn​ is generated over Q\mathbb QQ by symbols tijt_{ij}tij​, 1≤i,j≤n1 \le i, j \le n1≤i,j≤n, subject to

tii=0,tij=tji,[tij,tkl]=0,[tij,tik+tjk]=0,t_{ii} = 0, \qquad t_{ij} = t_{ji}, \qquad [t_{ij}, t_{kl}] = 0, \qquad [t_{ij}, t_{ik} + t_{jk}] = 0,tii​=0,tij​=tji​,[tij​,tkl​]=0,[tij​,tik​+tjk​]=0,

the third relation for i,j,k,li,j,k,li,j,k,l pairwise distinct and the fourth for i,j,ki,j,ki,j,k pairwise distinct. It is the Lie algebra of infinitesimal braid relations: the associated graded of the pure braid Lie algebra, and the coefficient algebra of the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov connection.

The graded Grothendieck-Teichmüller Lie algebra grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ is the set of ψ∈F(x,y)\psi \in \mathbb{F}(x,y)ψ∈F(x,y) satisfying three equations:

ψ(x,y)=−ψ(y,x),\psi(x,y) = -\psi(y,x),ψ(x,y)=−ψ(y,x), ψ(x,y)+ψ(y,z)+ψ(z,x)=0where x+y+z=0,\psi(x,y) + \psi(y,z) + \psi(z,x) = 0 \quad \text{where } x + y + z = 0,ψ(x,y)+ψ(y,z)+ψ(z,x)=0where x+y+z=0, ψ(t12,t23)−ψ(t12,t23+t24)+ψ(t12+t13,t24+t34)−ψ(t13+t23,t34)+ψ(t23,t34)=0  in t4.\psi(t_{12},t_{23}) - \psi(t_{12},t_{23}+t_{24}) + \psi(t_{12}+t_{13},t_{24}+t_{34}) - \psi(t_{13}+t_{23},t_{34}) + \psi(t_{23},t_{34}) = 0 \ \text{ in } \mathfrak t_4 .ψ(t12​,t23​)−ψ(t12​,t23​+t24​)+ψ(t12​+t13​,t24​+t34​)−ψ(t13​+t23​,t34​)+ψ(t23​,t34​)=0  in t4​.

All three are linear in ψ\psiψ and degree preserving, so grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ is a graded Q\mathbb QQ-subspace.

grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ is not closed under the bracket of F(x,y)\mathbb{F}(x,y)F(x,y); it is closed under the Ihara (Poisson) bracket

{f,g}=[f,g]+Dfg−Dgf,\{f,g\} = [f,g] + D_f g - D_g f,{f,g}=[f,g]+Df​g−Dg​f,

where DfD_fDf​ is the derivation of F(x,y)\mathbb{F}(x,y)F(x,y) determined by Dfx=0D_f x = 0Df​x=0 and Dfy=[y,f]D_f y = [y,f]Df​y=[y,f]. Writing Der\mathrm{Der}Der for the Lie algebra of derivations of F(x,y)\mathbb{F}(x,y)F(x,y) under the commutator, the assignment f↦Dff \mapsto D_ff↦Df​ satisfies [Df,Dg]=D{f,g}[D_f, D_g] = D_{\{f,g\}}[Df​,Dg​]=D{f,g}​, and it is injective on grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​; this is the form in which the Lie structure of grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ is expressed in the formal statements below.

Finally, for n1≥2n_1 \ge 2n1​≥2 and n2,…,nk≥1n_2,\dots,n_k \ge 1n2​,…,nk​≥1 the multiple zeta value is

ζ(n1,…,nk)=∑j1>j2>⋯>jk≥11j1n1j2n2⋯jknk.\zeta(n_1,\dots,n_k) = \sum_{j_1 > j_2 > \cdots > j_k \ge 1} \frac{1}{j_1^{n_1} j_2^{n_2} \cdots j_k^{n_k}} .ζ(n1​,…,nk​)=j1​>j2​>⋯>jk​≥1∑​j1n1​​j2n2​​⋯jknk​​1​.

These numbers are the coefficients of the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov associator, which is why they enter a mission about grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​; they satisfy the stuffle and shuffle relations, whose common refinement (the double shuffle relations) is the arithmetic side of the same story.

Formalization targets

Goal - Deligne-Drinfeld-Ihara

∃ σ0,σ1,σ2,⋯∈grt1,deg⁡σp=2p+3,such that grt1 is the free Lie algebra on (σp)p≥0 for { ,}.\exists\, \sigma_0, \sigma_1, \sigma_2, \dots \in \mathfrak{grt}_1, \quad \deg \sigma_p = 2p+3, \quad \text{such that } \mathfrak{grt}_1 \text{ is the free Lie algebra} \text{ on } (\sigma_p)_{p \ge 0} \text{ for } \{\,,\}.∃σ0​,σ1​,σ2​,⋯∈grt1​,degσp​=2p+3,such that grt1​ is the free Lie algebra on (σp​)p≥0​ for {,}.

Concretely: the Lie algebra morphism from the free Lie algebra on countably many generators to Der\mathrm{Der}Der sending the ppp-th generator to DσpD_{\sigma_p}Dσp​​ is injective, and its image is exactly D(grt1)D(\mathfrak{grt}_1)D(grt1​). The statement fixes the degrees of the generators but not the generators themselves, which is the weakest form that still carries the content of the conjecture.

Milestone level - Brown's half

The same family exists with the morphism merely injective: the σ2p+1\sigma_{2p+1}σ2p+1​ generate a free Lie subalgebra. This is a theorem (Brown 2012); the open part of the goal is surjectivity.

Supporting levels

The Ihara bracket is a Lie bracket; grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ is closed under it; the degree-333 element [x+y,[x,y]][x+y,[x,y]][x+y,[x,y]] lies in grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​; every odd degree ≥3\ge 3≥3 contains a non-zero element of grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​; multiple zeta values satisfy the stuffle and shuffle relations; and ζ(2,1)=ζ(3)\zeta(2,1) = \zeta(3)ζ(2,1)=ζ(3).

Significance

A positive answer would determine grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ completely and, through the GTGTGT-GRTGRTGRT-associator torsor, describe the pro-unipotent Grothendieck-Teichmüller group by generators without relations. Downstream it would pin down the homotopy automorphisms of the rationalised little-discs operad and the Lie algebra of the motivic Galois group of mixed Tate motives over Z\mathbb ZZ up to the same freeness statement. Without it, even the dimension of grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ in a given degree is only known to be bounded above by the Broadhurst-Kreimer style count, with equality unproved.

Formalizing this mission produces a machine-checked definition of tn\mathfrak t_ntn​, grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ and the Ihara bracket - objects that have no Mathlib counterpart at present - and machine-checked proofs of the Lie-theoretic facts around them. Brown's theorem itself is proved in the literature but not formalized; the goal statement is genuinely open, and no part of this mission is closed by an existing Lean development known to the proposal.

Difficulty

The obvious approach to the goal - exhibit the generators and count dimensions degree by degree - fails in both directions. Upwards, no closed formula for σ2p+1\sigma_{2p+1}σ2p+1​ is known: they are extracted from the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov associator, whose coefficients are regularised iterated integrals, and only their leading coefficients are controlled. Downwards, freeness of the subalgebra they generate is not an algebraic manipulation of the three defining equations: Brown derives it from the motivic theory of multiple zeta values, where the missing input is a basis theorem for a period algebra, not an identity in F(x,y)\mathbb{F}(x,y)F(x,y). Even the milestone "grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ is closed under the Ihara bracket" is not a formality: the pentagon equation lives in t4\mathfrak t_4t4​ and must be transported through substitutions into a quotient Lie algebra.

Formalization scope

The formalization commits to the following conventions, all visible in the definition files.

  1. The base field is Q\mathbb QQ. The source works over a field KKK of characteristic zero; every statement here is over Q\mathbb QQ.
  2. grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ is modelled inside the free Lie algebra FreeLieAlgebra ℚ (Fin 2), i.e. by Lie polynomials, not the completed Lie algebra F^(x,y)\widehat{\mathbb{F}}(x,y)F(x,y) of the source. The three defining equations are homogeneous, so the graded object determines the completed one; solvers should be aware that no topology or completion appears anywhere.
  3. tn\mathfrak t_ntn​ is the quotient of the free Lie algebra on ordered pairs of indices in Fin n by the Lie ideal generated by the four relation families above, so dkGen i j is ti+1,j+1t_{i+1,j+1}ti+1,j+1​ under the shift Fin 4 = {0,1,2,3} versus indices 1,2,3,41,2,3,41,2,3,4.
  4. Homogeneity is expressed by the rescaling characterisation: ψ\psiψ has degree nnn if ψ(cx,cy)=cnψ(x,y)\psi(cx,cy) = c^n \psi(x,y)ψ(cx,cy)=cnψ(x,y) for all c∈Qc \in \mathbb Qc∈Q. Over an infinite field this is equivalent to homogeneity for the word-length grading.
  5. The Ihara derivation uses Dfx=0D_f x = 0Df​x=0. The source writes Dfx=xD_f x = xDf​x=x in Remark 4.4 and in Section 7.3, but that convention contradicts Lemma 7.2 of the same notes and the computation {x,y}=[x,y]+[y,x]=0\{x,y\} = [x,y] + [y,x] = 0{x,y}=[x,y]+[y,x]=0 in Remark 7.2; Dfx=0D_f x = 0Df​x=0 is the convention under which both hold, and is the standard one.
  6. The Lie structure on grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ is carried by the injection f↦Dff \mapsto D_ff↦Df​ into LieDerivation ℚ (FreeLieAlgebra ℚ (Fin 2)) (FreeLieAlgebra ℚ (Fin 2)), so that freeness can be stated as injectivity of a morphism out of a free Lie algebra without first installing a new Lie algebra structure. Note f↦Dff \mapsto D_ff↦Df​ is injective on grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ but not on all of F(x,y)\mathbb{F}(x,y)F(x,y), where Dy=0D_y = 0Dy​=0; a supporting item records the injectivity actually used.
  7. Multiple zeta values are real numbers defined by an iterated tsum; for non-admissible words the series diverges and the definition returns Mathlib's junk value. Every statement about them therefore carries an admissibility hypothesis: all letters ≥1\ge 1≥1 and first letter ≥2\ge 2≥2. The stuffle and shuffle products are multisets of words, so no free module on words is needed.
  8. Nothing here is vacuous by construction: the defining equations of grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​ are linear conditions on a non-zero graded space, t4≠0\mathfrak t_4 \ne 0t4​=0, and the milestone [x+y,[x,y]]∈grt1[x+y,[x,y]] \in \mathfrak{grt}_1[x+y,[x,y]]∈grt1​, [x+y,[x,y]]≠0[x+y,[x,y]] \ne 0[x+y,[x,y]]=0 exhibits a non-zero element.

Contributions welcome: the Lie-theoretic milestones (Lemma 7.2, Corollary 7.1, closure of grt1\mathfrak{grt}_1grt1​, the degree-333 element) are self-contained and need no motivic input; the multiple zeta milestones need summability infrastructure for iterated series; Brown's theorem and the goal need a substantial development that does not yet exist in Lean.

Selected references

  • V. G. Drinfeld, On quasitriangular quasi-Hopf algebras and a group closely connected with Gal(Q‾/Q)\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb Q}/\mathbb Q)Gal(Q​/Q), Leningrad Math. J. 2 (1991), 829-860.
  • F. Brown, Mixed Tate motives over Z\mathbb ZZ, Annals of Mathematics 175 (2012), 949-976, doi:10.4007/annals.2012.175.2.10.
  • T. Willwacher, The Grothendieck-Teichmüller Group, ETH Zürich lecture notes, 27 February 2014 (the source text for this mission).
  • T. Willwacher, M. Kontsevich's graph complex and the Grothendieck-Teichmüller Lie algebra, Invent. Math. 200 (2015), 671-760, doi:10.1007/s00222-014-0528-x.
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Number TheoryRepresentation Theory·Captain: Lucas

Ngo's Fundamental Lemma II: Isogenies of Root Data and Paired GroupsResearch Paper

Motivation

Waldspurger's non-standard fundamental lemma is an identity between stable orbital integrals on the Lie algebras of two reductive groups that are not isomorphic, and not even isogenous as algebraic groups, but whose root data become identified after tensoring with Q\mathbb{Q}Q. The basic example is the pair (Sp2n,SO2n+1)(\mathrm{Sp}_{2n}, \mathrm{SO}_{2n+1})(Sp2n​,SO2n+1​), whose root systems CnC_nCn​ and BnB_nBn​ are exchanged by Langlands duality; the identity is what allows the twisted fundamental lemma to be deduced from the ordinary one. Waldspurger formulated the conjecture in L'endoscopie tordue n'est pas si tordue (2008); it is Theorem 1.12.7 of Bao Chau Ngo, Le lemme fondamental pour les algebres de Lie, Publ. Math. IHES 111 (2010), 1-169 (DOI), proved there in equal characteristic by the same Hitchin-fibration argument that gives the ordinary fundamental lemma.

Before any of that geometry can start, the two sides have to be compared: one needs a single Cartan subalgebra, a single Weyl group and a single space of characteristic polynomials serving both groups at once. Producing that comparison is a self-contained piece of linear algebra over the root data, carried out in Ngo's §1.12, and it is what this mission asks for.

Setting

Let G1G_1G1​ and G2G_2G2​ be split reductive groups over a field, pinned, with maximal tori T1T_1T1​ and T2T_2T2​. Each is determined by its root datum (X∗(Ti),X∗(Ti),Φi,Φi∨,Δi)(X^*(T_i), X_*(T_i), \Phi_i, \Phi_i^\vee, \Delta_i)(X∗(Ti​),X∗​(Ti​),Φi​,Φi∨​,Δi​), where Φi\Phi_iΦi​ is the set of roots, Φi∨\Phi_i^\veeΦi∨​ the set of coroots and Δi\Delta_iΔi​ the set of simple roots singled out by the pinning.

An isogeny of root data between G1G_1G1​ and G2G_2G2​ (Ngo, Definition 1.12.1) is a pair of isomorphisms of Q\mathbb{Q}Q-vector spaces

ψ∗:X∗(T2)⊗Q⟶X∗(T1)⊗Q,ψ∗:X∗(T1)⊗Q⟶X∗(T2)⊗Q\psi^* : X^*(T_2)\otimes\mathbb{Q} \longrightarrow X^*(T_1)\otimes\mathbb{Q}, \qquad \psi_* : X_*(T_1)\otimes\mathbb{Q} \longrightarrow X_*(T_2)\otimes\mathbb{Q}ψ∗:X∗(T2​)⊗Q⟶X∗(T1​)⊗Q,ψ∗​:X∗​(T1​)⊗Q⟶X∗​(T2​)⊗Q

which are transposes of one another, such that ψ∗\psi^*ψ∗ carries the set of lines Qα2\mathbb{Q}\alpha_2Qα2​ (α2∈Φ2\alpha_2 \in \Phi_2α2​∈Φ2​) bijectively onto the set of lines Qα1\mathbb{Q}\alpha_1Qα1​ (α1∈Φ1\alpha_1\in\Phi_1α1​∈Φ1​), matching lines of simple roots with lines of simple roots, and such that ψ∗\psi_*ψ∗​ has the same property for the lines spanned by coroots. Two semisimple groups with the same adjoint group are isogenous in this sense; so are a group and its Langlands dual, the interesting cases being Bn↔CnB_n \leftrightarrow C_nBn​↔Cn​, F4F_4F4​ and G2G_2G2​, where a short root α\alphaα is sent to αˇ\check\alphaαˇ and a long root to nαˇn\check\alphanαˇ with n=∣αlong∣2/∣αshort∣2n = |\alpha_{\mathrm{long}}|^2/|\alpha_{\mathrm{short}}|^2n=∣αlong​∣2/∣αshort​∣2. Groups obtained by twisting a pair of isogenous pinned groups by a common torsor are called paired.

A prime ppp is good with respect to ψ∗\psi^*ψ∗ when it divides neither of the indices

∣X∗(T1)/(X∗(T1)∩X∗(T2))∣and∣X∗(T2)/(X∗(T1)∩X∗(T2))∣,\bigl|X_*(T_1)/(X_*(T_1)\cap X_*(T_2))\bigr| \quad\text{and}\quad \bigl|X_*(T_2)/(X_*(T_1)\cap X_*(T_2))\bigr|,​X∗​(T1​)/(X∗​(T1​)∩X∗​(T2​))​and​X∗​(T2​)/(X∗​(T1​)∩X∗​(T2​))​,

the two lattices being compared inside the single Q\mathbb{Q}Q-vector space identified by ψ∗\psi_*ψ∗​.

Formalization targets

Goal (1.12.4 and 1.12.6): the Weyl groups are identified compatibly

ψ∗ w ψ∗−1∈W2for all w∈W1,and conversely,\psi_* \, w \, \psi_*^{-1} \in W_2 \quad \text{for all } w \in W_1, \qquad\text{and conversely,}ψ∗​wψ∗−1​∈W2​for all w∈W1​,and conversely,

i.e. conjugation by ψ∗\psi_*ψ∗​ carries the Weyl group W1W_1W1​ acting on X∗(T1)⊗QX_*(T_1)\otimes\mathbb{Q}X∗​(T1​)⊗Q onto the Weyl group W2W_2W2​ acting on X∗(T2)⊗QX_*(T_2)\otimes\mathbb{Q}X∗​(T2​)⊗Q. Ngo's reason is that the reflection attached to a root depends only on the line through that root, so the bijection of root lines transports reflections to reflections. This equivariance is what makes the induced isomorphism t1→t2\mathfrak{t}_1 \to \mathfrak{t}_2t1​→t2​ descend to an isomorphism ν:cG1→cG2\nu : \mathfrak{c}_{G_1} \to \mathfrak{c}_{G_2}ν:cG1​​→cG2​​ of the spaces of characteristic polynomials, which is Lemme 1.12.6 and which is what allows two points a1a_1a1​ and a2a_2a2​ with ν(a1)=a2\nu(a_1) = a_2ν(a1​)=a2​ to be compared at all.

Milestones

Two steps lead there: the reflection computation that makes a matched pair of root lines give a matched pair of reflections, and the integral statement behind Ngo's good-characteristic hypothesis — that when the two indices above are invertible in the base ring, the two lattices become identified after base change.

Significance

Theorem 1.12.7, the non-standard fundamental lemma, asserts that for two paired groups over Ov=k[[ϖ]]O_v = k[[\varpi]]Ov​=k[[ϖ]] with residue characteristic exceeding twice the Coxeter numbers, and for points a1a_1a1​ and a2a_2a2​ corresponding under ν\nuν, the stable orbital integrals of the characteristic functions of g1(Ov)\mathfrak{g}_1(O_v)g1​(Ov​) and g2(Ov)\mathfrak{g}_2(O_v)g2​(Ov​) agree. Waldspurger showed that this identity, together with the ordinary fundamental lemma, implies the twisted fundamental lemma. None of the objects in that statement — reductive group schemes over a discrete valuation ring, orbital integrals, Haar measures on the centralizer tori — exists in Mathlib today. The comparison of §1.12 does not need any of them: it is a statement about lattices, root systems and Weyl groups, and it is a strict prerequisite, since without the isomorphism ν\nuν the two sides of Theorem 1.12.7 cannot even be matched up.

Beyond this paper, the notion of an isogeny of root data and the good-characteristic base change of a pair of lattices are reusable: they are the standard bookkeeping behind Langlands duality for split groups, and neither is currently available.

Difficulty

The reflection step looks like a one-line computation and is one — but only once the two proportionality constants are known to agree. If ψ∗(α2)=c α1\psi^*(\alpha_2) = c\,\alpha_1ψ∗(α2​)=cα1​ and ψ∗(α1∨)=c′ α2∨\psi_*(\alpha_1^\vee) = c'\,\alpha_2^\veeψ∗​(α1∨​)=c′α2∨​, the conjugate of sα1s_{\alpha_1}sα1​​ is sα2s_{\alpha_2}sα2​​ exactly when c=c′c = c'c=c′, and that is forced by transposition together with ⟨α,α∨⟩=2\langle\alpha,\alpha^\vee\rangle = 2⟨α,α∨⟩=2. The genuine difficulty in the goal is different: the definition only says that ψ∗\psi^*ψ∗ and ψ∗\psi_*ψ∗​ permute lines, so one has to show that the bijection induced on root lines and the bijection induced on coroot lines are the same bijection. A solver who assumes this without proof has assumed the substance of 1.12.4.

The lattice milestone has its own trap: the quotient Λ1/(Λ1∩Λ2)\Lambda_1/(\Lambda_1\cap\Lambda_2)Λ1​/(Λ1​∩Λ2​) must be shown to have vanishing Tor\mathrm{Tor}Tor after base change, not merely to vanish, or the inclusion becomes only surjective.

Formalization scope

Root data are modelled by Mathlib's RootPairing ι ℚ M N, with MMM the character space, NNN the cocharacter space, and rational coefficients throughout, so that "tensoring with Q\mathbb{Q}Q" is built into the ambient objects rather than performed explicitly. A choice of simple roots is recorded as a subset of the index type rather than as a RootPairing.Base; nothing in the statements depends on that subset beyond its role in the definition of an isogeny. The Weyl group is the subgroup of linear automorphisms of the cocharacter space generated by the coreflections, which is the form in which it acts on the Cartan.

The goal is stated as a two-sided intertwining property rather than as an equality of subgroups: every element of W1W_1W1​ is intertwined by ψ∗\psi_*ψ∗​ with some element of W2W_2W2​ and conversely. This avoids introducing a conjugation homomorphism, and it is the form in which the statement is used. Both root pairings in the goal are required to be finite, reduced root systems, matching Ngo's hypothesis that G1G_1G1​ and G2G_2G2​ are reductive groups.

The good-characteristic condition is formalized exactly as Ngo writes it, by the invertibility in the base ring of the two indices, each expressed as the cardinality of an explicit quotient group; the conclusion is the bijectivity of the map induced on the tensor product by the inclusion of the intersection. If a quotient were infinite its cardinality is reported as 000, and invertibility of 000 then forces the base ring to be trivial, so no false statement hides in that corner.

No statement here is vacuous: any pair consisting of a root system and itself, with ψ∗\psi^*ψ∗ and ψ∗\psi_*ψ∗​ the identity, satisfies every hypothesis, and the pair (Bn,Cn)(B_n, C_n)(Bn​,Cn​) gives the intended non-trivial instances.

Selected references

  • Bao Chau Ngo, Le lemme fondamental pour les algebres de Lie, Publ. Math. IHES 111 (2010), 1-169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10240-010-0026-7
  • J.-L. Waldspurger, L'endoscopie tordue n'est pas si tordue, Mem. Amer. Math. Soc. 908 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1090/memo/0908
  • J.-L. Waldspurger, Le lemme fondamental implique le transfert, Compositio Math. 105 (1997), 153-236. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1000103112268
  • T. A. Springer, Reductive groups, in Automorphic Forms, Representations and L-functions, Proc. Sympos. Pure Math. 33 (1979), 3-27. https://doi.org/10.1090/pspum/033.1
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Captain: mysticflounder

Equational Magmas: E677 → E255 (finite case)Open Problem

Motivation

An equation for a magma constrains a binary operation without assuming that it is associative, commutative, or has an identity. Which laws imply which others, over all magmas or over finite magmas only, is the question the Equational Theories Project studies at scale. Restricting the underlying set to be finite can change the answer: a structural argument may depend on the fact that a surjective self-map of a finite set is injective.

The project's December 2025 paper reports the finite implication from E677 to E255 as unresolved, while reporting a counterexample to the implication when infinite magmas are allowed. The paper also tentatively conjectures that a finite counterexample exists. This mission makes the affirmative implication its formal target and also accepts a rigorous refutation of the complete finite statement.

This mission treats the universal target as open. Supporting structural facts and conditional reductions are separately identified, so that progress on one does not assert completion of the target.

Setting

A magma here is a type α\alphaα with a total binary operation ⋄:α×α→α\diamond:\alpha\times\alpha\to\alpha⋄:α×α→α. Parentheses specify the order of evaluation throughout; no reassociation is permitted. The condition E677 means

∀x,y∈α,x=y⋄(x⋄((y⋄x)⋄y)).\forall x,y\in\alpha,\quad x=y\diamond\bigl(x\diamond((y\diamond x)\diamond y)\bigr).∀x,y∈α,x=y⋄(x⋄((y⋄x)⋄y)).

The condition E255 means

∀x∈α,x=((x⋄x)⋄x)⋄x.\forall x\in\alpha,\quad x=((x\diamond x)\diamond x)\diamond x.∀x∈α,x=((x⋄x)⋄x)⋄x.

These are the two laws used in Chapter 13 of the project blueprint. For a fixed element yyy, the left translation (left multiplication) map is Ly(x)=y⋄xL_y(x)=y\diamond xLy​(x)=y⋄x. A fixer of xxx is an element yyy with y⋄x=xy\diamond x=xy⋄x=x; it acts on xxx from the left. This definition concerns one element xxx; it does not require yyy to act as an identity on every element. The left orbit of xxx is the forward orbit x,Lx(x),Lx2(x),…x,L_x(x),L_x^2(x),\ldotsx,Lx​(x),Lx2​(x),… of xxx under its own left translation.

Formalization targets

The supporting targets expose the relevant distinction between a constraint on a possible fixer and the existence of a fixer. For every finite α\alphaα satisfying E677, the first supporting statement is

∀y∈α,Ly is bijective.\forall y\in\alpha,\quad L_y\text{ is bijective}.∀y∈α,Ly​ is bijective.

The second supporting statement determines any fixer:

∀x,y∈α,y⋄x=x ⟹ y=(x⋄x)⋄x.\forall x,y\in\alpha,\quad y\diamond x=x\ \Longrightarrow\ y=(x\diamond x)\diamond x.∀x,y∈α,y⋄x=x ⟹ y=(x⋄x)⋄x.

The third supporting statement is the backward recurrence

∀x,y∈α,x=(y⋄x)⋄((y⋄(y⋄x))⋄y).\forall x,y\in\alpha,\quad x=(y\diamond x)\diamond\bigl((y\diamond(y\diamond x))\diamond y\bigr).∀x,y∈α,x=(y⋄x)⋄((y⋄(y⋄x))⋄y).

These three statements are blueprint Lemma 13.1(i)–(iii) and are Proved on this platform. The following fixer-existence assertion is the same obligation as E255 under E677 and finiteness (blueprint Lemma 13.2); it is a reduction node, not a milestone:

∀x∈α,∃y∈α,y⋄x=x.\forall x\in\alpha,\quad\exists y\in\alpha,\quad y\diamond x=x.∀x∈α,∃y∈α,y⋄x=x.

The mission goal is

∀ finite magmas α,E677⁡(α) ⟹ E255⁡(α).\forall\text{ finite magmas }\alpha,\quad \operatorname{E677}(\alpha)\ \Longrightarrow\ \operatorname{E255}(\alpha).∀ finite magmas α,E677(α) ⟹ E255(α).

For finite E677 magmas, E255 at xxx supplies the fixer (x⋄x)⋄x(x\diamond x)\diamond x(x⋄x)⋄x; from any fixer yyy of xxx, Lemma 13.1(ii) gives y=(x⋄x)⋄xy=(x\diamond x)\diamond xy=(x⋄x)⋄x and hence E255 at xxx. Each direction is one line, so fixer existence is not a strictly weaker milestone.

Three open sub-goals come from the case split in the accepted reduction sketches for the fixer-existence node. Sub-goal 1 is orbit-local: for a fixed xxx, if two elements of the left orbit of xxx have equal right products by xxx, then they are equal or xxx has a fixer. Sub-goal 2 concerns the case of exactly one element AAA outside the left orbit of xxx, with xxx having no fixer: a right-translation collision c⋄x=A⋄xc\diamond x=A\diamond xc⋄x=A⋄x between an orbit point ccc and AAA must propagate to the orbit successor x⋄cx\diamond cx⋄c. Sub-goal 3 assumes x⋄x≠xx\diamond x\ne xx⋄x=x and at least two elements outside the left orbit: if right translation by xxx sends an orbit point outside the orbit, then xxx has a fixer. Sub-goal 3 is not a smaller case of the goal. If it holds for every finite E677 magma, the mission goal follows by a product construction (item 1 of Known reductions and results below), and the mission goal gives Sub-goal 3 because E255 at xxx supplies the fixer (x⋄x)⋄x(x\diamond x)\diamond x(x⋄x)⋄x. So a proof of Sub-goal 3 alone proves the goal, and a route through Sub-goals 1 and 2 still needs Sub-goal 3. The D4 milestones specialize Sub-goal 1 to a left orbit of exact period four; D4.0, D4.1, D4.2 and D4.4a–e are Proved, and the series is open at D4.3 and its five branch closeouts D4.3a–e. One conditional result (E677 together with conjugacy-closed left translations implies E255; Padilla, 2026) is Proved on this platform. The counterexample milestone is the disproof target. None of the displayed statements restricts the cardinality to a tested range.

In the authors' repository, Sub-goal 1 is called Piece 1, the unique-outsider case containing Sub-goal 2 is called Gap 1, and the case of Sub-goal 3 is called Gap ≥ 2; those names appear in some theorem sources and file names.

Significance

A resolution determines whether this particular law gains E255 as a consequence upon restriction to finite carriers. An affirmative proof must cover every finite cardinality, every operation on each carrier, and every assignment of the universally quantified elements. A finite counterexample must supply an operation that satisfies every instance of E677 while failing E255 at some element.

The formal package provides small, reusable statements of the two laws, the left translation property, and the fixer constraint. Keeping these statements separate allows their precise hypotheses and conclusions to be checked individually. In particular, the second supporting result says what a fixer must be when one exists; the fixer-existence formulation records the additional mathematical content needed to ensure existence.

Difficulty

The left translation conclusion concerns maps with the left input fixed. The fixer-existence formulation instead asks about the image of the map y↦y⋄xy\mapsto y\diamond xy↦y⋄x, with its right input fixed. No assumption in the formal goal makes these two maps interchangeable. Bijectivity of every left translation map alone does not state that a fixer exists.

Because the implication fails for infinite magmas, E255 is not an equational consequence of E677, so any proof must use finiteness in an essential way. The blueprint's linear and linear-extension constructions cannot produce a finite counterexample (blueprint Lemmas 13.3 and 13.4); community members have formalized on this platform the scalar-coefficient case of the linear lemma, the Type I and Type II affine families, and the linear-extension lemma (see the discussion thread).

Likewise, checking a collection of finite operation tables does not quantify over arbitrary finite cardinalities. Such computation does not discharge the goal submitted here. Any proof must justify every use of finiteness and retain the displayed parenthesization of the laws.

Formalization scope

The representation uses an arbitrary universe-polymorphic type, an explicit binary operation, and a Fintype instance for finite targets. Passing the operation explicitly avoids importing a separate magma package or imposing algebraic typeclass laws. The predicates E677 and E255 themselves do not assume finiteness; each theorem states its own finite-carrier hypothesis.

Empty carriers are included. Both laws hold vacuously on them; the pointwise fixer statement is also vacuous because there is no element xxx. Consequently an empty carrier cannot refute the main goal. Nonempty carriers of every finite size are included without further assumptions. There is no associativity, commutativity, idempotence, identity element, or cancellation hypothesis hidden in the representation.

The definition bundle FiniteMagmaE677 provides E677, E255, HasFixerAt (existence of a fixer of xxx), InLeftOrbit (membership in the left orbit of xxx) and OrbitRightCollisionOrFixer. Three further bundles, FiniteMagmaE677_seventh_element_growth, FiniteMagmaE677_d4_first_return and FiniteMagmaE677_sswap_renewal, hold the period-four packet types used by the D4 milestones.

Status (2026-10-17 UTC). Proved on this platform: Lemma 13.1(i)–(iii), the Sub-goal 1 and Sub-goal 2 support lemmas, D4.0, D4.1, D4.2, D4.4a–e, the conditional conjugacy-closure theorem, and three further conditional theorems by omegaestable (existential row transport, parametrized row transport, left-parameter transport; see the discussion thread). Open: Sub-goals 1–3, D4.3 with D4.3a–e, and the counterexample target. Community members have also formalized the blueprint's 496-element non-right-cancellative E677 magma (see the discussion thread).

Welcome contributions: a proof of any open sub-goal or D4.3 branch (a proof of Sub-goal 3 proves the goal; see item 1 below); a proof sketch that reduces an open leaf to new lemmas; a concrete operation table on Fin n proving finite_counterexample, which would make the main theorem false.

Known reductions and results from the captain's repository

These results are in the captain's private repository and are not on this platform. Readers cannot open that repository, so each statement is given in full. For a Lean result, the axioms that Lean reports are listed.

1. Sub-goal 3 alone gives the mission goal. PROVEN (Lean; axioms propext, Classical.choice, Quot.sound). Let KKK be the E677 magma on {0,…,6}\{0,\dots,6\}{0,…,6} whose rows a⋄0,…,a⋄6a\diamond 0,\dots,a\diamond 6a⋄0,…,a⋄6 for a=0,…,6a=0,\dots,6a=0,…,6 are 6304251, 5620143, 2063514, 1256430, 0431625, 3145062, 4512306 (file db/7/1 of the public collection memoryleak47/eq677). The left orbit of 000 in KKK is 0,6,1,3,4,20,6,1,3,4,20,6,1,3,4,2, the only element outside it is 555, and the orbit point L02(0)=1L_0^2(0)=1L02​(0)=1 has 1⋄0=51\diamond 0=51⋄0=5. Let α\alphaα be a finite E677 magma and x∈αx\in\alphax∈α with x⋄x≠xx\diamond x\ne xx⋄x=x. Then α×K\alpha\times Kα×K with the componentwise operation satisfies E677 (product_e677 on this platform), and the second coordinates of the left orbit of X=(x,0)X=(x,0)X=(x,0) are the left orbit of 000 in KKK. So X⋄X≠XX\diamond X\ne XX⋄X=X; (x,5)(x,5)(x,5) and (x⋄x,5)(x\diamond x,5)(x⋄x,5) are two distinct elements outside the left orbit of XXX; and LX2(X)⋄XL_X^2(X)\diamond XLX2​(X)⋄X has second coordinate 555, so it is outside the orbit. These are the hypotheses of Sub-goal 3 at XXX, and a fixer (y1,y2)(y_1,y_2)(y1​,y2​) of XXX gives the fixer y1y_1y1​ of xxx. If x⋄x=xx\diamond x=xx⋄x=x, then xxx is a fixer of xxx. So Sub-goal 3, for every finite E677 magma, gives a fixer of every element of every finite E677 magma, and E255 follows by Lemma 13.1(ii). Source: Adam McKenna, The Missing Pair (private repository), revision 4100763b, lean/E677/Transport.lean, e677_fixer_exists_of_d7_leaf. The hypothesis of that theorem is the repository's D7TwoOutsiderRightDipPacket (lean/E677/Spine/D7NonFullCore.lean). Each part of it and the matching hypothesis of Sub-goal 3 give each other in one step: ¬∃i, a=Lxi(x)\neg\exists i,\ a=L_x^i(x)¬∃i, a=Lxi​(x) against ∀n, a≠Lxn(x)\forall n,\ a\ne L_x^n(x)∀n, a=Lxn​(x) for an outsider, and an escaping orbit point Lxk(x)L_x^k(x)Lxk​(x) against its index kkk. The conclusion is the same formula ∃y, y⋄x=x\exists y,\ y\diamond x=x∃y, y⋄x=x.

2. Normal form of a counterexample. PROVEN (Lean; axioms propext, Classical.choice, Quot.sound). Write D(z)=((z⋄z)⋄z)⋄zD(z)=((z\diamond z)\diamond z)\diamond zD(z)=((z⋄z)⋄z)⋄z. A congruence is a reflexive, symmetric and transitive relation θ\thetaθ such that a θ ba\,\theta\,baθb and c θ dc\,\theta\,dcθd imply (a⋄c) θ (b⋄d)(a\diamond c)\,\theta\,(b\diamond d)(a⋄c)θ(b⋄d). If some finite E677 magma fails E255, then for some nnn there are an E677 operation on {0,…,n−1}\{0,\dots,n-1\}{0,…,n−1} and a point zzz with D(z)≠zD(z)\ne zD(z)=z such that every element is a ⋄\diamond⋄-term in zzz alone, and every congruence that relates two distinct elements also relates zzz and D(z)D(z)D(z). The proof takes the least such nnn; otherwise a submagma or a quotient would be a smaller counterexample. Source: Adam McKenna, The Missing Pair (private repository), revision 4100763b, lean/E677/CriticalCore.lean, E677Crit.exists_pairCritical_counterexample. By E677Crit.not_pairCritical_prod_of_q_ne in the same file (no axioms), if two magmas each have at least two elements, no point of their product at which E255 fails has the congruence property. So a counterexample in this normal form is never such a product, and the construction of item 1 never produces one. Axiom record: docs/current/critical-core-audit-2026-08-03.md.

3. A refuted intermediate statement. NEGATIVE; computational (exhaustive check of one explicit table, run twice with independent encodings; not kernel-checked). Let S(x)S(x)S(x) be the closure of the left orbit of xxx under z↦z⋄xz\mapsto z\diamond xz↦z⋄x. The repository's gate CP asserted: in a finite E677 magma, if the hypotheses of Sub-goal 3 hold at xxx and z↦z⋄xz\mapsto z\diamond xz↦z⋄x is not injective on S(x)S(x)S(x), then the left orbit of xxx has minimal period 777. Let MMM be the E677 magma of order 777777 in file db/77/65 of the same collection. In M×KM\times KM×K (order 539539539; E677 checked on all 5392539^25392 pairs), the point (0,0)(0,0)(0,0) satisfies these hypotheses, and its left orbit has minimal period lcm⁡(7,6)=42\operatorname{lcm}(7,6)=42lcm(7,6)=42. The point (0,0)(0,0)(0,0) has the fixer (76,4)(76,4)(76,4), so this is not a counterexample to E255, and it refutes CP only in the form without a no-fixer hypothesis. With that hypothesis added, the construction of item 1 derives from CP a fixer of every element of every finite E677 magma, and hence the mission goal (PROVEN, Lean: lean/E677/Transport.lean, e677_fixer_exists_of_gate_cp; axioms propext, Classical.choice, Quot.sound). Source: Adam McKenna, The Missing Pair (private repository), revision 4100763b, docs/current/dead-ends/gap-ge-2.md, entry D7-6.

4. Φ(x)=(x⋄x)⋄x\Phi(x)=(x\diamond x)\diamond xΦ(x)=(x⋄x)⋄x is not injective in general. EMPIRICAL. In the 2026-09-27 snapshot of the community database (4091 tables), every table satisfies E255, and Φ\PhiΦ is not injective in 1107 of them; the smallest such order is 777. In one table of order 7, row 6 is the identity row, so 666 is a fixer of every xxx and Lemma 13.1(ii) gives Φ(x)=6\Phi(x)=6Φ(x)=6 for every xxx. So global injectivity of Φ\PhiΦ is not a usable intermediate target. Source: Adam McKenna, The Missing Pair (private repository), revision 4100763b, docs/professor-phi-injectivity.md, correction of 2026-10-14.

5. Solver ledger for one period-four configuration. EMPIRICAL, incomplete. One CNF encoding of a period-four collision configuration of Sub-goal 1 on 11 elements, with added derived constraints, is split into 37 cubes. Twenty cubes are UNSAT, each with an LRAT proof accepted by the native drat-trim LRAT checker (unverified C code, not a kernel-checked proof). The other 17 have no recorded result; each was UNKNOWN under an earlier 300-second limit. No conclusion about Sub-goal 1 follows. Source: Adam McKenna, The Missing Pair (private repository), revision 4100763b, docs/current/e677-closure-plan-2026-08-04.md, section "Live strict PiQD campaign for the 37-cube n = 11 diagnostic".

6. Period-four refinements. PROVEN in the private repository; not ported to this platform (Lean; axioms propext, Classical.choice, Quot.sound). A repository theorem refines the five branches of the D4.2 first-return packet and keeps every case. Write q=c2⋄xq=c_2\diamond xq=c2​⋄x. In the R-through-one branch (the repository's name), each outcome is a fixer of xxx, a strict decrease of a finite contact budget, a new LxL_xLx​-cycle disjoint from the elements already accounted for (with its exact size), or a closed trace of Lq−1L_q^{-1}Lq−1​ that is reduced to two phase-contact families. In the two unswapped S branches, each outcome is a fixer of xxx, a decrease by one of the number of unmarked phases on the LxL_xLx​-cycle of qqq, or a new disjoint LxL_xLx​-cycle with its exact size. These results do not close D4.3 or any of D4.3a–e, because the outcomes are not yet combined into one state with a strictly decreasing well-founded measure. Source: Adam McKenna, The Missing Pair (private repository), revision 4100763b, lean/E677/Spine/Piece1D4RefinedFirstReturn.lean, e677_d4_q_refinedFirstReturnPacket_of_firstReturnPacket; closure plan docs/current/e677-closure-plan-2026-08-04.md, sections "D4 R/S finite renewal integration" and "Production-interface correction".

7. Whole-orbit form of the q-subdiagonal identity. PROVEN in the private repository; not ported to this platform (Lean; axioms propext, Classical.choice, Quot.sound). In a finite E677 magma, fix xxx and write ck=Lxk(x)c_k=L_x^k(x)ck​=Lxk​(x) and qk=ck⋄((ck+1⋄ck)⋄ck+1)q_k=c_k\diamond((c_{k+1}\diamond c_k)\diamond c_{k+1})qk​=ck​⋄((ck+1​⋄ck​)⋄ck+1​). If qi=qjq_i=q_jqi​=qj​ implies ci=cjc_i=c_jci​=cj​ for all i,ji,ji,j, then right translation by xxx is injective on the left orbit of xxx, so Sub-goal 1 holds at xxx through its first alternative. Conversely, if right translation by xxx is injective on the left orbit of xxx, then qi=qjq_i=q_jqi​=qj​ implies ci=cjc_i=c_jci​=cj​ for all i,ji,ji,j. Sub-goal 1 support (b) and (c) are the pointwise statements. So a no-repeat property of the qqq-subdiagonal is not a weaker target than injectivity of right translation on the orbit. Source: Adam McKenna, The Missing Pair (private repository), revision 4100763b, lean/E677/CoreBase.lean, e677_orbitQ_subdiag_injective_iff_Rx_injective_on_orbit.

Selected references

  • Matthew Bolan et al., The Equational Theories Project: Advancing Collaborative Mathematical Research at Scale, arXiv:2512.07087v2 (December 16, 2025), paper.
  • The Equational Theories Project contributors, Equational Theories, online proof blueprint, Chapter 13, equations (1)–(2) and Lemmas 13.1–13.4, chapter, accessed September 7, 2026 and October 13, 2026.
  • J. I. Padilla (GitHub: omegaestable), Prove E677 implies E255 under left translation conjugacy closure, Equational Theories Project pull request #1518, 2026 (closed without merge by its author on 2026-10-13; the theorem is Proved on this platform), pull request.
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Captain: Lucas

Liouville's theorem (differential algebra)Textbook

Motivation

Some elementary functions, such as e−x2e^{-x^2}e−x2, sin⁡(x)/x\sin(x)/xsin(x)/x and xxx^xxx, have antiderivatives that cannot be written as elementary functions. Liouville's theorem, formulated by Joseph Liouville between 1833 and 1841, is the algebraic statement that explains when an elementary antiderivative can exist: if a function has an elementary antiderivative at all, then that antiderivative lies in the differential field of the function, plus finitely many logarithms. The theorem underlies the Risch algorithm for symbolic integration, which relies on it to find any elementary antiderivative.

Setting

A differential field is a field FFF together with a derivation D:F→FD : F \to FD:F→F, i.e. an additive map satisfying D(ab)=a Db+b DaD(ab) = a\,Db + b\,DaD(ab)=aDb+bDa. Its constants form the subfield

Con⁡(F)={f∈F:Df=0}.\operatorname{Con}(F) = \{ f \in F : Df = 0 \}.Con(F)={f∈F:Df=0}.

Let G⊇FG \supseteq FG⊇F be a differential field extension (the derivation of GGG restricts to that of FFF).

  • GGG is a logarithmic extension of FFF if G=F(t)G = F(t)G=F(t) with ttt transcendental over FFF and Dt=Ds/sDt = Ds/sDt=Ds/s for some nonzero s∈Fs \in Fs∈F (so ttt behaves like log⁡s\log slogs).
  • GGG is an exponential extension of FFF if G=F(t)G = F(t)G=F(t) with ttt transcendental over FFF and Dt/t=DsDt/t = DsDt/t=Ds for some s∈Fs \in Fs∈F (so ttt behaves like ese^{s}es).
  • GGG is an elementary differential extension of FFF if there is a finite chain of subfields F=K0⊆K1⊆⋯⊆Km=GF = K_0 \subseteq K_1 \subseteq \cdots \subseteq K_m = GF=K0​⊆K1​⊆⋯⊆Km​=G in which every step Ki+1=Ki(ti)K_{i+1} = K_i(t_i)Ki+1​=Ki​(ti​) is algebraic, logarithmic or exponential.

The running example is C(x)\mathbb{C}(x)C(x), the field of rational functions in one variable with the standard derivative d/dxd/dxd/dx.

Formalization targets

Goal: Liouville's theorem

Let F⊆GF \subseteq GF⊆G be differential fields of characteristic zero with Con⁡(F)=Con⁡(G)\operatorname{Con}(F) = \operatorname{Con}(G)Con(F)=Con(G), and let GGG be an elementary differential extension of FFF. If f∈Ff \in Ff∈F and g∈Gg \in Gg∈G satisfy Dg=fDg = fDg=f, then there are n≥0n \ge 0n≥0, constants c1,…,cn∈Con⁡(F)c_1, \dots, c_n \in \operatorname{Con}(F)c1​,…,cn​∈Con(F) and nonzero f1,…,fn∈Ff_1, \dots, f_n \in Ff1​,…,fn​∈F, and s∈Fs \in Fs∈F with

f=c1Df1f1+⋯+cnDfnfn+Ds.f = c_1 \frac{Df_1}{f_1} + \cdots + c_n \frac{Df_n}{f_n} + Ds.f=c1​f1​Df1​​+⋯+cn​fn​Dfn​​+Ds.

Milestones from the article

  1. The constants Con⁡(F)\operatorname{Con}(F)Con(F) form a subfield of FFF.
  2. C(x)\mathbb{C}(x)C(x) carries a (unique) derivation extending the formal derivative of polynomials.
  3. Con⁡(C(x))=C\operatorname{Con}(\mathbb{C}(x)) = \mathbb{C}Con(C(x))=C.
  4. 1/x1/x1/x has no antiderivative in C(x)\mathbb{C}(x)C(x).
  5. The antiderivatives ln⁡x+C\ln x + Clnx+C of 1/x1/x1/x exist in the logarithmic extension C(x,ln⁡x)\mathbb{C}(x, \ln x)C(x,lnx).
  6. 1/(x2+1)1/(x^2+1)1/(x2+1) has no antiderivative in C(x)\mathbb{C}(x)C(x).
  7. 1x2+1=12i Duu\displaystyle \frac{1}{x^2+1} = \frac{1}{2i}\,\frac{Du}{u}x2+11​=2i1​uDu​ with u=1+ix1−ixu = \frac{1+ix}{1-ix}u=1−ix1+ix​, i.e. tan⁡−1x=12iln⁡1+ix1−ix\tan^{-1} x = \frac{1}{2i}\ln\frac{1+ix}{1-ix}tan−1x=2i1​ln1−ix1+ix​ has the form required by the theorem.

Significance

The theorem reduces the question of whether an integral is elementary to a question about the base differential field. That reduction is what makes decision procedures for integration in finite terms (the Risch algorithm) possible, and it is the standard route to proving that e−x2e^{-x^2}e−x2, sin⁡(x)/x\sin(x)/xsin(x)/x or xxx^xxx have no elementary antiderivative.

The result is classical and proved (Liouville; modern algebraic proof by Rosenlicht; textbook proof in Geddes–Czapor–Labahn, §12.4). Mathlib contains a formalization of the algebraic-extension part of the argument (IsLiouville, isLiouville_of_finiteDimensional in Mathlib/FieldTheory/Differential/Liouville.lean); the logarithmic and exponential steps and the full theorem for elementary extensions are the remaining work.

Difficulty

The algebraic steps can be handled by taking traces. The central difficulty is the transcendental steps: for a logarithmic or exponential generator ttt one must show, by comparing partial-fraction expansions in ttt and degrees in ttt, that an expression of the Liouville form over K(t)K(t)K(t) can be pushed down to one over KKK. This needs the hypothesis that no new constants appear. The induction must also track how constants and logarithmic derivatives behave along the whole chain.

Formalization scope

A differential field is a Mathlib Field with a Differential instance (a derivation over Z\mathbb{Z}Z, written a′a'a′); the extension F⊆GF \subseteq GF⊆G is an Algebra F G with DifferentialAlgebra F G, i.e. DDD commutes with the embedding. The chain of the elementary extension is a sequence of IntermediateField F G, starting at ⊥\bot⊥ and ending at ⊤\top⊤. Each step adjoins a single element, which is algebraic, logarithmic, or exponential over the previous field, and every derivative is computed in GGG. Characteristic zero is assumed (CharZero F). The article does not state it, but it is the standing convention of the theorem in its standard sources. Con⁡(F)=Con⁡(G)\operatorname{Con}(F) = \operatorname{Con}(G)Con(F)=Con(G) is stated as the equality of the image of Con⁡(F)\operatorname{Con}(F)Con(F) with Con⁡(G)\operatorname{Con}(G)Con(G). In the conclusion, the fif_ifi​ are required to be nonzero, so the quotients Dfi/fiDf_i/f_iDfi​/fi​ carry no division-by-zero junk.

For the C(x)\mathbb{C}(x)C(x) examples, C(x)\mathbb{C}(x)C(x) is Mathlib's RatFunc ℂ. Mathlib does not provide its derivative, so the examples take an arbitrary derivation satisfying IsStandardDerivation (it agrees with the formal derivative on polynomials). Milestone 2 asserts that exactly one such derivation exists, so the examples are not vacuous.

Selected references

  • J. Liouville, Premier / Second mémoire sur la détermination des intégrales dont la valeur est algébrique, J. École Polytechnique XIV (1833), 124–193.
  • M. Rosenlicht, Integration in finite terms, Amer. Math. Monthly 79 (1972), 963–972. https://doi.org/10.2307/2318066
  • K. O. Geddes, S. R. Czapor, G. Labahn, Algorithms for Computer Algebra, Kluwer, 1992, §12.4.
  • Wikipedia, Liouville's theorem (differential algebra), oldid 1349223559.
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Numerical Analysis·Captain: Lucas

Métodos Numéricos (Freitas) III: Sistemas Lineares e a Convergência de Gauss-SeidelTextbook

Motivation

Linear systems are the inner loop of scientific computing: discretized differential equations, least-squares fitting, network flow balances and equilibrium models all end in Ax=bAx = bAx=b. Direct elimination solves the system exactly in O(n3)O(n^3)O(n3) operations, but for the large sparse systems produced by discretization the cost and the round-off growth make iterative methods preferable: start from an arbitrary vector and apply a cheap update until the residual is small. The question such a method raises is when the iteration converges, and to that the chapter gives a clean sufficient answer: diagonal dominance.

This mission is the third in a series formalizing the lecture notes Métodos Numéricos by Sergio Roberto de Freitas (UFMS, 2000). It covers the iterative part of Chapter 5, Solução de Sistemas Lineares.

Setting

Let A=(aij)A = (a_{ij})A=(aij​) be a real ntimesnn \\times nntimesn matrix and binmathbbRnb \\in \\mathbb{R}^nbinmathbbRn. Assume aiineq0a_{ii} \\neq 0aii​neq0 for all iii.

The Jacobi method computes every coordinate of the new iterate from the old one:

xi(k+1)=frac1aiileft(bi−sumjneqiaijxj(k)right).x_i^{(k+1)} = \\frac{1}{a_{ii}}\\left(b_i - \\sum_{j \\neq i} a_{ij} x_j^{(k)}\\right).xi(k+1)​=frac1aii​left(bi​−sumjneqi​aij​xj(k)​right).

The Gauss-Seidel method updates the coordinates in order i=1,dots,ni = 1, \\dots, ni=1,dots,n and uses the values already updated in the same sweep:

xi(k+1)=frac1aiileft(bi−sumj<iaijxj(k+1)−sumj>iaijxj(k)right).x_i^{(k+1)} = \\frac{1}{a_{ii}}\\left(b_i - \\sum_{j < i} a_{ij}x_j^{(k+1)} - \\sum_{j > i} a_{ij}x_j^{(k)}\\right).xi(k+1)​=frac1aii​left(bi​−sumj<i​aij​xj(k+1)​−sumj>i​aij​xj(k)​right).

Both are instances of an affine iteration x(k+1)=Bx(k)+dx^{(k+1)} = Bx^{(k)} + dx(k+1)=Bx(k)+d associated with an equivalent rewriting Ax=biffx=Bx+dAx = b \\iff x = Bx + dAx=biffx=Bx+d.

The matrix AAA is diagonally dominant when each diagonal entry dominates its row:

∣aii∣>sumjneqi∣aij∣qquad(i=1,dots,n).|a_{ii}| > \\sum_{j \\neq i} |a_{ij}| \\qquad (i = 1, \\dots, n).∣aii​∣>sumjneqi​∣aij​∣qquad(i=1,dots,n).

Target

The goal theorem is Proposição 5.10.1: if AAA is diagonally dominant and x^\\star solves Ax^\\star = b, then the Gauss-Seidel iterates converge to x^\\star from any starting vector.

The milestones are the general facts the source uses to get there: that the limit of a convergent affine iteration is a fixed point of it and hence a solution of the system (Proposição 5.5.1), that a contraction condition lVertBvrVertleclVertvrVert\\lVert Bv \\rVert \\le c\\lVert v \\rVertlVertBvrVertleclVertvrVert with c<1c < 1c<1 forces convergence to the solution (Proposição 5.5.3), and that the Jacobi sweep has exactly the solutions of Ax=bAx = bAx=b as its fixed points (Proposição 5.5.2).

Significance

Diagonal dominance is the hypothesis a practitioner can check by inspection, and it is satisfied by the matrices that come from standard finite-difference stencils, from strictly diagonally dominant collocation systems and from many equilibrium models. The theorem says that for those systems Gauss-Seidel needs no spectral analysis and no preconditioner to be safe: convergence holds from any starting vector. The supporting milestones isolate the two halves of the argument — a fixed-point identification and a contraction estimate — in a form reusable for other splittings (Jacobi, SOR, block variants).

Mathlib has Banach's fixed point theorem and the theory of matrix norms, but not the Gauss-Seidel sweep, the notion of diagonal dominance as used here, or the convergence statement, which is what this mission adds.

Difficulty

Gauss-Seidel is not a plain affine map applied coordinatewise: within one sweep the coordinates are updated sequentially, so the new value of coordinate iii depends on the new values of coordinates j<ij < ij<i. Formalizing the sweep therefore requires a recursion over the coordinate index before the recursion over the iteration counter, and the contraction estimate has to be propagated along that inner recursion. The classical proof compares \\max_i |x_i^{(k+1)} - x_i^\\star| with \\max_i |x_i^{(k)} - x_i^\\star| and needs, for each iii, a bound that already uses the improved bounds for j<ij < ij<i; getting that induction right is the substance of the mission.

Formalization scope

Vectors are functions from a finite index type with nnn elements to mathbbR\\mathbb{R}mathbbR, and convergence is convergence in that finite product space (equivalently, coordinatewise). The Gauss-Seidel sweep is defined through an auxiliary partial sweep: after kkk inner steps the first kkk coordinates carry their new values and the remaining ones their old values, and the full sweep is the partial sweep after nnn steps. The Jacobi sweep is defined directly. Diagonal dominance is the strict inequality above, with the sum taken over the row with the diagonal index removed; for n=0n = 0n=0 every statement is vacuous, and the goal theorem is then trivially true because the space has a single point. Division by the diagonal entry is total division, so the definitions make sense even when aii=0a_{ii} = 0aii​=0; diagonal dominance rules that out, because the right-hand side of the dominance inequality is nonnegative. The goal theorem assumes a solution x^\\star is given rather than asserting its existence, and it asserts convergence for every starting vector, generalizing the source's choice x(0)=0x^{(0)} = 0x(0)=0. The contraction milestone states the consistency of the norms as the hypothesis lVertBvrVertleclVertvrVert\\lVert Bv \\rVert \\le c \\lVert v \\rVertlVertBvrVertleclVertvrVert in the supremum norm rather than fixing a particular matrix norm.

Selected references

  • S. R. Freitas, Métodos Numéricos, Departamento de Computação e Estatística, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, 2000. Chapter 5, Solução de Sistemas Lineares, pp. 85–118. (Course notes supplied with this mission.)
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Group TheoryNumber Theory·Captain: Lucas

The Inverse Galois ProblemOpen Problem

Motivation

Galois theory attaches to every finite Galois extension L/KL/KL/K a finite group Gal(L/K)\mathrm{Gal}(L/K)Gal(L/K), the group of field automorphisms of LLL fixing KKK pointwise, and the fundamental theorem of Galois theory turns the subfield structure of L/KL/KL/K into the subgroup structure of that group. The inverse Galois problem asks whether this correspondence is surjective over the rationals: given an arbitrary finite group GGG, is there a Galois extension L/QL/\mathbb{Q}L/Q with Gal(L/Q)≅G\mathrm{Gal}(L/\mathbb{Q}) \cong GGal(L/Q)≅G? The question was posed in the early nineteenth century and is unsolved.

What makes it a live research question rather than a curiosity is that the known positive results come from genuinely different sources, and none of them covers all finite groups.

  • Cyclic and, more generally, finite abelian groups are realizable over Q\mathbb{Q}Q by an explicit cyclotomic construction resting on Dirichlet's theorem on primes in arithmetic progressions.
  • Symmetric and alternating groups are realizable over Q\mathbb{Q}Q; this is due to Hilbert, who realized them first over the rational function field Q(t)\mathbb{Q}(t)Q(t) and then specialized ttt using his irreducibility theorem.
  • Every finite solvable group is realizable over Q\mathbb{Q}Q; this is Shafarevich's theorem (I. R. Shafarevich, The imbedding problem for splitting extensions, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 120 (1958), 1217–1219), obtained by solving embedding problems.
  • Over C(t)\mathbb{C}(t)C(t) — and over K(t)K(t)K(t) for any algebraically closed KKK of characteristic zero — every finite group is realizable, by the Riemann existence theorem. The obstruction to the goal is not the group theory; it is descending the field of constants to Q\mathbb{Q}Q.
  • Case-by-case work covers large finite lists: all transitive permutation groups of degree at most 232323, and every sporadic simple group, are known to be realizable over Q\mathbb{Q}Q.

Setting

Fix a field KKK and a group GGG. A Galois realization of GGG over KKK is a field LLL equipped with a KKK-algebra structure such that the extension L/KL/KL/K is Galois — normal and separable — together with a group isomorphism

G  ≅  Gal(L/K),G \;\cong\; \mathrm{Gal}(L/K),G≅Gal(L/K),

where Gal(L/K)\mathrm{Gal}(L/K)Gal(L/K) denotes the group of KKK-algebra automorphisms of LLL under composition. The group GGG is realizable over KKK, written IsRealizable K G, when at least one Galois realization of GGG over KKK exists. No finiteness of L/KL/KL/K is imposed in the definition; it is automatic once GGG is finite, because an infinite Galois extension has infinite automorphism group.

Two base fields beyond Q\mathbb{Q}Q appear throughout. K(t)K(t)K(t) denotes the field of rational functions in one variable over KKK, written RatFunc K; and for the statement that a group is realizable over some number field, the base field ranges over the intermediate fields of C/Q\mathbb{C}/\mathbb{Q}C/Q.

Formalization targets

Goal — the inverse Galois problem

for every finite group G,∃ L/Q Galois with Gal(L/Q)≅G.\text{for every finite group } G, \qquad \exists\, L/\mathbb{Q} \text{ Galois with } \mathrm{Gal}(L/\mathbb{Q}) \cong G.for every finite group G,∃L/Q Galois with Gal(L/Q)≅G.

The goal fixes no degree, no polynomial and no construction: it asserts only the shape of the truth, so no later refinement of the known constructions can invalidate it.

Milestones — the known partial results

G cyclic  ⟹  G realizable over Q,G abelian  ⟹  G realizable over Q,G \text{ cyclic} \;\Longrightarrow\; G \text{ realizable over } \mathbb{Q}, \qquad G \text{ abelian} \;\Longrightarrow\; G \text{ realizable over } \mathbb{Q},G cyclic⟹G realizable over Q,G abelian⟹G realizable over Q, Sym(S),  An realizable over Q,G solvable  ⟹  G realizable over Q,\mathrm{Sym}(S),\; A_n \text{ realizable over } \mathbb{Q}, \qquad G \text{ solvable} \;\Longrightarrow\; G \text{ realizable over } \mathbb{Q},Sym(S),An​ realizable over Q,G solvable⟹G realizable over Q, ∃ K, Q⊆K⊆C, G realizable over K,\exists\, K,\ \mathbb{Q} \subseteq K \subseteq \mathbb{C},\ G \text{ realizable over } K,∃K, Q⊆K⊆C, G realizable over K, G realizable over C(t),G realizable over K(t) (K algebraically closed, char 0),G \text{ realizable over } \mathbb{C}(t), \qquad G \text{ realizable over } K(t) \ (K \text{ algebraically closed, char } 0),G realizable over C(t),G realizable over K(t) (K algebraically closed, char 0), G realizable over Q(t)  ⟹  G realizable over Q.G \text{ realizable over } \mathbb{Q}(t) \;\Longrightarrow\; G \text{ realizable over } \mathbb{Q}.G realizable over Q(t)⟹G realizable over Q.

The last milestone is the Hilbert-irreducibility descent step; together with the geometric milestones it makes precise which half of the classical programme is missing.

Significance

The result itself would settle a two-century-old question and, with it, the surjectivity of the Galois correspondence over Q\mathbb{Q}Q: every abstract finite group would be known to arise from an explicit arithmetic object, a polynomial with rational coefficients. Its absence is felt in practice — constructing a single new Galois group over Q\mathbb{Q}Q is publishable work, as the recent additions of the degree-171717 group 17T717T717T7 (van Bommel–Costa–Elkies–Keller–Schiavone–Voight, 2024) and of the Mathieu group M23M_{23}M23​ show.

Formalizing it produces something available today independently of the goal: a machine-checked library of the known realizability results. Mathlib has the fundamental theorem of Galois theory, cyclotomic extensions, the Kronecker–Weber theorem, solvability of groups and symmetric/alternating group theory, but it does not have a predicate for "GGG is a Galois group over KKK", nor any of the milestones above. Every milestone here is a proved theorem of classical number theory and an unformalized one; the cyclic and abelian cases are within reach of current Mathlib, while the Shafarevich and Riemann-existence milestones are substantial formalization projects in their own right.

Difficulty

The obvious strategy fails at a well-understood point. Over C(t)\mathbb{C}(t)C(t) the problem is solved: by the Riemann existence theorem every finite group occurs as the deck-transformation group of a branched cover of the projective line. Hilbert's irreducibility theorem then descends realizability from Q(t)\mathbb{Q}(t)Q(t) to Q\mathbb{Q}Q. What is missing is the step in between: producing the cover over Q\mathbb{Q}Q rather than over C\mathbb{C}C, i.e. showing that the geometric solution can be chosen with rational field of constants. The rigidity method makes this work for many groups, but there is no known argument covering all of them; an approach that only produces realizability over some number field is not enough, and that weaker statement is included as a milestone precisely to mark the line.

A second, purely formal difficulty: the milestones are classical but their published proofs are long. Shafarevich's theorem rests on a delicate analysis of embedding problems, and the Riemann existence theorem is analytic input that Mathlib does not currently have in the required form.

Formalization scope

The mission fixes one definition file, published first, carrying the structure GaloisRealization and the one-field class IsRealizable. Conventions it commits to:

  • IsGalois K L is Mathlib's Galois condition (normal and separable); finiteness of the extension is not assumed.
  • The isomorphism is with the full automorphism group L≃alg[K]LL \simeq_{\mathrm{alg}[K]} LL≃alg[K]​L, not with a quotient or a subgroup of it.
  • The carrier LLL of a realization is required to live in the same universe as KKK. This costs no generality for the statements of the mission — for finite GGG a realization is a finite extension of KKK — and keeps every statement universe-monomorphic.
  • Sym(S)\mathrm{Sym}(S)Sym(S) is Equiv.Perm S for a finite type SSS, and AnA_nAn​ is alternatingGroup (Fin n); degenerate small cases are included rather than excluded.
  • Solvability is Group.IsSolvable.

The statements cannot be satisfied vacuously: IsRealizable K G asserts the existence of data, so a solver must exhibit an extension; and the hypotheses of the milestones (cyclic, abelian, solvable, or none at all) are all satisfiable, so no milestone is empty. The one conditional milestone, Hilbert descent, is stated with realizability over Q(t)\mathbb{Q}(t)Q(t) as an explicit hypothesis.

Infrastructure a complete development needs, most of it reusable well beyond this mission: transport of a Galois realization along an isomorphism of groups and along an isomorphism of base fields; the fixed-field construction and the fundamental theorem in the form "Gal(L/LH)≅H\mathrm{Gal}(L/L^H) \cong HGal(L/LH)≅H"; Galois groups of cyclotomic fields; Dirichlet's theorem on primes in arithmetic progressions (already in Mathlib); Hilbert's irreducibility theorem (not in Mathlib). Contributions of any of these as reusable platform definitions or lemmas are welcome, as are decompositions of the harder milestones into sketches.

Selected references

  • Inverse Galois problem, Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse_Galois_problem
  • I. R. Shafarevich, The imbedding problem for splitting extensions, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 120 (1958), 1217–1219.
  • C. U. Jensen, A. Ledet, N. Yui, Generic Polynomials: Constructive Aspects of the Inverse Galois Problem, MSRI Publications 45, Cambridge University Press, 2002. http://library.msri.org/books/Book45/files/book45.pdf
  • G. Malle, B. H. Matzat, Inverse Galois Theory, Springer Monographs in Mathematics, 1999.
  • R. van Bommel, E. Costa, N. D. Elkies, T. Keller, S. Schiavone, J. Voight, 17T7 is a Galois group over the rationals, arXiv:2411.07857, 2024. https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.07857
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Captain: wenxinzhang

Picard groups of semi-local or finite semiringsOpen Problem

Motivation

Invertible modules over a commutative semiring are Zariski-locally free, so local semirings have trivial Picard group. The source asks whether the ring-theoretic semilocal conclusion survives without subtraction: must every invertible module over a semiring with finitely many maximal ideals be free? If not, is the conclusion at least true for finite semirings?

This mission turns CUHK-Shenzhen AI Math Problem 19, Picard groups of semi-local or finite semirings, into an auditable Lean campaign. The objective is not merely to transcribe notation: it is to expose the mathematical model, the capstone, and a smaller attack surface as separate artifacts that other formalizers can inspect and reuse.

Setting

The main theorem asserts freeness for every invertible module over a commutative semiring with finite maximal spectrum. A separate milestone states the finite-semiring fallback. Both are positive formulations; a concrete counterexample to either resolves that target negatively and should motivate a corrected classification.

Significance

Solving this target would settle the precise finite or analytic core represented by the Lean statement and would create reusable infrastructure in semirings, Picard groups, invertible modules, finite semirings. Even a rigorous disproof is valuable: several entries in this collection deliberately ask whether an attractive extrapolation is true, and Lean forces a counterexample to satisfy every side condition. The mission therefore treats theorem proving and model criticism as equally legitimate research outcomes.

Difficulty

Ring proofs use subtraction-sensitive k-ideal properties and decompositions into local factors that can fail for semirings. Finite indecomposable semirings need not be local and may have positive Krull dimension. Invertible modules are projective with strong duality, but familiar rank and determinant arguments may not survive additive noncancellation.

Suggested attack route

Formalize the known local-freeness proof from the evaluation isomorphism and study patching over finitely many principal opens. Identify exactly where partitions of unity require k-ideals. For finite semirings, enumerate idempotent matrices representing projective modules, impose the invertibility constraints, and seek either a reduction to principal rank-one modules or a minimal counterexample. Product decompositions and faithful-action lemmas should be reusable.

Formalization scope

The Lean targets use Mathlib's commutative semiring, maximal spectrum, module, invertible-module, and free-module notions. 'Semilocal' is encoded only as finiteness of MaximalSpectrum; no unproved decomposition theorem is assumed. The finite fallback assumes the underlying semiring type is finite but does not assume the module itself finite separately. Cardinality-only variants from the source are not the capstone.

The natural-language source remains authoritative for motivation, while the Lean declaration is authoritative for what Prove2Me will verify. The mission description calls out restrictions where the current formal target is a finite-dimensional core, a fixed interpretation of informal terminology, or one sharpened subquestion from a broader classification problem. Those restrictions should not be silently generalized in a proof claim.

Milestones

Resolve the finite-semiring statement, computationally or structurally, while developing the local-to-semilocal patching lemmas needed by the main theorem.

The capstone is marked as the mission's main item and is never duplicated as a milestone. Definitions precede theorem statements in the proposal order. A milestone is considered complete only when its own exact statement is proved; proving a nearby theorem with stronger-looking prose but mismatched quantifiers, signs, supports, dimensions, or asymptotic constants does not complete it.

Timeline and literature status

The CUHK-Shenzhen AI Math Problems page added this problem on June 24, 2026. At the drafting date, August 31, 2026, the status and target corrections described above were checked against the source page and the cited primary material.

Acceptance criteria

A contribution may prove the displayed theorem or refute it by constructing data satisfying every Lean hypothesis while negating the conclusion. Informal changes of model do not count: any proposed correction must be submitted as a separately reviewed statement with an explanation of which source ambiguity or false implication it repairs. Definitions must remain computational or mathematically constrained; fields that simply assume the desired conclusion are not acceptable. Every proof must compile against the mission's pinned Mathlib revision, use no sorry, and expose a top-level theorem solution when submitted to Prove2Me.

The main theorem is intentionally separated from a smaller milestone. Contributors should preserve that dependency order, publish reusable lemmas rather than monolithic tactics, and report whether a lemma is analytic, algebraic, combinatorial, or infrastructure-only. Numerical evidence, external computer algebra, and exhaustive search are welcome for discovery, but a final certificate must be replayable by Lean. If an external result is invoked, its hypotheses must be represented in the formal statement or proved in the dependency tree.

Formal verification policy

The files were built locally with Lean 4.30.0 and Mathlib revision c5ea00351c28e24afc9f0f84379aa41082b1188f, the supported Prove2Me environment at drafting time. The mission definition file is ordered before all theorem files, and each theorem imports exactly that public definition module or Mathlib. Independent blind read-backs accompany the draft items so reviewers can compare what the Lean code literally says with this mathematical description. Human confirmation remains required before the public proposal can be submitted for moderation.

Selected references

  • Original problem
  • Facets of Module Theory over Semirings
  • MathOverflow discussion
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Captain: Henry Yuen

Fundamental Theorem of AlgebraTextbook

Show that every nonconstant complex polynomial has a complex root.

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Mathematical Physics·Captain: Lucas

Celestial w_{1+∞} wedge algebra and gluon S-algebra (Zhu review, §7.1)Research Paper

Motivation

In celestial holography, scattering amplitudes of massless particles in four-dimensional flat spacetime are rewritten, by a Mellin transform in the particle energies, as correlation functions of operators on the two-dimensional celestial sphere. Soft theorems then become Ward identities of two-dimensional currents. Guevara, Himwich, Pate and Strominger (arXiv:2103.03961) found that the conformally soft graviton modes obtained this way close under the collinear OPE into an infinite-dimensional algebra, and Strominger (arXiv:2105.14346) identified it, after a rescaling, with the wedge subalgebra of w1+∞w_{1+\infty}w1+∞​, the Lie algebra of polynomial area-preserving (Hamiltonian) vector fields on a two-plane. The review of B. Zhu (arXiv:2606.24285, Section 7.1) summarises this derivation, together with its gauge-theory counterpart, the gluon SSS-algebra, and the action of w1+∞w_{1+\infty}w1+∞​ on it. The review describes the celestial www-algebra as a consistency test for any proposed flat-space hologram.

Setting

The wedge range is the set of labels (p,m)(p,m)(p,m) with

p∈{1,32,2,52,… },1−p≤m≤p−1,p−1−m∈Z,p\in\{1,\tfrac32,2,\tfrac52,\dots\},\qquad 1-p\le m\le p-1,\qquad p-1-m\in\mathbb Z,p∈{1,23​,2,25​,…},1−p≤m≤p−1,p−1−m∈Z,

equivalently: p+m−1p+m-1p+m−1 and p−m−1p-m-1p−m−1 are both natural numbers. Let WWW be the complex vector space with basis {wmp}\{w^p_m\}{wmp​} indexed by the wedge range, and define a bilinear bracket on WWW by Eq. (7.8),

[wmp,wnq]=(m(q−1)−n(p−1)) wm+np+q−2,[w^p_m,w^q_n]=\bigl(m(q-1)-n(p-1)\bigr)\,w^{p+q-2}_{m+n},[wmp​,wnq​]=(m(q−1)−n(p−1))wm+np+q−2​,

where the right-hand side is 000 whenever (p+q−2,m+n)(p+q-2,m+n)(p+q−2,m+n) falls outside the wedge.

Eq. (7.9) realises wmpw^p_mwmp​ as the monomial up+m−1vp−m−1u^{p+m-1}v^{p-m-1}up+m−1vp−m−1 in the polynomial ring C[u,v]\mathbb C[u,v]C[u,v], equipped with the Poisson bracket {f,g}=∂uf ∂vg−∂vf ∂ug\{f,g\}=\partial_uf\,\partial_vg-\partial_vf\,\partial_ug{f,g}=∂u​f∂v​g−∂v​f∂u​g.

The conformally soft graviton modes HmkH^k_mHmk​ (k=2,1,0,−1,…k=2,1,0,-1,\dotsk=2,1,0,−1,…, k−22≤m≤2−k2\tfrac{k-2}{2}\le m\le\tfrac{2-k}{2}2k−2​≤m≤22−k​) obey the commutator (7.5) with factorial coefficients and the gravitational coupling κ\kappaκ. The rescaling (7.6), wmp=1κ(p−m−1)!(p+m−1)! Hm−2p+4w^p_m=\tfrac1\kappa(p-m-1)!(p+m-1)!\,H^{-2p+4}_mwmp​=κ1​(p−m−1)!(p+m−1)!Hm−2p+4​, turns (7.5) into (7.8).

On the gauge-theory side, with colour index aaa and Lie-algebra structure constants fabcf^{ab}{}_cfabc​, the conformally soft gluon modes Rnk,aR^{k,a}_nRnk,a​ obey (7.14). The rescaling (7.15), Smq,a=(q−m−1)!(q+m−1)! Rm3−2q,aS^{q,a}_m=(q-m-1)!(q+m-1)!\,R^{3-2q,a}_mSmq,a​=(q−m−1)!(q+m−1)!Rm3−2q,a​, gives the SSS-algebra (7.16), [Smp,a,Snq,b]=−ifabcSm+np+q−1,c[S^{p,a}_m,S^{q,b}_n]=-if^{ab}{}_cS^{p+q-1,c}_{m+n}[Smp,a​,Snq,b​]=−ifabc​Sm+np+q−1,c​. The wedge algebra acts on it by (7.17), [wmp,Snq,a]=(m(q−1)−n(p−1))Sm+np+q−2,a[w^p_m,S^{q,a}_n]=\bigl(m(q-1)-n(p-1)\bigr)S^{p+q-2,a}_{m+n}[wmp​,Snq,a​]=(m(q−1)−n(p−1))Sm+np+q−2,a​.

Formalization targets

Goal: (7.8) is a Lie bracket

[X,X]=0,[X,[Y,Z]]=[[X,Y],Z]+[Y,[X,Z]]for all X,Y,Z∈W.[X,X]=0,\qquad [X,[Y,Z]]=[[X,Y],Z]+[Y,[X,Z]]\qquad\text{for all }X,Y,Z\in W.[X,X]=0,[X,[Y,Z]]=[[X,Y],Z]+[Y,[X,Z]]for all X,Y,Z∈W.

Milestones

  1. Closure of the wedge (7.7)–(7.8): if (p,m)(p,m)(p,m) and (q,n)(q,n)(q,n) are in the wedge and m(q−1)−n(p−1)≠0m(q-1)-n(p-1)\ne0m(q−1)−n(p−1)=0, then (p+q−2,m+n)(p+q-2,m+n)(p+q−2,m+n) is in the wedge.
  2. Rescaling (7.5) ⇒\Rightarrow⇒ (7.8): any family HmkH^k_mHmk​ satisfying (7.5) in a complex vector space with a bilinear bracket, rescaled by (7.6), satisfies (7.8) (for κ≠0\kappa\neq 0κ=0).
  3. Poisson realisation on generators (7.9): {up+m−1vp−m−1,uq+n−1vq−n−1}=2(m(q−1)−n(p−1))up+q+m+n−3vp+q−m−n−3\{u^{p+m-1}v^{p-m-1},u^{q+n-1}v^{q-n-1}\}=2\bigl(m(q-1)-n(p-1)\bigr)u^{p+q+m+n-3}v^{p+q-m-n-3}{up+m−1vp−m−1,uq+n−1vq−n−1}=2(m(q−1)−n(p−1))up+q+m+n−3vp+q−m−n−3. The review's "convention-dependent overall factor" is pinned to 222.
  4. Poisson realisation, linear form (7.9): the linear map wmp↦up+m−1vp−m−1w^p_m\mapsto u^{p+m-1}v^{p-m-1}wmp​↦up+m−1vp−m−1 intertwines (7.8) with 12{⋅,⋅}\tfrac12\{\cdot,\cdot\}21​{⋅,⋅}.
  5. Gluon rescaling (7.14) ⇒\Rightarrow⇒ (7.16).
  6. The SSS-algebra is a Lie algebra (7.16), given that fabcf^{ab}{}_cfabc​ are Lie structure constants.
  7. SSS is a w1+∞w_{1+\infty}w1+∞​-module (7.17): [[X,Y],s]=[X,[Y,s]]−[Y,[X,s]][[X,Y],s]=[X,[Y,s]]-[Y,[X,s]][[X,Y],s]=[X,[Y,s]]−[Y,[X,s]].

Significance

The statements fix, in a machine-checked form, the precise normalisations used in the celestial literature: the wedge range, the rescalings (7.6) and (7.15), and the overall factor in the Poisson realisation, which the review leaves convention-dependent. They form the algebraic base layer for later formalisations of deformations of w1+∞w_{1+\infty}w1+∞​, its loop algebra Lw1+∞Lw_{1+\infty}Lw1+∞​, and the gluon–graviton soft algebras. The results themselves are established in the physics literature. The formal work that remains is the combinatorics of the factorial coefficients, the closure of the finite wedge range, and the Jacobi identities.

Difficulty

None of the statements is deep, but each carries bookkeeping that is easy to get wrong. The factorial coefficients of (7.5) and (7.14) must cancel exactly against the rescalings. At the corners of the wedge (m=p−1m=p-1m=p−1, n=q−1n=q-1n=q−1, or p+q−2<1p+q-2<1p+q−2<1) the target label leaves the wedge, and the structure constant must be shown to vanish there. The Jacobi identity for (7.8) does not follow term by term from the formula; the natural route is through the Poisson realisation, which must first be shown to be faithful.

Formalization scope

All objects are over C\mathbb CC. Labels p,m,q,n,k,lp,m,q,n,k,lp,m,q,n,k,l are rationals, and every label set is carved out by the predicate "p+m−1p+m-1p+m−1 and p−m−1p-m-1p−m−1 are natural numbers". Vector spaces with a given basis are finitely supported functions on the index set, and brackets are the bilinear extensions of the basis formulas. When the target label of a bracket falls outside the wedge, the bracket is defined to be 000 (milestone 1 shows this only happens when the structure constant already vanishes). Factorials of rational arguments are taken of the truncation ⌊⋅⌋+\lfloor\cdot\rfloor_+⌊⋅⌋+​ to a natural number; on the relevant ranges the arguments are natural numbers, and at the single corner where (7.5) has argument −1-1−1 its prefactor vanishes. The operator-level identities (milestones 2 and 5) are stated for an arbitrary complex vector space with an arbitrary bilinear bracket, taking (7.5) resp. (7.14) as hypotheses on the given modes. The colour algebra is given by structure constants f:ι3→Cf:\iota^3\to\mathbb Cf:ι3→C on a finite index set ι\iotaι, with antisymmetry and the Jacobi identity as the definition of Lie structure constants. The factor κ−1\kappa^{-1}κ−1 uses the convention 0−1=00^{-1}=00−1=0, and milestone 2 assumes κ≠0\kappa\ne0κ=0.

Selected references

  • B. Zhu, Topics in Celestial holography: A bottom-up perspective, invited review for Physics Reports, arXiv:2606.24285v3, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.24285 (Section 7.1, Eqs. (7.1)–(7.17)).
  • A. Guevara, E. Himwich, M. Pate, A. Strominger, Holographic symmetry algebras for gauge theory and gravity, JHEP 2021. https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.03961
  • A. Strominger, w1+∞w_{1+\infty}w1+∞​ and the celestial sphere, Phys. Rev. Lett. 2021. https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.14346
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Complexity TheoryLinear algebraTheoretical Computer Science·Captain: mikedeng1

Most Tensor Problems Are NP-Hard 4: A Rational 2×2×2 Tensor Has Smaller Rank over the Reals Than over the RationalsResearch Paper

Motivation

The rank of a matrix does not depend on the field in which its entries are read: a rational matrix has the same rank over Q\mathbb QQ, R\mathbb RR and C\mathbb CC, because rank is computed by Gaussian elimination, which never leaves the field of the entries. For 3-tensors, arrays A=[ ⁣[aijk] ⁣]\mathcal A = [\![a_{ijk}]\!]A=[[aijk​]] with three indices, this fails. Tensor rank governs the complexity of bilinear maps (the exponent of matrix multiplication is a statement about the rank of one tensor), the uniqueness of the CANDECOMP/PARAFAC decompositions used in psychometrics and signal processing, and the identifiability of latent-variable models. In each application the field matters: algorithms are run over R\mathbb RR or C\mathbb CC, while complexity results are often proved over Q\mathbb QQ or finite fields.

Håstad (1990) proved that deciding rank⁡(A)≤r\operatorname{rank}(\mathcal A) \le rrank(A)≤r is NP-complete over finite fields and NP-hard over Q\mathbb QQ. De Silva and Lim (2008) gave real tensors whose rank over C\mathbb CC is strictly smaller than their rank over R\mathbb RR. Hillar and Lim (2013, Theorem 1.14) showed that the same phenomenon already occurs between Q\mathbb QQ and R\mathbb RR, for a 2×2×22\times2\times22×2×2 tensor with integer entries, so that Håstad's result over Q\mathbb QQ does not by itself say anything about rank over R\mathbb RR.

Setting

Let EEE be a field. The outer product of x∈El\mathbf x \in E^lx∈El, y∈Em\mathbf y \in E^my∈Em, z∈En\mathbf z \in E^nz∈En is the tensor x⊗y⊗z∈El×m×n\mathbf x\otimes\mathbf y\otimes\mathbf z \in E^{l\times m\times n}x⊗y⊗z∈El×m×n with entries xiyjzkx_iy_jz_kxi​yj​zk​. The rank of A\mathcal AA over EEE is

rank⁡E(A)=min⁡{r:A=∑s=1rλs xs⊗ys⊗zs,  λs∈E, xs∈El, ys∈Em, zs∈En}.\operatorname{rank}_E(\mathcal A) = \min\Big\{ r : \mathcal A = \sum_{s=1}^{r} \lambda_s\,\mathbf x_s\otimes\mathbf y_s\otimes\mathbf z_s,\ \ \lambda_s\in E,\ \mathbf x_s\in E^l,\ \mathbf y_s\in E^m,\ \mathbf z_s\in E^n\Big\}.rankE​(A)=min{r:A=s=1∑r​λs​xs​⊗ys​⊗zs​,  λs​∈E, xs​∈El, ys​∈Em, zs​∈En}.

If A\mathcal AA has entries in a subfield F⊆EF \subseteq EF⊆E, both rank⁡F(A)\operatorname{rank}_F(\mathcal A)rankF​(A) and rank⁡E(A)\operatorname{rank}_E(\mathcal A)rankE​(A) are defined, and rank⁡E(A)≤rank⁡F(A)\operatorname{rank}_E(\mathcal A) \le \operatorname{rank}_F(\mathcal A)rankE​(A)≤rankF​(A).

The paper's example uses x=[1,0]⊤\mathbf x = [1,0]^\topx=[1,0]⊤, y=[0,1]⊤\mathbf y = [0,1]^\topy=[0,1]⊤ and

A=2 x⊗x⊗x−4 y⊗y⊗x+4 y⊗x⊗y−4 x⊗y⊗y∈Q2×2×2.\mathcal A = 2\,\mathbf x\otimes\mathbf x\otimes\mathbf x - 4\,\mathbf y\otimes\mathbf y\otimes\mathbf x + 4\,\mathbf y\otimes\mathbf x\otimes\mathbf y - 4\,\mathbf x\otimes\mathbf y\otimes\mathbf y \in \mathbb Q^{2\times2\times2}.A=2x⊗x⊗x−4y⊗y⊗x+4y⊗x⊗y−4x⊗y⊗y∈Q2×2×2.

A decomposition A=u1⊗u2⊗u3+v1⊗v2⊗v3\mathcal A = \mathbf u_1\otimes\mathbf u_2\otimes\mathbf u_3 + \mathbf v_1\otimes\mathbf v_2\otimes\mathbf v_3A=u1​⊗u2​⊗u3​+v1​⊗v2​⊗v3​ with ui=[ai,bi]⊤\mathbf u_i = [a_i,b_i]^\topui​=[ai​,bi​]⊤, vi=[ci,di]⊤\mathbf v_i = [c_i,d_i]^\topvi​=[ci​,di​]⊤ is equivalent to the eight cubic equations (30) in the twelve unknowns a1,…,d3a_1,\dots,d_3a1​,…,d3​, one for each entry of A\mathcal AA.

In Lean, outer x y z and rankOver E A implement the two definitions, tensorA is A\mathcal AA, and System30 is (30).

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.14

∃ A∈Q2×2×2:rank⁡R(A)<rank⁡Q(A).\exists\, \mathcal A \in \mathbb Q^{2\times2\times2}:\quad \operatorname{rank}_{\mathbb R}(\mathcal A) < \operatorname{rank}_{\mathbb Q}(\mathcal A).∃A∈Q2×2×2:rankR​(A)<rankQ​(A).

Milestones (proof of Theorem 1.14, p. 0:26)

  1. With z=x+2 y\mathbf z = \mathbf x + \sqrt2\,\mathbf yz=x+2​y and zˉ=x−2 y\bar{\mathbf z} = \mathbf x - \sqrt2\,\mathbf yzˉ=x−2​y:
zˉ⊗z⊗zˉ+z⊗zˉ⊗z=A,so rank⁡R(A)≤2.\bar{\mathbf z}\otimes\mathbf z\otimes\bar{\mathbf z} + \mathbf z\otimes\bar{\mathbf z}\otimes\mathbf z = \mathcal A,\qquad\text{so } \operatorname{rank}_{\mathbb R}(\mathcal A)\le 2.zˉ⊗z⊗zˉ+z⊗zˉ⊗z=A,so rankR​(A)≤2.
  1. A tensor of rank at most 2 over a field is a sum of two outer products, and for A\mathcal AA the identity (29) A=u1⊗u2⊗u3+v1⊗v2⊗v3\mathcal A = \mathbf u_1\otimes\mathbf u_2\otimes\mathbf u_3 + \mathbf v_1\otimes\mathbf v_2\otimes\mathbf v_3A=u1​⊗u2​⊗u3​+v1​⊗v2​⊗v3​ holds exactly when the coordinates of ui,vi\mathbf u_i, \mathbf v_iui​,vi​ satisfy (30).
  2. Every solution of (30) in a field of characteristic zero satisfies 2c22−d22=02c_2^2 - d_2^2 = 02c22​−d22​=0 and c1d2d3+2=0c_1d_2d_3 + 2 = 0c1​d2​d3​+2=0.
  3. Lemma 8.1: (30) has no rational solution.
  4. rank⁡Q(A)>2\operatorname{rank}_{\mathbb Q}(\mathcal A) > 2rankQ​(A)>2.

Significance

The theorem shows that tensor rank, unlike matrix rank, is not invariant under field extension even between Q\mathbb QQ and R\mathbb RR, and even for the smallest nontrivial format 2×2×22\times2\times22×2×2. Its consequence for complexity is that a hardness result for rank over Q\mathbb QQ cannot be transferred to R\mathbb RR by reading the same instance in a larger field; the paper accordingly re-examines Håstad's construction to obtain hardness over R\mathbb RR and C\mathbb CC (Theorem 8.2), which is outside this mission.

The result is proved in the paper, with the decisive algebraic step delegated to a computer-algebra computation (Appendix). A machine-checked proof replaces that computation by a certificate verified in Lean, and it settles a printed error: one of the two consequences of (30) in the proof of Lemma 8.1 is printed with the wrong sign (see Formalization scope). No formalization of array tensor rank over a field, or of its field dependence, is known to exist in Mathlib or on this platform.

Difficulty

The upper bound is an identity among explicit 2×2×22\times2\times22×2×2 arrays. The lower bound is the substance: one must show that the cubic system (30), which has real solutions, has no rational one. Since (30) is solvable over R\mathbb RR, no argument by signs, inequalities or real geometry can work; the obstruction is arithmetic, coming from the irrationality of 2\sqrt22​. The step that fails in a naive attempt is the elimination: eliminating ten of the twelve unknowns from eight cubic equations by hand is impractical. A second, smaller difficulty is the reduction from "rank⁡Q(A)≤2\operatorname{rank}_{\mathbb Q}(\mathcal A) \le 2rankQ​(A)≤2" to two terms of the special form (29), which requires absorbing the scalars and padding a decomposition with fewer than two terms.

Formalization scope

  • Tensors are functions Fin l → Fin m → Fin n → E, with 0-based indices: the paper's aijka_{ijk}aijk​ is A (i-1) (j-1) (k-1). Vectors are Fin n → E.
  • rankOver E A is the sInf over N\mathbb NN of the lengths rrr of decompositions ∑sλs xs⊗ys⊗zs\sum_s \lambda_s\, \mathbf x_s\otimes\mathbf y_s\otimes\mathbf z_s∑s​λs​xs​⊗ys​⊗zs​. The set is nonempty (one term per entry), so this is the paper's minimum. Zero summands are allowed; this gives the same minimum as the paper's sum of nonzero rank-1 tensors.
  • rank⁡R\operatorname{rank}_{\mathbb R}rankR​ of a rational tensor is rankOver ℝ of its entrywise cast to R\mathbb RR; rank⁡Q\operatorname{rank}_{\mathbb Q}rankQ​ is rankOver ℚ, whose witnesses are rational. A formalization in which both ranks range over real witnesses would make the theorem false.
  • The goal is the printed existential. It is not a loophole: the milestones concern the paper's explicit tensor.
  • Readings of loose phrases: "Suppose not and that there exist ui,vi\mathbf u_i, \mathbf v_iui​,vi​ with (29). Identity (29) gives eight equations found in (30)" is split into a general statement (rank at most 2 over any field means a sum of two outer products) and the equivalence of (29) with (30) over every field of characteristic zero (milestone 2); both are stated in a generality in which their hypotheses can hold, because for A\mathcal AA over Q\mathbb QQ they cannot. "Polynomial consequences of (30)" is read as "holds at every solution of (30) in every field of characteristic zero" (milestone 3); over Q\mathbb QQ alone the statement would be vacuous, since (30) has no rational solution.
  • Corrected error. The paper prints the second consequence as c1d2d3−2=0c_1d_2d_3 - 2 = 0c1​d2​d3​−2=0. It is false: the real solution from milestone 1 has c1d2d3=−2c_1d_2d_3 = -2c1​d2​d3​=−2. The milestone states c1d2d3+2=0c_1d_2d_3 + 2 = 0c1​d2​d3​+2=0 (checked by a Gröbner basis computation over Q\mathbb QQ), which serves the paper's argument equally. The Appendix certificates GkG_kGk​, HkH_kHk​ (p. 0:34) are not used in any statement.
  • Out of scope: Theorem 1.15/8.2 (Håstad's construction over R\mathbb RR and C\mathbb CC) and the conjectures of §13.

Needed infrastructure: finite sums of arrays, Real.sqrt and irrational_sqrt_two, and an ideal-membership certificate for milestone 3. The array rank rankOver is reusable for any statement about tensor rank over a field. The platform's mme_tensor_rank (restriction-based rank of a TensorObj over a single field, from the matrix-multiplication exponent series) is a different object and is not reused. Proofs of any milestone, and alternative certificates for Lemma 8.1, are welcome.

Selected references

  • C. J. Hillar and L.-H. Lim, Most tensor problems are NP-hard, J. ACM 60(6), Art. 45, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1145/2512329 (arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/0911.1393)
  • J. Håstad, Tensor rank is NP-complete, J. Algorithms 11(4), 644–654, 1990. https://doi.org/10.1016/0196-6774(90)90014-6
  • V. de Silva and L.-H. Lim, Tensor rank and the ill-posedness of the best low-rank approximation problem, SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl. 30(3), 1084–1127, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1137/06066518X
  • F. L. Hitchcock, The expression of a tensor or a polyadic as a sum of products, J. Math. Phys. 6, 164–189, 1927. https://doi.org/10.1002/sapm192761164
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Mathematical Logic·Captain: marwahaha

Finite congruence lattices: characterization and undecidabilityOpen Problem

Motivation

A finite algebra has a lattice of congruences, ordered by inclusion. The source studies which finite lattices arise in this way, and the available goal captures its colored-graph characterization. The source is OpenAI's September 2026 manuscript.

Setting

A congruence is an equivalence relation preserved by every basic operation of an algebra. A graph witness assigns lattice-valued colors to pairs of finitely many vertices, with symmetry, diagonal, triangle, separation, and seed-connectivity conditions.

Formalization targets

Representable⁡(L)⟺HasGraphWitness⁡(L).\operatorname{Representable}(L)\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad\operatorname{HasGraphWitness}(L).Representable(L)⟺HasGraphWitness(L).

For any finite type Lat carrying a lattice structure with a least element ⊥, Lat is Representable if and only if it HasGraphWitness. Representable means that there is a positive size n and an algebra on Fin n (a finite list of operations, each of some finite arity, acting on the carrier) such that Lat is order-isomorphic to the poset of congruences of that algebra, where a congruence is an equivalence relation compatible with every operation: if corresponding arguments are related coordinatewise, the outputs are related; congruences are ordered by the inherited order on equivalence relations. HasGraphWitness means that there is a positive size n and a Lat-valued coloring color of ordered pairs from Fin n satisfying five conditions: color is symmetric; color(a,b)=⊥ exactly when a=b; color(a,b) ≤ color(a,m) ⊔ color(m,b) for all a, b, m; whenever lower ≰ upper in Lat, some pair has color ≤ lower but not ≤ upper; and for every nonempty finite set of seed pairs, any pair whose color is at most the join of the seed colors is connected to the seeds. Connected is the equivalence closure of the relation Marked, where a,b are Marked if some self-map p of the vertices satisfies color(p x,p y) ≤ color(x,y) for all x,y and sends some seed pair (s,t) to (a,b).

The goal is OAI.FiniteCongruence.graph_criterion.

Significance

The equivalence provides a finite combinatorial certificate for representation as an entire congruence lattice. It is the characterization component of the manuscript. The manuscript presents a mathematical argument; the attached goal currently has status Open, so the requested contribution is a Lean proof of the displayed formal target.

Difficulty

Representing a lattice inside a congruence lattice is weaker than obtaining all congruences. The witness’s seed-connectivity condition must capture this fullness and work in both directions.

Formalization scope

The lattice is finite and has a least element. The algebra carrier and graph witness carrier each have positive finite size. Operations have finite arities, and representation is an order isomorphism. The manuscript’s undecidability conclusions are not among the attached targets.

The shared definitions are supplied by FiniteCongruenceGraph. The target uses Lean 4.33.1 with the pinned Mathlib environment. Contributions should preserve the existing statement and develop reusable supporting lemmas in its definitions.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, Finite congruence lattices: characterization and undecidability, preprint, September 2026. Manuscript.
  • OpenAI, accompanying Lean statement. Pinned source.
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Group Theory·Captain: marwahaha

A Counterexample to Kaplansky's Direct-Finiteness Conjecture in Odd CharacteristicOpen Problem

Motivation

The odd-characteristic version of direct finiteness has different coefficient constraints from the binary case. The source fixes one odd prime and links a group-algebra counterexample to a cellular automaton. The source is OpenAI's September 2026 manuscript.

Setting

For a finitely supported coefficient function bbb on a group, the cellular map sends a configuration x:G→Kx:G\to Kx:G→K to g↦∑ub(u)x(gu)g\mapsto\sum_u b(u)x(gu)g↦∑u​b(u)x(gu). The prime is the smallest prime factor of (m!)2+1(m!)^2+1(m!)2+1, where mmm is a fixed central binomial coefficient.

Formalization targets

p=min⁡PrimeDiv⁡ ⁣(((1200600)!)2+1),∣K∣=p4,ab=1≠ba,cellular⁡(b) injective and not surjective.p=\min\operatorname{PrimeDiv}\!\left((\binom{1200}{600}!)^2+1\right),\quad |K|=p^4,\quad ab=1\ne ba,\quad \operatorname{cellular}(b)\text{ injective and not surjective}.p=minPrimeDiv(((6001200​)!)2+1),∣K∣=p4,ab=1=ba,cellular(b) injective and not surjective.

The defined proposition MainClaim holds. Here sourceM is the central binomial coefficient C(1200,600), and sourcePrime is the smallest prime factor of (sourceM!)²+1. MainClaim asserts that this number p is prime and odd, and that there exist a finite field K of characteristic p with exactly p⁴ elements and a finitely generated group G containing a nontrivial element of finite order, together with two elements a and b of the group algebra K[G] such that ab = 1 but ba ≠ 1. Moreover, for the map cellular(b) sending x : G → K to g ↦ Σ_u b(u)·x(g·u), the sum running over the support of b, this map is injective but not surjective. The formal statement is admitted in the source rather than proved here.

The goal is OAI.OddKaplansky.main_theorem.

Significance

The conclusion combines a scalar one-sided inverse with failure of surjectivity of a finite-memory linear map. It specifies the characteristic and field size without claiming the construction works at every odd prime. The manuscript presents a mathematical argument; the attached goal currently has status Open, so the requested contribution is a Lean proof of the displayed formal target.

Difficulty

The group must retain nontrivial torsion while supporting the required finite sums. Matrix-level relations and an arbitrary choice of characteristic do not meet this target.

Formalization scope

The goal unfolds MainClaim. It proves primality and oddness of the fixed sourcePrime, then existentially supplies the finite field, finitely generated group, nontrivial finite-order element, and algebra elements. The cellular convention uses right-translated inputs gugugu.

The shared definitions are supplied by OddKaplansky. The target uses Lean 4.33.1 with the pinned Mathlib environment. Contributions should preserve the existing statement and develop reusable supporting lemmas in its definitions.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, A Counterexample to Kaplansky's Direct-Finiteness Conjecture in Odd Characteristic, preprint, September 2026. Manuscript.
  • OpenAI, accompanying Lean statement. Pinned source.
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Convex Optimization·Captain: marwahaha

A nonspectrahedral hyperbolicity coneOpen Problem

Motivation

Hyperbolic polynomials define convex optimization regions through real-rooted line restrictions. A spectrahedral representation would describe the same region by one finite symmetric positive-semidefinite matrix inequality. The source manuscript presents the surrounding research claim.

Setting

The formal ambient space consists of two real symmetric 4×4 matrices X,Z and a vector y∈ℝ³. A fixed determinant expression defines a multivariate polynomial p. At e=((I,I),0), the cone consists of x for which every complex root of t↦p(te−x) is real and nonnegative.

Formalization target

Prove dim(ambient)=23, p(e)=1, and

p is homogeneous of degree 20,deg⁡p=20,p\text{ is homogeneous of degree }20,\qquad\deg p=20,p is homogeneous of degree 20,degp=20,

with every line polynomial real-rooted. For every N>0 and linear symmetric pencil L, prove

cone⁡(p,e)≠{x:L(x)⪰0}.\operatorname{cone}(p,e)\ne\{x:L(x)\succeq0\}.cone(p,e)={x:L(x)⪰0}.

The selected formal target is OAI.Paper256.main_result.

Significance and status

The formal target rules out every finite homogeneous real symmetric pencil size. It also verifies the algebraic and root properties of its fixed polynomial. The published target is currently Open; the manuscript's argument and a checked Lean proof are separate deliverables.

Difficulty

Excluding one determinantal expression is weaker than excluding all matrix-inequality representations of the cone. The final universal quantifier ranges over all positive dimensions and all real linear pencils.

Formalization scope

The published Lean formula has asserted degree 20. The manuscript abstract describes degree 16; this draft follows the actual published degree-20 statement rather than substituting the manuscript number. Symmetric matrices use selfAdjoint, and positivity is Matrix.PosSemidef. No affine pencil or projected semidefinite lift is asserted here.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, A nonspectrahedral hyperbolicity cone, preprint, 2026. Pinned manuscript.
  • OpenAI, accompanying formal statements, commit adc7f1241b42. Goal source.
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Algebraic Geometry·Captain: marwahaha

An explicit noncoordinate polynomial with affine three-space zero fibreOpen Problem

Motivation

A hypersurface can be abstractly affine space without its defining equation being an ambient coordinate. Distinguishing these two properties is the embedding question behind the Abhyankar–Sathaye problem. The source manuscript presents the surrounding research claim.

Setting

For n ≥ 4, let R=ℂ[X₀,…,Xₙ₋₁]. A polynomial F is a coordinate if a ℂ-algebra automorphism of R sends some variable Xᵢ to F. Its zero fiber is represented by the quotient R/(F).

Formalization target

For every n ≥ 4, find F with

R/(F)≅CC[X0,…,Xn−2],F is not a coordinate.R/(F)\cong_{\mathbb C}\mathbb C[X_0,\ldots,X_{n-2}],\qquad F\text{ is not a coordinate}.R/(F)≅C​C[X0​,…,Xn−2​],F is not a coordinate.

The source supplies an explicit construction, while this selected goal asks for existence.

The selected formal target is OAI.AbhyankarSathaye.exists_noncoordinate_polynomial.

Significance and status

The target separates the intrinsic affine-space quotient from ambient polynomial equivalence in every dimension at least four. The published target is currently Open; the manuscript's argument and a checked Lean proof are separate deliverables.

Difficulty

An isomorphism of the quotient rings need not extend to an automorphism of the ambient ring. Both the quotient isomorphism and the failure of every possible coordinate automorphism must be established.

Formalization scope

The goal uses multivariate polynomials indexed by Fin n, a principal ideal, and ℂ-algebra equivalences. A separate published derivation target and its explicit polynomial definitions are retained as related references. That target concerns n−1 commuting locally nilpotent derivations, their common kernel and ordinary extra-variable partial derivatives; it is not asserted as a logical dependency of the existence goal.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, An explicit noncoordinate polynomial with affine three-space zero fibre, preprint, 2026. Pinned manuscript.
  • OpenAI, accompanying formal statements, commit adc7f1241b42. Goal source.
32 thms2 active usersReviewed
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Number Theory·Captain: marwahaha

The Deligne-Drinfeld conjectureOpen Problem

Motivation

Compatibility between reassociation and braiding imposes equations on formal Lie expressions. The question is whether those equations leave precisely the free family of odd-weight generators predicted by the Deligne–Drinfeld conjecture. The source manuscript presents the surrounding research claim.

Setting

Let L be the free Lie algebra over ℚ on x and y, each of weight one. The solution space W satisfies antisymmetry, the three-term relation, and the pentagon equation in the four-strand infinitesimal braid algebra. Its operation is the Ihara bracket {p,q}=Dₚq−D_qp+[p,q]. The free algebra F has generators indexed by k ≥ 0 with weights 2k+3.

Formalization target

Establish a graded bracket-preserving linear equivalence

F=Lie⁡Q⟨e3,e5,e7,…⟩  ≅  W,F=\operatorname{Lie}_{\mathbb Q}\langle e_3,e_5,e_7,\ldots\rangle\;\cong\;W,F=LieQ​⟨e3​,e5​,e7​,…⟩≅W,

together with mutually inverse continuous maps on the products of weight pieces. The completed maps must preserve the bracket degree by degree, including the finite convolution sum defining its weight-n component.

The selected formal target is OAI.DeligneDrinfeld.main.

Significance and status

The target simultaneously expresses freeness and exhaustion of the full equation space. Finding a free subalgebra alone leaves the exhaustion assertion unresolved. The published target is currently Open; the manuscript's argument and a checked Lean proof are separate deliverables.

Difficulty

The pentagon relation couples substitutions in the braid Lie algebra. Constructing odd-weight solutions does not by itself show that all solutions are generated by them, nor that the completed bracket has the required compatibility.

Formalization scope

The published definition block specifies the braid quotient, tangent construction of D, weighted Lie words, rational submodules and product completions. Generator k has weight 2k+3. The factor spaces carry the explicitly supplied discrete topology. The goal is exactly MainStatement, including its inverse, continuity and completed-bracket clauses. The available reference set supplies the definition block and one target, so no unsupported paper lemmas are attached as milestones.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, The Deligne-Drinfeld conjecture, preprint, 2026. Pinned manuscript.
  • OpenAI, accompanying formal statements, commit adc7f1241b42. Goal source.
14 thms2 active usersReviewed
Group TheoryMathematical Logic·Captain: wurtle

Finite algebraic envelopes and the Boone–Higman conjectureResearch Paper

Motivation

The word problem for a group with a finite generating set asks whether a given word in the generators and their inverses represents the identity; it is decidable if one algorithm answers this for every word. Since Higman's embedding theorem (1961), a recurring theme in combinatorial group theory has been to characterize algorithmic properties of groups by embeddings into groups with good algebraic properties. Boone and Higman (1974) proved that a finitely generated group has decidable word problem if and only if it embeds in a simple subgroup of a finitely presented group, and asked whether the simple group can itself be taken finitely presented. This is the Boone–Higman conjecture.

This preprint states a proof of the conjecture: a finitely generated group has decidable word problem if and only if it embeds in a finitely presented simple group.

Background

  • 1961. Higman characterizes finitely generated subgroups of finitely presented groups as the recursively presented groups.
  • 1974. Boone and Higman prove the characterization G≤H≤KG \le H \le KG≤H≤K with HHH simple and KKK finitely presented, and ask whether HHH can be finitely presented.
  • 1980. Thompson embeds every finitely generated group with decidable word problem into a finitely generated simple group with decidable word problem; a later proof is given by Darbinyan and Steenbock (2022).
  • 2022. Belk and Zaremsky introduce twisted Brin–Thompson groups, which embed an acting group in a simple group; Zaremsky (2024) gives a finite-presentation criterion requiring a finitely presented acting group with finitely generated point stabilizers and finitely many orbits on unordered pairs.
  • 2023–2026. The conjecture is verified for hyperbolic groups and contracting self-similar groups (Belk, Bleak, Matucci, Zaremsky), Baumslag–Solitar and free-by-cyclic groups (Bux, Llosa Isenrich, Wu), and Aut(Fn)\mathrm{Aut}(F_n)Aut(Fn​) and mapping class groups of punctured surfaces (Belk, Fournier-Facio, Hyde, Zaremsky); see the survey of Belk, Bleak, Matucci and Zaremsky.
  • 2026. The OpenAI preprint Finite algebraic envelopes and the Boone–Higman conjecture (dated September 23, 2026) states a proof of the conjecture in general. It has not been peer reviewed; the Lean goal is open on this platform.

Setting

A group GGG is finitely generated if some finite tuple g1,…,gng_1, \dots, g_ng1​,…,gn​ generates it. A word is a finite list of letters gi±1g_i^{\pm1}gi±1​; GGG has decidable word problem if for some finite generating tuple the set of words evaluating to 111 is computable. A group is finitely presented if it has a presentation with finitely many generators and relations, and simple if it is nontrivial with no normal subgroups other than 111 and itself. An embedding is an injective homomorphism.

In Lean (OAI.FiniteAlgebraicEnvelopes, definitions BooneHigman), words are List (Fin n × Bool), evalWord multiplies generators or their inverses, HasDecidableWordProblem G asserts a generating tuple whose identity predicate is ComputablePred, and EmbedsInFinitelyPresentedSimpleGroup G asserts a group in the same universe that is Group.IsFinitelyPresented and IsSimpleGroup, with an injective homomorphism from GGG.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1 (Boone–Higman conjecture)

For every finitely generated group GGG,

G has decidable word problem  ⟺  G embeds in a finitely presented simple group.G \text{ has decidable word problem} \iff G \text{ embeds in a finitely presented simple group.}G has decidable word problem⟺G embeds in a finitely presented simple group.

The implication from right to left is classical (a finitely presented simple group has decidable word problem, and the property passes to finitely generated subgroups); the content is the forward implication.

Significance

The result. Theorem 1.1 gives a purely algebraic characterization of decidability of the word problem and settles a question open since 1974. Its intermediate result, Theorem 1.2, embeds every finitely generated group with decidable word problem in a finitely presented group with a faithful two-transitive action on a countably infinite set with finitely generated point stabilizers, which feeds Zaremsky's criterion for twisted Brin–Thompson groups.

Formalizing it. No machine-checked proof exists, and the source is an unrefereed preprint. Formalizing it requires computability of word problems, finite presentations (available in Mathlib as Group.IsFinitelyPresented), Steinberg groups over noncommutative rings, and twisted Brin–Thompson groups, which are not in Mathlib. The proof also uses Zaremsky's finite-presentation theorem (Theorem 2.3) from the literature, which a complete formalization must include.

Difficulty

Finite presentation does not pass to subgroups, so Boone and Higman's simple group HHH and finitely presented group KKK cannot simply be merged. Thompson's construction gives a finitely generated simple overgroup but provides no finite presentation. The new route needs a finitely presented group acting faithfully and two-transitively, built from a finitely presented algebra whose simplicity appears only after passing to a direct limit, and an exact calculation removing the kernel of the Steinberg group without assuming it is central.

Formalization scope

  • GroupType : Type u with [Group GroupType] [Group.FG GroupType]; the target group lives in the same universe.
  • Decidability is ComputablePred on words over a specified finite generating tuple (Subgroup.closure (range generators) = ⊤); since the word problem's decidability is independent of the finite generating set, this matches the source.
  • IsSimpleGroup includes nontriviality, matching the paper's convention.

The statement is not trivially true: both directions are required for every finitely generated group, including infinitely presented ones.

Needed infrastructure: computable group presentations, Steinberg groups, mapping tori of endomorphisms, twisted Brin–Thompson groups and Zaremsky's criterion. Contributions toward the classical backward implication, or toward Theorem 1.2, are welcome.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, Finite algebraic envelopes and the Boone–Higman conjecture, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 23, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Finite-algebraic-envelopes-and-the-Boone-Higman-conjecture-September-23-2026/paper.pdf
  • W. W. Boone, G. Higman, An algebraic characterization of groups with soluble word problem, J. Austral. Math. Soc. 18 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1446788700019108
  • G. Higman, Subgroups of finitely presented groups, Proc. Roy. Soc. London Ser. A 262 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1961.0132
  • R. J. Thompson, Embeddings into finitely generated simple groups which preserve the word problem, in Word Problems II, North-Holland, 1980. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0049-237X(08)71348-X
  • J. Belk, M. C. B. Zaremsky, Twisted Brin–Thompson groups, Geom. Topol. 26 (2022). https://doi.org/10.2140/gt.2022.26.1189
  • M. C. B. Zaremsky, Finite presentability of twisted Brin–Thompson groups, Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh Sect. A (2024). https://doi.org/10.1017/prm.2024.131
  • J. Belk, C. Bleak, F. Matucci, M. C. B. Zaremsky, Hyperbolic groups satisfy the Boone–Higman conjecture, Duke Math. J. 175 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1215/00127094-2025-0055
  • J. Belk, C. Bleak, F. Matucci, M. C. B. Zaremsky, Progress around the Boone–Higman conjecture, 2025. https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.16356
  • K.-U. Bux, C. Llosa Isenrich, X. Wu, On the Boone–Higman conjecture for groups acting on locally finite trees, 2025. https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.05673
  • J. Belk, F. Fournier-Facio, J. Hyde, M. C. B. Zaremsky, Boone–Higman embeddings of Aut(F_n) and mapping class groups of punctured surfaces, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.21882
  • A. Darbinyan, M. Steenbock, Embeddings into left-orderable simple groups, J. London Math. Soc. 105 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1112/jlms.12552
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