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Algebraic Geometry

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Number Theory·Captain: Lucas

Weil Conjectures (Wikipedia): Rationality, Functional Equation and Riemann Hypothesis over Finite FieldsTextbook

Motivation

Counting solutions of polynomial equations over finite fields is one of the oldest themes of number theory, going back to Gauss's count of points on x3+1=y3x^3 + 1 = y^3x3+1=y3 modulo a prime. In 1949 André Weil proposed a precise description of how these counts behave when the field is enlarged: for a smooth projective variety over Fq\mathbb F_qFq​, the generating function of its point counts — the zeta function — should be a rational function with integer polynomial factors, satisfy a functional equation, and have its zeros on prescribed "critical lines", in exact analogy with the Riemann hypothesis. These Weil conjectures organized several decades of work in algebraic geometry and directly motivated the construction of étale cohomology.

Timeline (as recorded in the source article, Wikipedia: Weil conjectures):

  • 1924 — Artin conjectures the statements for curves.
  • 1930s — Hasse proves the case of elliptic curves: #E(Fqm)=1−αm−βm+qm\#E(\mathbb F_{q^m}) = 1 - \alpha^m - \beta^m + q^m#E(Fqm​)=1−αm−βm+qm with ∣α∣=∣β∣=q|\alpha| = |\beta| = \sqrt q∣α∣=∣β∣=q​.
  • 1948–49 — Weil proves the conjectures for curves and formulates them in all dimensions (Weil 1949).
  • 1960 — Dwork proves rationality by ppp-adic methods (Dwork 1960).
  • 1965 — Grothendieck, with M. Artin and Verdier, proves rationality, the functional equation and the Betti-number statement via the Lefschetz trace formula in ℓ\ellℓ-adic cohomology.
  • 1974 — Deligne proves the Riemann hypothesis part (Deligne 1974); in 1980 he proves a generalization for pushforwards of sheaves (Deligne 1980).

Setting

Let k=Fqk = \mathbb F_qk=Fq​ be a finite field with qqq elements and characteristic ppp. Let XXX be a smooth projective variety of dimension nnn over kkk: a scheme XXX with a structure morphism f:X→Spec⁡kf : X \to \operatorname{Spec} kf:X→Speck that is smooth of relative dimension nnn, geometrically irreducible, and admits a closed immersion into some projective space PkN\mathbb P^N_kPkN​ over kkk.

For m≥1m \ge 1m≥1 let Fqm\mathbb F_{q^m}Fqm​ be the extension of kkk of degree mmm, and let

Nm=#X(Fqm)N_m = \#X(\mathbb F_{q^m})Nm​=#X(Fqm​)

be the number of kkk-morphisms Spec⁡Fqm→X\operatorname{Spec}\mathbb F_{q^m} \to XSpecFqm​→X. The zeta function of XXX is the formal power series

Z(X,T)=exp⁡(∑m≥1NmmTm)∈Q[[T]],Z(X,T) = \exp\Big(\sum_{m\ge1} \frac{N_m}{m} T^m\Big) \in \mathbb Q[[T]],Z(X,T)=exp(m≥1∑​mNm​​Tm)∈Q[[T]],

so that ζ(X,s)=Z(X,q−s)\zeta(X,s) = Z(X, q^{-s})ζ(X,s)=Z(X,q−s).

Formalization targets

Goal: the Weil conjectures (parts 1–3)

There exist integer polynomials P0,…,P2nP_0, \dots, P_{2n}P0​,…,P2n​ and multisets of nonzero complex numbers {αij}j\{\alpha_{ij}\}_j{αij​}j​ such that

  1. Rationality.
Z(X,T)=P1(T) P3(T)⋯P2n−1(T)P0(T) P2(T)⋯P2n(T),Z(X,T) = \frac{P_1(T)\,P_3(T)\cdots P_{2n-1}(T)}{P_0(T)\,P_2(T)\cdots P_{2n}(T)},Z(X,T)=P0​(T)P2​(T)⋯P2n​(T)P1​(T)P3​(T)⋯P2n−1​(T)​,

with P0(T)=1−TP_0(T) = 1-TP0​(T)=1−T, P2n(T)=1−qnTP_{2n}(T) = 1 - q^nTP2n​(T)=1−qnT, and Pi(T)=∏j(1−αijT)P_i(T) = \prod_j (1-\alpha_{ij}T)Pi​(T)=∏j​(1−αij​T) over C\mathbb CC for 1≤i≤2n−11 \le i \le 2n-11≤i≤2n−1. 2. Functional equation.

Z(X,q−nT−1)=± qnE/2 TE Z(X,T),Z\big(X, q^{-n}T^{-1}\big) = \pm\, q^{nE/2}\, T^{E}\, Z(X,T),Z(X,q−nT−1)=±qnE/2TEZ(X,T),

where E=∑i(−1)ideg⁡PiE = \sum_i (-1)^i \deg P_iE=∑i​(−1)idegPi​ is the Euler characteristic; moreover {α2n−i,j}j={qn/αi,j}j\{\alpha_{2n-i,j}\}_j = \{q^n/\alpha_{i,j}\}_j{α2n−i,j​}j​={qn/αi,j​}j​ as multisets. 3. Riemann hypothesis. ∣αij∣=qi/2|\alpha_{ij}| = q^{i/2}∣αij​∣=qi/2 for all 1≤i≤2n−11 \le i \le 2n-11≤i≤2n−1 and all jjj.

Milestones

The historical partial results (Weil's theorem for curves; Dwork's rationality; Grothendieck's rationality and functional equation; Deligne's Riemann hypothesis) and the worked examples of the source (projective line, projective space, elliptic curves, the genus-2 curve y2+y=x5y^2 + y = x^5y2+y=x5 over F41\mathbb F_{41}F41​ and the Weil polynomials of its Jacobian).

Significance

The Weil conjectures give sharp estimates ∣Nm−qnm−⋯∣=O(qm(2n−1)/2)|N_m - q^{nm} - \cdots| = O(q^{m(2n-1)/2})∣Nm​−qnm−⋯∣=O(qm(2n−1)/2) for point counts, and through them bounds on exponential sums (Kloosterman sums, character sums), the Ramanujan–Petersson conjecture for holomorphic modular forms (Deligne 1971), and the hard Lefschetz theorem over finite fields. They are a standard input in analytic number theory, coding theory and cryptography.

All four statements have been proved since 1974. None of them has a machine-checked proof in Lean/Mathlib at present; Mathlib does not yet contain étale cohomology, Jacobians of curves, or the Hasse bound for elliptic curves over finite fields. This mission records faithful, compiling statements so that partial formalizations — the elementary examples, Hasse's theorem, Weil's theorem for curves via Riemann–Roch or Stepanov–Bombieri, Dwork's ppp-adic rationality proof, and eventually the cohomological proofs — can be attached to a common target.

Difficulty

The examples with a cell decomposition (projective spaces, Grassmannians) reduce to counting points in affine spaces. Beyond them, even rationality is a theorem of substance: there is no elementary formula for NmN_mNm​, and the counts must be shown to satisfy a linear recurrence. The functional equation and the precise shape of the PiP_iPi​ require a cohomology theory with Poincaré duality and a Lefschetz trace formula; the Riemann hypothesis requires, in addition, control of the absolute values of Frobenius eigenvalues, which in Deligne's proof uses Lefschetz pencils, monodromy and the "tensor power trick". For curves, Riemann–Roch and the Hasse–Weil bound (or Stepanov–Bombieri) suffice, but these too are absent from Mathlib.

Formalization scope

  • The finite field is any k : Type with [Field k] [Finite k] [CharP k p], p prime; q = Nat.card k. Schemes live in Scheme.{0}.
  • PkN\mathbb P^N_kPkN​ is Proj of k[x0,…,xN]k[x_0,\dots,x_N]k[x0​,…,xN​] graded by total degree; "projective" means a closed immersion into some PkN\mathbb P^N_kPkN​ commuting with the structure maps. "Non-singular of dimension nnn" is SmoothOfRelativeDimension n f; "variety" is GeometricallyIrreducible f.
  • NmN_mNm​ counts kkk-morphisms Spec⁡Fqm→X\operatorname{Spec} \mathbb F_{q^m} \to XSpecFqm​→X with Fqm\mathbb F_{q^m}Fqm​ = FiniteField.Extension k p m; Z(X,T)Z(X,T)Z(X,T) is PowerSeries.subst of ∑m≥1NmTm/m\sum_{m\ge1} N_m T^m/m∑m≥1​Nm​Tm/m into PowerSeries.exp ℚ.
  • Rationality is stated as an identity of power series after clearing denominators; the functional equation is stated pointwise for complex t≠0t \neq 0t=0 away from the poles of both sides; qnE/2q^{nE/2}qnE/2 is a real power.
  • The Euler characteristic EEE is encoded as ∑i(−1)ideg⁡Pi\sum_i (-1)^i \deg P_i∑i​(−1)idegPi​ (the alternating sum of the Betti numbers), since Mathlib has no étale cohomology from which to define it independently.
  • Part 4 (Betti numbers of a lift to characteristic zero) is not formalized: stating it requires the complex-analytic space of a variety over a number field and its singular cohomology, which Mathlib does not provide.
  • The αij\alpha_{ij}αij​ are required to be nonzero, which excludes junk factors 1−0⋅T1 - 0\cdot T1−0⋅T and junk values of qn/0q^n/0qn/0.

Contributions welcome: the zeta function of projective space, Hasse's theorem, point counts and Weil polynomials for the F41\mathbb F_{41}F41​ examples, rationality for curves, and general infrastructure (Riemann–Roch for curves, Jacobians, étale cohomology).

Selected references

  • Wikipedia, Weil conjectures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weil_conjectures
  • A. Weil, Numbers of solutions of equations in finite fields, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 55 (1949), 497–508. https://doi.org/10.1090/S0002-9904-1949-09219-4
  • B. Dwork, On the rationality of the zeta function of an algebraic variety, Amer. J. Math. 82 (1960), 631–648. https://doi.org/10.2307/2372974
  • P. Deligne, La conjecture de Weil. I, Publ. Math. IHÉS 43 (1974), 273–307. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02684373
  • P. Deligne, La conjecture de Weil. II, Publ. Math. IHÉS 52 (1980), 137–252. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02684780
44 thms4 active usersReviewed
Number Theory·Captain: Vas

Mazur’s Torsion Theorem: Full Classification and All Fifteen GroupsResearch Paper

Why rational torsion deserves a complete classification

An elliptic curve has rational solutions that can be added using a canonical group law. A torsion point is a rational solution that returns to the identity after a positive number of additions. These points form the finite part of the rational-point group and constrain which finite arithmetic configurations a curve can carry. Barry Mazur determined the possible groups uniformly over all elliptic curves defined over the rational numbers. The theorem is established mathematics; the remaining task is its complete formal proof, including the assertion that every permitted group occurs. The source is Theorem III.5.1 and its occurrence remark, printed page 156 of Modular curves and the Eisenstein ideal.

Curves, rational points, and finite additive order

A Weierstrass curve over the rational numbers is an equation

y2+a1xy+a3y=x3+a2x2+a4x+a6,y^2+a_1xy+a_3y=x^3+a_2x^2+a_4x+a_6,y2+a1​xy+a3​y=x3+a2​x2+a4​x+a6​,

where all five coefficients are rational. Its discriminant measures singularity. The curves in this mission have nonzero discriminant, so they are elliptic curves. The group E(Q)E(\mathbb Q)E(Q) consists of its rational points together with the distinguished point at infinity, which is the additive identity. The rational torsion subgroup is

E(Q)tors={P∈E(Q):∃n≥1, nP=0}.E(\mathbb Q)_{\mathrm{tors}}=\{P\in E(\mathbb Q):\exists n\ge1,\ nP=0\}.E(Q)tors​={P∈E(Q):∃n≥1, nP=0}.

This subgroup is formed using the actual rational-point group; it is not a separately supplied finite group or a collection of coordinate certificates.

The symbol Z/nZ\mathbb Z/n\mathbb ZZ/nZ denotes a cyclic group of order nnn, with its additive operation. A product of two such groups has componentwise addition. An additive group isomorphism is a bijection that preserves addition. Consequently, classifying a subgroup by an isomorphism identifies its complete group structure and its number of elements, rather than only the orders of selected points.

Formalization targets

For every elliptic curve E/QE/\mathbb QE/Q, the torsion subgroup must be finite and isomorphic to one of

Z/nZfor n∈{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12},\mathbb Z/n\mathbb Z\quad\text{for }n\in\{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12\},Z/nZfor n∈{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12},

or

Z/2Z×Z/(2m)Zfor m∈{1,2,3,4}.\mathbb Z/2\mathbb Z\times\mathbb Z/(2m)\mathbb Z\quad\text{for }m\in\{1,2,3,4\}.Z/2Z×Z/(2m)Zfor m∈{1,2,3,4}.

Conversely, for every parameter in either displayed range, there must exist an elliptic curve over Q\mathbb QQ whose full rational torsion subgroup is isomorphic to that group. The curve may depend on the parameter. The goal combines unconditional finiteness, classification, and all fifteen occurrence cases. The cyclic case n=1n=1n=1 includes curves with trivial rational torsion. Occurrence requires equality of the entire torsion group up to isomorphism; constructing an embedding or a single point of the desired order does not meet that target.

The supporting point-order milestone is Corollary III.5.2, on the same source page: every rational point of positive finite order has order in the eleven-element cyclic list. Infinite-order points are outside that milestone's hypothesis. The four other milestone clauses separate finiteness, group classification, cyclic occurrence, and bicyclic occurrence so their contributions can be reviewed individually.

What the formal proof will provide

The final classification theorem will be available in the standard Lean vocabulary for rational elliptic curves, finite-order subgroups, cyclic groups, products, and additive equivalences. Its main downstream consumer is the canonical classification endpoint of the MazurTheorem repository. Occurrence supplies the converse needed for an exact list of possible groups. Together these results also give a torsion-cardinality bound of sixteen and uniformly exclude rational torsion configurations outside the list.

The existing repository contains substantial checked prerequisites and reductions. A prerequisite receives credit according to its actual hypotheses, conclusion, and connection to the acceptance theorem. This campaign does not treat the full classification as already formalized, and it does not treat locally checked source as a platform-verified contribution before transfer and verification. Existing proofs should be reused with their attribution and dependency graph intact. Open definitions and unproved mathematical comparisons must remain visible as obligations.

The remaining difficulty

Finite-abelian-group classification alone cannot establish which groups arise from an arbitrary rational elliptic curve. The crucial arithmetic exclusions require connecting concrete rational points with genuine arithmetic-geometric objects. A theorem about a supplied quotient or Jacobian does not construct that quotient or Jacobian; an interface that assumes a missing comparison leaves that comparison unproved. The foundational work includes represented modular curves, Jacobians and Picard functors, integral models, specialization, and the arithmetic needed to exclude prohibited point orders. These requirements reflect the mathematical source and the repository's current proof architecture.

The occurrence direction has a different verification obligation. Explicit rational points and order computations must be supplemented by a proof that the curve is nonsingular and that its entire rational torsion subgroup has precisely the claimed shape. Machine arithmetic and external tables can guide the selection of examples, but the published occurrence theorem must have a checked proof.

Formalization scope and contribution boundaries

Curves are Mathlib's WeierstrassCurve ℚ with IsElliptic; rational points are (E⁄ℚ).Point. Torsion is AddCommGroup.torsion, the cyclic groups are the additive groups of ZMod, and isomorphisms are additive equivalences. The target definition bundle repeats the repository's fifteen-group vocabulary in a campaign namespace. A checked compatibility bridge identifies its classification predicate with the repository's canonical predicate. This definition boundary exists solely to state platform obligations faithfully; its named consumers are the campaign goal and the repository's classification endpoint.

The goal has no supplied finiteness, rank, reduction, modularity, semistability, point-order classification, or group-classification hypothesis. Finiteness is an explicit conclusion. The numerical expression Set.ncard ≤ 16 is only a corollary: Set.ncard is zero on infinite sets, so that expression alone cannot certify this mission's completion. Checked proofs must have no placeholders, custom axioms, unchecked computation, or proof-strengthening options. The permitted foundational dependencies are propext, Quot.sound, and Classical.choice; open targets are displayed separately from their eventual proofs.

The repository's execution ledger remains the source of contributor assignment. Its selected foundations are the coherent-cohomology-to-Jacobian lane and the represented-modular-curve lane. Contracts marked paused remain paused unless the maintainers explicitly revise their assignment. Platform milestones describe mathematical completion obligations, not automatic authorization to claim every repository task. Contributors can close occurrence examples, reuse checked arithmetic reductions, and advance selected foundational packages with a concrete downstream consumer. Progress must track integrated obligations rather than code volume or the number of generated statements. Licenses, source commits, original authors, and upstream notices must accompany all transferred proofs.

Selected references

  • Barry Mazur, Modular curves and the Eisenstein ideal, Publications Mathématiques de l'IHÉS 47 (1977), 33–186. Part III, §5, Theorem (5.1), the following occurrence remark, and Corollary (5.2), printed p. 156. DOI; Numdam.
  • Daniel S. Kubert, Universal bounds on the torsion of elliptic curves, Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society (3) 33 (1976), 193–237, especially Chapter IV's rational parametrizations, cited by Mazur's occurrence remark. DOI.
  • Vasily Ilin and contributors, MazurTheorem, public Lean formalization. Repository; campaign source snapshot 54d43d8dda8a6fcf069cc02a815f850d762c5c0c. Existing uncommitted changes are excluded from source-snapshot claims.
231 thms4 active usersReviewed
🏆Completed
Algebra·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.
15 thms4 active usersReviewed
Number Theory·Captain: Lucas

Lam–Litt conjecture: algebraicity and integrality of solutions to algebraic ODEsOpen Problem

Motivation

A classical way to recognize an algebraic function is through the arithmetic of its Taylor coefficients. Eisenstein's theorem (1852) says that if a power series f∈Q[[z]]f\in\mathbb{Q}[[z]]f∈Q[[z]] is algebraic over Q[z]\mathbb{Q}[z]Q[z], only finitely many primes occur in the denominators of its coefficients. The converse fails in general: many transcendental power series have integer coefficients. Lam and Litt (arXiv:2501.13175) conjecture that the converse does hold for power series that solve an algebraic differential equation at a non-singular point, and that even a weak control on denominators — primes ppp may appear, but only after roughly ω(p)≫p\omega(p)\gg pω(p)≫p coefficients — already forces algebraicity.

For linear differential equations, the conjecture is a strengthening of the Grothendieck–Katz ppp-curvature conjecture, one of the central open problems about algebraic solutions of linear differential equations (arXiv:2501.13175). The bounded-denominator form is Problem 1 on Litt's list of open problems (problemsilike.com/1).

Timeline.

  • 1852 — Eisenstein: algebraic power series over Q\mathbb{Q}Q have bounded denominators (implication (1)⇒(2) below).
  • 1970s — Grothendieck and Katz: the ppp-curvature conjecture for linear differential equations.
  • 2025 — Lam and Litt formulate the conjecture for (possibly non-linear) algebraic differential equations and prove it for many equations and initial conditions of algebro-geometric interest, including Picard–Fuchs equations at initial conditions corresponding to cycle classes, and isomonodromy equations such as Painlevé VI and the Schlesinger system at initial conditions corresponding to Picard–Fuchs equations (arXiv:2501.13175).

Setting

Let f=∑k≥0akzk∈Q[[z]]f=\sum_{k\ge0}a_kz^k\in\mathbb{Q}[[z]]f=∑k≥0​ak​zk∈Q[[z]] be a formal power series with rational coefficients and write f(i)f^{(i)}f(i) for its iii-th formal derivative. Let g∈Q(z,y0,…,yn−1)g\in\mathbb{Q}(z,y_0,\dots,y_{n-1})g∈Q(z,y0​,…,yn−1​) be a rational function in n+1n+1n+1 variables. The series fff solves the algebraic ODE defined by ggg if

f(n)(z)=g(z,f(z),f′(z),…,f(n−1)(z))f^{(n)}(z)=g\bigl(z,f(z),f'(z),\dots,f^{(n-1)}(z)\bigr)f(n)(z)=g(z,f(z),f′(z),…,f(n−1)(z))

and ggg is defined at (0,f(0),…,f(n−1)(0))\bigl(0,f(0),\dots,f^{(n-1)}(0)\bigr)(0,f(0),…,f(n−1)(0)). Concretely, g=p/qg=p/qg=p/q for polynomials p,qp,qp,q with q(0,f(0),…,f(n−1)(0))≠0q\bigl(0,f(0),\dots,f^{(n-1)}(0)\bigr)\neq0q(0,f(0),…,f(n−1)(0))=0 and f(n)⋅q(z,f,…,f(n−1))=p(z,f,…,f(n−1))f^{(n)}\cdot q(z,f,\dots,f^{(n-1)})=p(z,f,\dots,f^{(n-1)})f(n)⋅q(z,f,…,f(n−1))=p(z,f,…,f(n−1)).

For N∈NN\in\mathbb{N}N∈N, Z[1/N]⊆Q\mathbb{Z}[1/N]\subseteq\mathbb{Q}Z[1/N]⊆Q is the subring generated by 1/N1/N1/N. For a function ω\omegaω from the primes to Z\mathbb{Z}Z, the coefficients of fff are ω\omegaω-integral if for every prime ppp the numbers a0,…,aω(p)a_0,\dots,a_{\omega(p)}a0​,…,aω(p)​ lie in Z(p)\mathbb{Z}_{(p)}Z(p)​ (denominators prime to ppp); ω\omegaω is superlinear if ω(p)/p→∞\omega(p)/p\to\inftyω(p)/p→∞.

Formalization targets

Goal: the Lam–Litt conjecture

For fff solving an algebraic ODE as above, the following are equivalent:

(1) f is algebraic over Q[z];(2) ∃N, ∀k, ak∈Z[1/N];(3) ∃ ω superlinear with (ak) ω-integral.\text{(1) } f \text{ is algebraic over } \mathbb{Q}[z];\qquad \text{(2) } \exists N,\ \forall k,\ a_k\in\mathbb{Z}[1/N];\qquad \text{(3) } \exists\,\omega \text{ superlinear with } (a_k) \ \omega\text{-integral}.(1) f is algebraic over Q[z];(2) ∃N, ∀k, ak​∈Z[1/N];(3) ∃ω superlinear with (ak​) ω-integral.

Milestones

  • (1)⇒(2), Eisenstein's theorem (no ODE hypothesis needed).
  • (2)⇒(3), elementary (no ODE hypothesis needed).
  • (3)⇒(2), open.
  • (2)⇒(1), open; Litt's Problem 1.

Together the four milestones imply the goal; the last two are the open content of the conjecture.

Significance

A proof would give an arithmetic criterion for algebraicity of solutions of arbitrary algebraic differential equations, and, for linear equations, would imply the Grothendieck–Katz ppp-curvature conjecture (arXiv:2501.13175). Lam and Litt draw algebro-geometric consequences from the cases they prove.

For formalization: the conjecture is open, so the goal and the two open milestones are research targets. Eisenstein's theorem is a classical result; formalizing it is concrete, self-contained work. The implication (2)⇒(3) is elementary. The cases proved by Lam and Litt are candidates for further milestones.

Difficulty

Integrality of coefficients alone does not detect algebraicity: there are transcendental power series with integer coefficients that satisfy linear differential equations, such as ∑k(2kk)2zk\sum_k\binom{2k}{k}^2z^k∑k​(k2k​)2zk. Its equation is singular at z=0z=0z=0, which the non-singularity hypothesis on ggg excludes; the conjecture asserts that at non-singular points such examples cannot occur. Even for linear equations the statement contains the Grothendieck–Katz conjecture, which is open in general.

Formalization scope

  • Power series are PowerSeries ℚ with the formal derivative; rational functions are the fraction field of MvPolynomial (Fin (n + 1)) ℚ, where variable 0 is zzz and variable i + 1 is f(i)f^{(i)}f(i).
  • The ODE hypothesis is existential: some representation g=p/qg=p/qg=p/q with qqq nonzero at the initial point and f(n)q(… )=p(… )f^{(n)}q(\dots)=p(\dots)f(n)q(…)=p(…) as power series. This non-singularity requirement is essential and must not be dropped.
  • Algebraicity is IsAlgebraic (Polynomial ℚ) f, i.e. over Q[z]\mathbb{Q}[z]Q[z] (equivalently over Q(z)\mathbb{Q}(z)Q(z)).
  • Z[1/N]\mathbb{Z}[1/N]Z[1/N] is the subalgebra of Q\mathbb{Q}Q generated by 1/N1/N1/N; since 1/0=01/0=01/0=0 in Lean, N=0N=0N=0 gives Z\mathbb{Z}Z.
  • ω\omegaω takes values in Z\mathbb{Z}Z; negative values impose no condition at that prime. Superlinearity is the limit ω(p)/p→∞\omega(p)/p\to\inftyω(p)/p→∞ along the primes.
  • The goal is a List.TFAE of the three conditions.

Useful infrastructure: formal derivatives and substitution for power series, algebraic power series and their coefficient arithmetic (Eisenstein), and ppp-adic valuations of coefficients. Formalizations of Eisenstein's theorem and of the special cases proved by Lam and Litt are welcome.

Selected references

  • Y. H. J. Lam, D. Litt, Algebraicity and integrality of solutions to differential equations, arXiv preprint, 2025. https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.13175
  • D. Litt, Problem 1, problems list. https://www.problemsilike.com/1
  • G. Eisenstein, Über eine allgemeine Eigenschaft der Reihen-Entwicklungen aller algebraischen Funktionen, Bericht der Königl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1852.
  • Formal Conjectures project, FormalConjectures/LittProblems/1.lean. https://github.com/google-deepmind/formal-conjectures
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Markman 2025, §2: polarized abelian varieties of Weil type from K-secant planesResearch Paper

Motivation

A 2n2n2n-dimensional complex abelian variety AAA is of Weil type for an imaginary quadratic field K=Q(−d)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-d})K=Q(−d​) if KKK acts on AAA by rational endomorphisms in such a way that each of the two eigenspaces of −d\sqrt{-d}−d​ on H1(A,C)H^1(A,\mathbb{C})H1(A,C) meets H1,0(A)H^{1,0}(A)H1,0(A) in an nnn-dimensional subspace. A. Weil observed that such AAA carry a two-dimensional space of rational (n,n)(n,n)(n,n)-classes, the Hodge–Weil classes, that are in general not generated by divisor classes. Whether they are algebraic is one of the main test cases of the Hodge conjecture; by work of Schoen, Moonen–Zarhin and others, algebraicity for abelian fourfolds of Weil type implies the Hodge conjecture for all abelian fourfolds.

E. Markman (arXiv:2502.03415) proves this algebraicity by a new construction. Its starting point, developed in §§1.2 and 2 of the paper, is linear algebra: the even cohomology Hev(X)H^{\mathrm{ev}}(X)Hev(X) of an abelian nnn-fold XXX is a half-spin representation of Spin(V)\mathrm{Spin}(V)Spin(V), where V=H1(X,Z)⊕H1(X^,Z)V=H^1(X,\mathbb{Z})\oplus H^1(\hat X,\mathbb{Z})V=H1(X,Z)⊕H1(X^,Z), and a rational plane P⊂Hev(X,Q)P\subset H^{\mathrm{ev}}(X,\mathbb{Q})P⊂Hev(X,Q) meeting the variety of pure spinors in two conjugate KKK-points (a KKK-secant) equips X×X^X\times\hat XX×X^ with the structure of an abelian variety of Weil type. This mission formalizes that construction and its explicit example in §2.4.

Timeline (as summarized in §1.1 of the source).

  • Weil introduces abelian varieties of Weil type and their exceptional Hodge classes.
  • Schoen proves algebraicity for fourfolds with K=Q(−3)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-3})K=Q(−3​) (and for sixfolds with K=Q(−3)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-3})K=Q(−3​) and trivial discriminant), and for fourfolds with K=Q(−1)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-1})K=Q(−1​) and discriminant −1-1−1; van Geemen gives another proof of the latter.
  • Koike treats sixfolds with K=Q(−1)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-1})K=Q(−1​) and discriminant −1-1−1; Markman treats fourfolds with arbitrary KKK and discriminant 111.
  • 2025: Markman proves algebraicity for sixfolds of discriminant −1-1−1 and every KKK, hence for all abelian fourfolds of Weil type.

Setting

Let XXX be a complex torus of dimension nnn. Fix a basis of H1(X,Z)H^1(X,\mathbb{Z})H1(X,Z), so that H1(X,C)=C2nH^1(X,\mathbb{C})=\mathbb{C}^{2n}H1(X,C)=C2n, and write H1(X^)≅H1(X)∗H^1(\hat X)\cong H^1(X)^*H1(X^)≅H1(X)∗ in dual coordinates. The complex structure of XXX is a real matrix JJJ with J2=−1J^2=-1J2=−1 acting on H1(X,R)H^1(X,\mathbb{R})H1(X,R); its iii-eigenspace is H1,0(X)H^{1,0}(X)H1,0(X). A number z∈Cz\in\mathbb{C}z∈C acts on H1(X,C)H^1(X,\mathbb{C})H1(X,C) by Re⁡z+Im⁡z J\operatorname{Re}z+\operatorname{Im}z\,JRez+ImzJ and on Hk(X,C)=∧kH1(X,C)H^k(X,\mathbb{C})=\wedge^kH^1(X,\mathbb{C})Hk(X,C)=∧kH1(X,C) multiplicatively; a class of type (p,q)(p,q)(p,q) is multiplied by zpzˉqz^p\bar z^qzpzˉq. The Hodge ring is ⨁pHp,p(X,Q)\bigoplus_pH^{p,p}(X,\mathbb{Q})⨁p​Hp,p(X,Q).

  • VC=H1(X,C)⊕H1(X^,C)V_{\mathbb{C}}=H^1(X,\mathbb{C})\oplus H^1(\hat X,\mathbb{C})VC​=H1(X,C)⊕H1(X^,C) carries the pairing ((w1,t1),(w2,t2))V=t1(w2)+t2(w1)((w_1,t_1),(w_2,t_2))_V=t_1(w_2)+t_2(w_1)((w1​,t1​),(w2​,t2​))V​=t1​(w2​)+t2​(w1​) and the complex structure I=J⊕(−JT)I=J\oplus(-J^{\mathsf T})I=J⊕(−JT) of X×X^X\times\hat XX×X^; V1,0,V0,1V^{1,0},V^{0,1}V1,0,V0,1 are the ±i\pm i±i-eigenspaces of III.
  • SC=H∗(X,C)=∧∗H1(X,C)S_{\mathbb{C}}=H^*(X,\mathbb{C})=\wedge^*H^1(X,\mathbb{C})SC​=H∗(X,C)=∧∗H1(X,C) is the spin representation: v=(w,t)v=(w,t)v=(w,t) acts by mv(s)=w∧s+Dt(s)m_v(s)=w\wedge s+D_t(s)mv​(s)=w∧s+Dt​(s), with DtD_tDt​ the contraction. A nonzero s∈SC+=Hev(X,C)s\in S^+_{\mathbb{C}}=H^{\mathrm{ev}}(X,\mathbb{C})s∈SC+​=Hev(X,C) is an even pure spinor if its annihilator Ws={v:mv(s)=0}W_s=\{v:m_v(s)=0\}Ws​={v:mv​(s)=0} has dimension 2n2n2n (it is then maximal isotropic).
  • For d>0d>0d>0 put −d=id\sqrt{-d}=i\sqrt d−d​=id​ and K=Q(−d)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-d})K=Q(−d​). Given rational a,b∈S+a,b\in S^+a,b∈S+ with λ1,2=a±−d b\lambda_{1,2}=a\pm\sqrt{-d}\,bλ1,2​=a±−d​b even pure spinors, the line P(P)\mathbb{P}(P)P(P), P=span⁡Q(a,b)P=\operatorname{span}_{\mathbb{Q}}(a,b)P=spanQ​(a,b), is a KKK-secant to the spinor variety, with W1=Wλ1W_1=W_{\lambda_1}W1​=Wλ1​​, W2=Wλ2W_2=W_{\lambda_2}W2​=Wλ2​​. When W1∩W2=0W_1\cap W_2=0W1​∩W2​=0, the endomorphism f=η−df=\eta_{\sqrt{-d}}f=η−d​​ acting by ±−d\pm\sqrt{-d}±−d​ on W1,2W_{1,2}W1,2​ is rational (2.2.4), (2.4.1); ΞP(x,y)=(f(x),y)V\Xi_P(x,y)=(f(x),y)_VΞP​(x,y)=(f(x),y)V​ and gP(x,y)=ΞP(I(x),y)g_P(x,y)=\Xi_P(I(x),y)gP​(x,y)=ΞP​(I(x),y).
  • For an ample class Θ∈H1,1(X,Z)\Theta\in H^{1,1}(X,\mathbb{Z})Θ∈H1,1(X,Z) put u=−d Θu=\sqrt{-d}\,\Thetau=−d​Θ and P=span⁡{Re⁡exp⁡(u),Im⁡exp⁡(u)/d}P=\operatorname{span}\{\operatorname{Re}\exp(u),\operatorname{Im}\exp(u)/\sqrt d\}P=span{Reexp(u),Imexp(u)/d​} (2.4.5).

Formalization targets

Goal (Proposition 2.4.4, with (2.4.6) and Lemma 2.2.6)

For a complex torus XXX of dimension n≥2n\ge2n≥2 with ample Θ\ThetaΘ, and a positive integer ddd: exp⁡(±−d Θ)\exp(\pm\sqrt{-d}\,\Theta)exp(±−d​Θ) are even pure spinors with W1∩W2=0W_1\cap W_2=0W1​∩W2​=0, and there is a rational fff acting by ±−d\pm\sqrt{-d}±−d​ on W1,2W_{1,2}W1,2​ with

f2=−d,(fx,fy)V=d (x,y)V,fI=If,dim⁡(Wi∩V1,0)=n,gP(x,x)<0  (0≠x∈VR).f^2=-d,\quad (fx,fy)_V=d\,(x,y)_V,\quad fI=If,\quad \dim(W_i\cap V^{1,0})=n,\quad g_P(x,x)<0\ \ (0\neq x\in V_{\mathbb{R}}).f2=−d,(fx,fy)V​=d(x,y)V​,fI=If,dim(Wi​∩V1,0)=n,gP​(x,x)<0  (0=x∈VR​).

That is, (X×X^,η,ΞP)(X\times\hat X,\eta,\Xi_P)(X×X^,η,ΞP​) is a polarized abelian variety of Weil type.

Milestones

Equation (2.4.6) (the annihilator of exp⁡(u)\exp(u)exp(u)), Equation (2.4.5) (the plane lies in the Hodge ring), Lemma 2.2.6 (Weil's condition), the rational similarity fff of (2.2.4)/(2.4.1), the commutation fI=IffI=IffI=If (§2.4, p. 20), and Lemma 2.4.2 (the formula for gPg_PgP​).

Significance

The result. The construction supplies, for every imaginary quadratic field KKK and every polarized abelian nnn-fold, a polarized abelian variety of Weil type X×X^X\times\hat XX×X^, together with a description of its Weil structure in spin-representation terms. The rest of the paper deforms this structure (Spin(V)P\mathrm{Spin}(V)_PSpin(V)P​ plays the role of the special Mumford–Tate group) and uses Orlov's derived equivalence to obtain the Hodge–Weil classes from sheaves; the final application is the Hodge conjecture for abelian fourfolds.

Formalizing it. The results of this mission are proved in the paper; none of them has a machine-checked proof. The mission produces a reusable Lean model of the spin representation H∗(X)H^*(X)H∗(X) of V=H1(X)⊕H1(X^)V=H^1(X)\oplus H^1(\hat X)V=H1(X)⊕H1(X^), of pure spinors and their annihilators, and of Hodge types on ∧∗H1\wedge^*H^1∧∗H1, all built on Mathlib's exterior and Clifford algebras.

Difficulty

The algebra in the explicit example is short, but the general milestones rest on facts about pure spinors (their annihilators are maximal isotropic; a conjugate pair with W1∩W2=0W_1\cap W_2=0W1​∩W2​=0 splits VKV_KVK​; rationality of fff by Galois descent) and on Lemma 2.2.6, whose proof in the source uses Chevalley's isomorphism S⊗S≅C(V)S\otimes S\cong C(V)S⊗S≅C(V) as a morphism of Hodge structures. A coordinate computation settles the example but not the general statements. Sign conventions (the choice of −d\sqrt{-d}−d​, the complex structure on H1(X^)H^1(\hat X)H1(X^), and the sign of ampleness) all enter the final negativity claim.

Formalization scope

  • Everything is linear algebra over C\mathbb{C}C, with the rational and integral structures given by the coordinate basis; XXX is a complex torus carrying the class Θ\ThetaΘ.
  • H∗(X,C)H^*(X,\mathbb{C})H∗(X,C) is ExteriorAlgebra ℂ (Fin (2n) → ℂ); contraction is Mathlib's CliffordAlgebra.contractLeft; exp⁡\expexp is the truncated exponential ∑k≤2nsk/k!\sum_{k\le2n}s^k/k!∑k≤2n​sk/k!.
  • The complex structure of VRV_{\mathbb{R}}VR​ is I=J⊕(−JT)I=J\oplus(-J^{\mathsf T})I=J⊕(−JT), the extension of JJJ that is an isometry of (⋅,⋅)V(\cdot,\cdot)_V(⋅,⋅)V​ (footnote 8 of the source).
  • Ampleness sign. Ampleness is encoded as it is used in the proof of Proposition 2.4.4: Θ∈H1,1(X,Z)\Theta\in H^{1,1}(X,\mathbb{Z})Θ∈H1,1(X,Z) and Θ(a∧I(a))>0\Theta(a\wedge I(a))>0Θ(a∧I(a))>0 for nonzero a∈H1(X^,R)a\in H^1(\hat X,\mathbb{R})a∈H1(X^,R), with I=−JTI=-J^{\mathsf T}I=−JT on H1(X^,R)H^1(\hat X,\mathbb{R})H1(X^,R). With the opposite sign the last clause of the goal would become positive definiteness.
  • W1∩W2=0W_1\cap W_2=0W1​∩W2​=0 is a hypothesis of the general milestones; in the source it is deduced from the non-isotropy of PPP via Lemma 2.2.1.
  • Not included: the spin group, the stabilizer Spin(V)P\mathrm{Spin}(V)_PSpin(V)P​, the centralizer statement of Lemma 2.2.4 and the discriminant computation of Lemma 3.1.3. Contributions adding these are welcome.

Selected references

  • E. Markman, Cycles on abelian 2n-folds of Weil type from secant sheaves on abelian n-folds, arXiv:2502.03415v2, 2025. https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.03415
  • C. Chevalley, The algebraic theory of spinors, Columbia University Press, 1954.
  • B. van Geemen, An introduction to the Hodge conjecture for abelian varieties, in: Algebraic Cycles and Hodge Theory, LNM 1594, Springer, 1994. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0074000
  • P. Deligne, The Hodge conjecture, Clay Mathematics Institute problem description, 2000. https://www.claymath.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/hodge.pdf
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Category TheoryDifferential Geometry·Captain: Lucas

Homological Mirror Symmetry for the Two-Torus (Kontsevich, ICM 1994)Research Paper

Motivation

Mirror symmetry was discovered in string theory as a duality between families of Calabi–Yau manifolds, and it entered mathematics as a prediction: the generating function counting rational curves on one manifold equals a period integral of a mirror manifold. In his 1994 ICM address, Homological algebra of mirror symmetry (alg-geom/9411018), M. Kontsevich proposed that these numerical coincidences are shadows of an equivalence of categories: the symplectic geometry of VVV should be encoded by Fukaya's A∞A_\inftyA∞​-category F(V)F(V)F(V), whose objects are Lagrangian submanifolds and whose products count pseudo-holomorphic discs, and the complex geometry of the mirror WWW by the derived category Db(Coh W)D^b(\mathrm{Coh}\,W)Db(CohW) of coherent sheaves. His Homological Mirror Conjecture asserts that the derived category built from F(V)F(V)F(V) embeds as a full triangulated subcategory of Db(Coh W)D^b(\mathrm{Coh}\,W)Db(CohW).

Kontsevich states the conjecture "in slightly vague form", because Fukaya's construction was not, and still is not, available in the generality the statement needs. He therefore closes the paper with the one instance he can compute by hand, in the section Two-dimensional tori: a return: for the flat torus Σ=R2/Z2\Sigma = \mathbb{R}^2/\mathbb{Z}^2Σ=R2/Z2, the objects are closed geodesics with unitary local systems, the products m2m_2m2​ are sums over triangles in the universal cover weighted by exp⁡(−area)\exp(-\text{area})exp(−area), and their structure constants are values of the classical theta-function. He predicts an equivalence with Db(Coh E)D^b(\mathrm{Coh}\,E)Db(CohE) for an elliptic curve EEE. This instance was proved by A. Polishchuk and E. Zaslow, Categorical mirror symmetry: the elliptic curve (math/9801119). Later instances include the four-torus (Abouzaid–Smith, arXiv:0903.3065) and Calabi–Yau hypersurfaces (Sheridan, arXiv:1111.0632). None of this has been formalized.

Setting

Fix a real number area>0\mathrm{area} > 0area>0, and let Σ\SigmaΣ be the torus R2/Z2\mathbb{R}^2/\mathbb{Z}^2R2/Z2 carrying the translation-invariant symplectic form of total area area\mathrm{area}area; a region of Euclidean area aaa in coordinates has symplectic area area⋅a\mathrm{area}\cdot aarea⋅a.

A brane bbb consists of: a primitive vector v∈Z2v \in \mathbb{Z}^2v∈Z2 and a point c∈R2c \in \mathbb{R}^2c∈R2, which together determine the closed geodesic Lb={ c+tv mod Z2 }L_b = \{\,c + tv \bmod \mathbb{Z}^2\,\}Lb​={c+tvmodZ2}; a grading α∈R\alpha \in \mathbb{R}α∈R, a real lift of the direction angle normalized so that (cos⁡πα,sin⁡πα)(\cos \pi\alpha, \sin \pi\alpha)(cosπα,sinπα) is parallel to vvv; and a real constant θ\thetaθ describing a flat unitary line bundle on LbL_bLb​, whose parallel transport along a path of parameter length sss is exp⁡(2πi θs)\exp(2\pi i\,\theta s)exp(2πiθs). Two branes are transverse when det⁡(v1,v2)≠0\det(v_1, v_2) \neq 0det(v1​,v2​)=0; their geodesics then meet in the finite set Lb1∩Lb2L_{b_1} \cap L_{b_2}Lb1​​∩Lb2​​, which indexes a basis of the Floer space Hom(b1,b2)\mathrm{Hom}(b_1, b_2)Hom(b1​,b2​). All of this space sits in a single degree, the Maslov index

μ(b1,b2)  =  ⌈α2−α1⌉.\mu(b_1, b_2) \;=\; \lceil \alpha_2 - \alpha_1 \rceil .μ(b1​,b2​)=⌈α2​−α1​⌉.

For three pairwise transverse branes and intersection points p∈L1∩L2p \in L_1 \cap L_2p∈L1​∩L2​, q∈L2∩L3q \in L_2 \cap L_3q∈L2​∩L3​, r∈L1∩L3r \in L_1 \cap L_3r∈L1​∩L3​, a triangle is a triple of lifts (P,Q,R)∈(R2)3(P, Q, R) \in (\mathbb{R}^2)^3(P,Q,R)∈(R2)3 of (p,q,r)(p,q,r)(p,q,r) with Q−PQ - PQ−P parallel to v2v_2v2​, R−QR - QR−Q parallel to v3v_3v3​, P−RP - RP−R parallel to v1v_1v1​, and positively oriented. Kontsevich's structure constant is

c(p,q,r)  =  ∑trianglesexp⁡(−symplectic area)⋅(holonomies along the three sides),c(p,q,r) \;=\; \sum_{\text{triangles}} \exp\bigl(-\text{symplectic area}\bigr)\cdot \bigl(\text{holonomies along the three sides}\bigr),c(p,q,r)=triangles∑​exp(−symplectic area)⋅(holonomies along the three sides),

the coefficient of rrr in m2(p,q)m_2(p, q)m2​(p,q). On the complex side, Dcohb(E)D^b_{\mathrm{coh}}(E)Dcohb​(E) denotes the complexes of OE\mathcal{O}_EOE​-modules with bounded, coherent cohomology.

Formalization targets

Goal — homological mirror symmetry for the two-torus

For every area>0\mathrm{area} > 0area>0 there exist a smooth proper curve EEE over C\mathbb{C}C, an assignment b↦Φ(b)b \mapsto \Phi(b)b↦Φ(b) of an object of Dcohb(E)D^b_{\mathrm{coh}}(E)Dcohb​(E) to each brane, and isomorphisms

C Lb1∩Lb2  → ∼   Hom(Φ(b1), Φ(b2)[μ(b1,b2)])(b1⋔b2),\mathbb{C}^{\,L_{b_1} \cap L_{b_2}} \;\xrightarrow{\ \sim\ }\; \mathrm{Hom}\bigl(\Phi(b_1),\, \Phi(b_2)[\mu(b_1,b_2)]\bigr) \qquad (b_1 \pitchfork b_2),CLb1​​∩Lb2​​ ∼ ​Hom(Φ(b1​),Φ(b2​)[μ(b1​,b2​)])(b1​⋔b2​),

with Hom(Φ(b1),Φ(b2)[d])=0\mathrm{Hom}(\Phi(b_1), \Phi(b_2)[d]) = 0Hom(Φ(b1​),Φ(b2​)[d])=0 for d≠μ(b1,b2)d \neq \mu(b_1,b_2)d=μ(b1​,b2​), carrying the products c(p,q,r)c(p,q,r)c(p,q,r) to composition in Dcohb(E)D^b_{\mathrm{coh}}(E)Dcohb​(E) whenever μ(b1,b2)+μ(b2,b3)=μ(b1,b3)\mu(b_1,b_2) + \mu(b_2,b_3) = \mu(b_1,b_3)μ(b1​,b2​)+μ(b2​,b3​)=μ(b1​,b3​).

Milestones

Existence of the Fukaya A∞A_\inftyA∞​-category of the torus; finiteness of Lb1∩Lb2L_{b_1} \cap L_{b_2}Lb1​​∩Lb2​​ with ∣det⁡(v1,v2)∣|\det(v_1,v_2)|∣det(v1​,v2​)∣ points; the Maslov relation μ(b1,b2)+μ(b2,b1)=1\mu(b_1,b_2) + \mu(b_2,b_1) = 1μ(b1​,b2​)+μ(b2​,b1​)=1; m12=0m_1^2 = 0m12​=0 together with associativity of m2m_2m2​ up to coboundary; the degeneration of an A∞A_\inftyA∞​-category with m≥3=0m_{\geq 3} = 0m≥3​=0 to a differential graded category; the theta-function shape of the structure constants; and their associativity equation.

Significance

The conjecture reorganizes mirror symmetry: the numerical predictions compare two elements of an uncountable set of power series, whereas the homological statement compares two objects in a countable set of triangulated categories, and the numerical statements are meant to follow from it. The torus case is the smallest instance in which every ingredient — Lagrangian branes, Maslov grading, disc counts, theta functions, and coherent sheaves on an elliptic curve — is present and computable, so it is the natural first target.

What this mission adds beyond the literature is machine-checked mathematics where none exists. Mathlib currently has no symplectic manifolds, no Lagrangian Floer theory, no Fukaya categories, and no A∞A_\inftyA∞​-categories; it does have schemes, sheaves of modules, and derived categories of abelian categories. The mission supplies the missing A∞A_\inftyA∞​ layer and the torus model, and asks for the comparison theorem. The A∞A_\inftyA∞​ definitions, the derived category with coherent cohomology, and the theta-function estimates are reusable outside this mission.

Difficulty

The obvious route — "transport the Polishchuk–Zaslow proof" — stalls at the point where the two sides are compared. Establishing that the triangle sums converge and equal theta-function values is analysis that Mathlib supports; producing an elliptic curve as a scheme with prescribed parameter, computing Ext\mathrm{Ext}Ext-groups between the mirror sheaves, and matching all products simultaneously is not currently supported by any library. A second difficulty is bookkeeping: gradings, Maslov indices and shifts must line up, since the product of two morphisms is nonzero only when μ(b1,b2)+μ(b2,b3)=μ(b1,b3)\mu(b_1,b_2)+\mu(b_2,b_3) = \mu(b_1,b_3)μ(b1​,b2​)+μ(b2​,b3​)=μ(b1​,b3​), and the same numerical condition controls which triples of branes bound triangles at all.

Formalization scope

Conventions committed to in Lean. An A∞A_\inftyA∞​-category is encoded as a single graded module AAA with morphism components hom⁡(X,Y)\hom(X,Y)hom(X,Y) and products given by a map on lists, m[f1,…,fn]=mn(f1⊗⋯⊗fn)m[f_1,\dots,f_n] = m_n(f_1 \otimes \cdots \otimes f_n)m[f1​,…,fn​]=mn​(f1​⊗⋯⊗fn​) of degree 2−n2-n2−n, with m0=0m_0 = 0m0​=0, and Stasheff signs (−1)r+st(-1)^{r+st}(−1)r+st in the bar-construction normalization; m2(f,g)m_2(f,g)m2​(f,g) is "fff then ggg". Triangles are normalized by requiring the first vertex to lie in [0,1)2[0,1)^2[0,1)2, which picks exactly one representative in each Z2\mathbb{Z}^2Z2-orbit; only positively oriented triangles are counted; sums are tsums, so convergence is part of the work. The hom-space isomorphisms in the goal are required to be additive, not a priori C\mathbb{C}C-linear, because the derived category of OE\mathcal{O}_EOE​-modules is not equipped with a C\mathbb{C}C-linear structure in Mathlib; the required compatibility with the structure constants pins down the algebra anyway. The goal asks only for the existence of a smooth proper curve EEE over C\mathbb{C}C; the paper's further prediction that EEE has parameter exp⁡(−area)\exp(-\mathrm{area})exp(−area) is deliberately left out of the statement.

The goal is not trivially satisfiable: the intersection set of two transverse branes is nonempty, so the required isomorphisms force the corresponding Hom\mathrm{Hom}Hom-groups to be nonzero of the right size, in the right degree, with the prescribed products.

The general conjecture, for an arbitrary symplectic manifold with c1=0c_1 = 0c1​=0, is not stated here, and deliberately so: without symplectic manifolds and Floer theory in Mathlib, any general statement would have to take the Fukaya category as an unconstrained parameter, which would make it either vacuous or false. Building that infrastructure — symplectic manifolds, graded Lagrangian branes, Floer cohomology, twisted complexes over an A∞A_\inftyA∞​-category and their triangulated structure — is the natural way to extend this mission, and such contributions are welcome.

Selected references

  • M. Kontsevich, Homological algebra of mirror symmetry, Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians (Zürich, 1994), alg-geom/9411018.
  • A. Polishchuk and E. Zaslow, Categorical mirror symmetry: the elliptic curve, Adv. Theor. Math. Phys. 2 (1998), math/9801119.
  • M. Abouzaid and I. Smith, Homological mirror symmetry for the 4-torus, Duke Math. J. 152 (2010), arXiv:0903.3065.
  • N. Sheridan, Homological mirror symmetry for Calabi–Yau hypersurfaces in projective space, Invent. Math. 199 (2015), arXiv:1111.0632.
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Convex OptimizationOperations ResearchOptimization·Captain: mikedeng1

On Computing the Nonlinearity Interval in Parametric Semidefinite Optimization: The Set of Transition Points of the Optimal Partition Is FiniteResearch Paper

Motivation

Sensitivity analysis asks how the solution of an optimization problem changes when its data move. For linear optimization the answer has been known since the 1990s: as the objective is perturbed along a fixed direction, the optimal partition (which variables can be positive at an optimum and which slacks can) stays constant on open intervals and changes only at finitely many breakpoints, and the optimal value is piecewise linear with breakpoints exactly there (Adler and Monteiro, Algorithmica 8, 1992; Jansen, Roos and Terlaky, 1993). Semidefinite optimization (SDO) is used throughout control, combinatorial relaxations and polynomial optimization, and its parametric behaviour is less regular. The optimal partition can stay constant while the optimal sets move (a nonlinearity interval), and the optimal value need not be piecewise linear.

Mohammad-Nezhad and Terlaky (Optimization 69, 2020) defined invariancy intervals, nonlinearity intervals and transition points for parametric SDO. Hauenstein, Mohammad-Nezhad, Tang and Terlaky (arXiv:1908.10499v3; Mathematics of Operations Research, 2022) prove that there are only finitely many transition points (Theorem 1, p. 8) and then compute nonlinearity intervals with numerical algebraic geometry. Finiteness is what makes a computational description possible: without it, the interior of the domain need not decompose into finitely many intervals of each kind.

Timeline:

  • 1992–1993: Adler and Monteiro, and Jansen, Roos and Terlaky, start the optimal partition approach to parametric linear optimization.
  • 1999: Goldfarb and Scheinberg extend the optimal partition approach to parametric SDO (Applied Numerical Mathematics 29).
  • 2020: Mohammad-Nezhad and Terlaky introduce the optimal partition approach to parametric SDO (Definitions 3–5 of the present paper are taken from there).
  • 2019–2022: Hauenstein, Mohammad-Nezhad, Tang and Terlaky prove that the transition points are finite (Theorem 1) and give the nonlinearity-interval algorithm.

Setting

Let Sn\mathbb S^nSn be the real symmetric n×nn\times nn×n matrices with ⟨M,X⟩=tr⁡(MX)\langle M,X\rangle=\operatorname{tr}(MX)⟨M,X⟩=tr(MX). Data: A1,…,Am,C,Cˉ∈SnA^1,\dots,A^m,C,\bar C\in\mathbb S^nA1,…,Am,C,Cˉ∈Sn and b∈Rmb\in\mathbb R^mb∈Rm. For a real parameter ϵ\epsilonϵ consider

(Pϵ) inf⁡X{⟨C+ϵCˉ,X⟩: ⟨Ai,X⟩=bi, X⪰0},(Dϵ) sup⁡(y,S){bTy: ∑iyiAi+S=C+ϵCˉ, S⪰0}.(\mathrm P_\epsilon)\ \inf_X\{\langle C+\epsilon\bar C,X\rangle:\ \langle A^i,X\rangle=b_i,\ X\succeq0\},\qquad (\mathrm D_\epsilon)\ \sup_{(y,S)}\Big\{b^Ty:\ \textstyle\sum_i y_iA^i+S=C+\epsilon\bar C,\ S\succeq0\Big\}.(Pϵ​) Xinf​{⟨C+ϵCˉ,X⟩: ⟨Ai,X⟩=bi​, X⪰0},(Dϵ​) (y,S)sup​{bTy: ∑i​yi​Ai+S=C+ϵCˉ, S⪰0}.

The primal feasible set P\mathcal PP does not depend on ϵ\epsilonϵ; the dual one is D(ϵ)\mathcal D(\epsilon)D(ϵ). The optimal value function v(ϵ)∈R∪{±∞}v(\epsilon)\in\mathbb R\cup\{\pm\infty\}v(ϵ)∈R∪{±∞} is the infimum of (Pϵ)(\mathrm P_\epsilon)(Pϵ​), its domain is E={ϵ: v(ϵ)>−∞}\mathcal E=\{\epsilon:\ v(\epsilon)>-\infty\}E={ϵ: v(ϵ)>−∞}, and the optimal sets are P∗(ϵ)={X∈P:⟨C+ϵCˉ,X⟩=v(ϵ)}\mathcal P^*(\epsilon)=\{X\in\mathcal P:\langle C+\epsilon\bar C,X\rangle=v(\epsilon)\}P∗(ϵ)={X∈P:⟨C+ϵCˉ,X⟩=v(ϵ)} and D∗(ϵ)={(y,S)∈D(ϵ):bTy=v(ϵ)}\mathcal D^*(\epsilon)=\{(y,S)\in\mathcal D(\epsilon):b^Ty=v(\epsilon)\}D∗(ϵ)={(y,S)∈D(ϵ):bTy=v(ϵ)}.

Standing assumptions (p. 2): Assumption 1, the AiA^iAi are linearly independent; Assumption 2, there are X∘∈PX^\circ\in\mathcal PX∘∈P, (y∘,S∘)∈D(0)(y^\circ,S^\circ)\in\mathcal D(0)(y∘,S∘)∈D(0) with X∘,S∘≻0X^\circ,S^\circ\succ0X∘,S∘≻0.

For ϵ∈int⁡(E)\epsilon\in\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)ϵ∈int(E), a maximally complementary optimal solution (X∗(ϵ),y∗(ϵ),S∗(ϵ))(X^*(\epsilon),y^*(\epsilon),S^*(\epsilon))(X∗(ϵ),y∗(ϵ),S∗(ϵ)) has X∗(ϵ)∈ri⁡P∗(ϵ)X^*(\epsilon)\in\operatorname{ri}\mathcal P^*(\epsilon)X∗(ϵ)∈riP∗(ϵ) and (y∗(ϵ),S∗(ϵ))∈ri⁡D∗(ϵ)(y^*(\epsilon),S^*(\epsilon))\in\operatorname{ri}\mathcal D^*(\epsilon)(y∗(ϵ),S∗(ϵ))∈riD∗(ϵ) (Definition 1). A point ϵˉ∈int⁡(E)\bar\epsilon\in\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)ϵˉ∈int(E) is a transition point if every interval (ϵˉ−δ,ϵˉ+δ)∩int⁡(E)(\bar\epsilon-\delta,\bar\epsilon+\delta)\cap\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)(ϵˉ−δ,ϵˉ+δ)∩int(E) contains an ϵ\epsilonϵ with rank⁡X∗(ϵ)≠rank⁡X∗(ϵˉ)\operatorname{rank}X^*(\epsilon)\ne\operatorname{rank}X^*(\bar\epsilon)rankX∗(ϵ)=rankX∗(ϵˉ) or rank⁡S∗(ϵ)≠rank⁡S∗(ϵˉ)\operatorname{rank}S^*(\epsilon)\ne\operatorname{rank}S^*(\bar\epsilon)rankS∗(ϵ)=rankS∗(ϵˉ) (Definition 5).

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1 (p. 8)

{ϵˉ∈R: ϵˉ is a transition point} is finite.\{\bar\epsilon\in\mathbb R:\ \bar\epsilon\ \text{is a transition point}\}\ \text{is finite.}{ϵˉ∈R: ϵˉ is a transition point} is finite.

The statement names no bound on the number of transition points; it asserts finiteness only.

Milestones, in the order of the paper's argument

  1. Remark 1 (p. 2): strictly feasible primal and dual solutions exist at every ϵ∈int⁡(E)\epsilon\in\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)ϵ∈int(E).
  2. p. 2: E\mathcal EE is an interval with at least two points; vvv is finite and concave on E\mathcal EE and continuous on int⁡(E)\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)int(E).
  3. p. 2: for ϵ∈int⁡(E)\epsilon\in\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)ϵ∈int(E), P∗(ϵ)\mathcal P^*(\epsilon)P∗(ϵ) and D∗(ϵ)\mathcal D^*(\epsilon)D∗(ϵ) are nonempty and compact (strong duality).
  4. (1), p. 2: on int⁡(E)\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)int(E), a primal–dual triple is optimal iff it is feasible and XS=0XS=0XS=0.
  5. Appendix, p. 22: the ranks at relative-interior optimal points are maximal on the optimal sets.
  6. (19), p. 22: int⁡(E)=⋃θ+σ≤nS(θ,σ)\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)=\bigcup_{\theta+\sigma\le n}\mathcal S_{(\theta,\sigma)}int(E)=⋃θ+σ≤n​S(θ,σ)​, where S(θ,σ)\mathcal S_{(\theta,\sigma)}S(θ,σ)​ is the set of ϵ∈int⁡(E)\epsilon\in\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)ϵ∈int(E) at which some (X,y,S)∈ri⁡(P∗(ϵ)×D∗(ϵ))(X,y,S)\in\operatorname{ri}(\mathcal P^*(\epsilon)\times\mathcal D^*(\epsilon))(X,y,S)∈ri(P∗(ϵ)×D∗(ϵ)) has ranks (θ,σ)(\theta,\sigma)(θ,σ).
  7. p. 22: ϵˉ\bar\epsilonϵˉ is a transition point iff ϵˉ∈bd⁡(S(θ,σ))∩int⁡(E)\bar\epsilon\in\operatorname{bd}(\mathcal S_{(\theta,\sigma)})\cap\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)ϵˉ∈bd(S(θ,σ)​)∩int(E) for some θ+σ≤n\theta+\sigma\le nθ+σ≤n.
  8. p. 23: every S(θ,σ)\mathcal S_{(\theta,\sigma)}S(θ,σ)​ is a semi-algebraic subset of R\mathbb RR.
  9. [Basu–Pollack–Roy, Theorem 5.22], cited p. 22: a semi-algebraic subset of R\mathbb RR has finitely many boundary points.

Significance

The result. Theorem 1 implies that int⁡(E)\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)int(E) is a finite union of invariancy intervals, nonlinearity intervals and transition points (p. 8). This is the structural fact behind the paper's algorithm, which follows the optimal solution along a nonlinearity interval and detects its end points, and it extends to SDO the finite-breakpoint picture of parametric linear optimization. Without finiteness, a sensitivity report would have no finite description.

Formalizing it. The theorem is proved in the paper; nothing here is open. It has no machine-checked proof that we know of. A complete development would bring parametric conic duality into Lean (the interior point condition moving along a direction, strong duality with attainment, compactness of optimal sets), and it would connect convex analysis to semi-algebraic geometry: relative interiors, ranks of positive semidefinite matrices, and the one-dimensional case of Tarski–Seidenberg. Each of these is useful beyond this paper.

Difficulty

The obvious argument says that ranks are integers between 000 and nnn, so they can change only finitely often. That is false for arbitrary integer-valued functions on an interval: a rank pair could alternate on a sequence accumulating at a point, producing infinitely many transition points. Finiteness needs a structural reason why each level set S(θ,σ)\mathcal S_{(\theta,\sigma)}S(θ,σ)​ is a finite union of points and intervals. That reason is semi-algebraicity. Proving it requires showing that the relative interior of the optimal set, and the parameter values where a rank is attained there, can be described by a first-order formula over the reals, and then eliminating the quantifiers. Mathlib has no Tarski–Seidenberg theorem, and the one-variable structure theorem for semi-algebraic sets (milestone 9) is itself missing.

A second difficulty is the parametric duality: strict feasibility is assumed only at ϵ=0\epsilon=0ϵ=0, and propagating it to all of int⁡(E)\operatorname{int}(\mathcal E)int(E) (Remark 1) uses a theorem of the alternative for SDO.

Formalization scope

Matrices are Matrix (Fin n) (Fin n) ℝ; X⪰0X\succeq0X⪰0 is PosSemidef (which includes symmetry) and X≻0X\succ0X≻0 is PosDef. Symmetry of AiA^iAi, CCC, Cˉ\bar CCˉ is a hypothesis of every theorem, as are Assumptions 1–2. The optimal value vvv is an EReal infimum over P\mathcal PP, so v=−∞v=-\inftyv=−∞ is represented faithfully and E\mathcal EE is not a junk set. D∗(ϵ)\mathcal D^*(\epsilon)D∗(ϵ) compares bTyb^TybTy with the primal value v(ϵ)v(\epsilon)v(ϵ), as printed. The relative interior is Mathlib's intrinsicInterior. Definition 1 lets X∗(ϵ)X^*(\epsilon)X∗(ϵ) be any maximally complementary solution. The formalization removes this choice by taking the supremum of ranks over relative-interior points, and milestone 5 shows that every such point has that rank. S(θ,σ)\mathcal S_{(\theta,\sigma)}S(θ,σ)​ uses the relative interior of the product, as printed. A subset of R\mathbb RR is semi-algebraic when its copy in R1\mathbb R^1R1 is a finite union of sets {p=0, g<0}\{p=0,\ g<0\}{p=0, g<0} with real polynomials.

Trivializing formalizations are excluded:

  • ranks are taken at relative-interior points only, never at arbitrary optimal points;
  • vvv is an extended-real infimum, never a real sInf (which would make an unbounded problem look finite with value 000);
  • transition points are defined by Definition 5 itself, not as boundary points of S(θ,σ)\mathcal S_{(\theta,\sigma)}S(θ,σ)​.

The paper also states that E\mathcal EE is closed. Under Assumptions 1–2 this is false: n=2n=2n=2, m=1m=1m=1, A1=diag⁡(1,0)A^1=\operatorname{diag}(1,0)A1=diag(1,0), b=1b=1b=1, C=(0111)C=\begin{pmatrix}0&1\\1&1\end{pmatrix}C=(01​11​), Cˉ=diag⁡(0,1)\bar C=\operatorname{diag}(0,1)Cˉ=diag(0,1) gives E=(−1,∞)\mathcal E=(-1,\infty)E=(−1,∞). Milestone 2 omits closedness. The paper's proof of Theorem 1 does not use it.

Contributions welcome: proofs of any milestone; a semi-algebraic toolkit in Lean (closure under Boolean operations, projections from RN+1\mathbb R^{N+1}RN+1 to R\mathbb RR, the one-dimensional structure theorem); conic duality for standard-form SDO.

Selected references

  • J. D. Hauenstein, A. Mohammad-Nezhad, T. Tang, T. Terlaky, On computing the nonlinearity interval in parametric semidefinite optimization, Mathematics of Operations Research, 2022. arXiv:1908.10499v3
  • A. Mohammad-Nezhad, T. Terlaky, Parametric analysis of semidefinite optimization, Optimization 69 (2020), 187–216.
  • I. Adler, R. D. C. Monteiro, A geometric view of parametric linear programming, Algorithmica 8 (1992), 161–176.
  • D. Goldfarb, K. Scheinberg, On parametric semidefinite programming, Applied Numerical Mathematics 29 (1999), 361–377.
  • S. Basu, R. Pollack, M.-F. Roy, Algorithms in Real Algebraic Geometry, Springer, 2006.
  • R. T. Rockafellar, Convex Analysis, Princeton University Press, 1970.
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Captain: Lucas

Noetherian Schemes: Definition, Basic Properties and Non-examplesTextbook

Motivation

Noetherian schemes are the standard finiteness condition of algebraic geometry. Almost every scheme met in practice is Noetherian: affine and projective varieties over a field, schemes of finite type over Z\mathbb ZZ, and many moduli spaces. Many basic theorems about schemes (finiteness of irreducible components, quasi-compactness of morphisms, good behaviour of coherent sheaves and their cohomology) are proved under a Noetherian hypothesis, so the notion appears in the hypotheses of a large part of the literature, starting with Hartshorne's Algebraic Geometry, Chapter II, and the Stacks Project.

This mission formalizes the foundational statements in the Wikipedia article "Noetherian scheme": the definition and its equivalent forms, the basic topological and ring-theoretic consequences, the stability of the notion under morphisms of finite type, and the standard non-examples.

Setting

A scheme XXX is a locally ringed space that is locally isomorphic to spectra of commutative rings. For an open subset U⊆XU \subseteq XU⊆X write Γ(X,U)=OX(U)\Gamma(X,U) = \mathcal O_X(U)Γ(X,U)=OX​(U) for its ring of sections. An open subset UUU is an open affine if U≅Spec⁡AU \cong \operatorname{Spec} AU≅SpecA for a commutative ring AAA; then A≅Γ(X,U)A \cong \Gamma(X,U)A≅Γ(X,U).

  • XXX is locally Noetherian if every point of XXX lies in an open affine UUU with Γ(X,U)\Gamma(X,U)Γ(X,U) a Noetherian ring (NoetherianScheme.IsLocallyNoetherianScheme).
  • XXX is Noetherian if X=U1∪⋯∪UnX = U_1 \cup \dots \cup U_nX=U1​∪⋯∪Un​ for finitely many open affines UiU_iUi​ with each Γ(X,Ui)\Gamma(X,U_i)Γ(X,Ui​) Noetherian (NoetherianScheme.IsNoetherianScheme).

A topological space is a Noetherian space if every descending chain of closed subsets stabilizes. A morphism f:X→Sf : X \to Sf:X→S is quasi-compact if preimages of quasi-compact opens are quasi-compact, locally of finite type if it is given locally by finitely generated algebras, and of finite type if it is both.

Formalization targets

Goal

X Noetherian  ⟺  X quasi-compact and Γ(X,U) Noetherian for every open affine U⊆X.X \text{ Noetherian} \iff X \text{ quasi-compact and } \Gamma(X,U) \text{ Noetherian for every open affine } U \subseteq X.X Noetherian⟺X quasi-compact and Γ(X,U) Noetherian for every open affine U⊆X.

This combines the article's statements that a scheme is Noetherian iff it is locally Noetherian and compact, and that every open affine of a locally Noetherian scheme has a Noetherian ring of sections. It shows the definition does not depend on the chosen cover.

Milestones

  1. XXX Noetherian   ⟺  \iff⟺ XXX locally Noetherian and compact.
  2. If XXX is locally Noetherian and U⊆XU \subseteq XU⊆X is any open affine, then Γ(X,U)\Gamma(X,U)Γ(X,U) is Noetherian.
  3. Spec⁡A\operatorname{Spec} ASpecA is Noetherian   ⟺  \iff⟺ AAA is a Noetherian ring.
  4. If XXX is locally Noetherian, every local ring OX,x\mathcal O_{X,x}OX,x​ is Noetherian.
  5. A Noetherian scheme is a Noetherian topological space.
  6. The converse fails: there is a non-Noetherian valuation ring RRR such that Spec⁡R\operatorname{Spec} RSpecR is a Noetherian space but not a Noetherian scheme.
  7. A Noetherian scheme has finitely many irreducible components.
  8. Every morphism X→SX \to SX→S with XXX Noetherian is quasi-compact.
  9. If f:X→Sf : X \to Sf:X→S is locally of finite type and SSS is locally Noetherian, then XXX is locally Noetherian.
  10. If f:X→Sf : X \to Sf:X→S is of finite type and SSS is Noetherian, then XXX is Noetherian.
  11. The adele ring AK\mathbb A_KAK​ of a number field KKK is not Noetherian.
  12. The ring of integers of Q(μ∞)\mathbb Q(\mu_\infty)Q(μ∞​) (all roots of unity adjoined) is not Noetherian and has Krull dimension 111.

Significance

The goal is what makes the notion usable: it allows checking Noetherianity on any affine cover and using it on every affine open. Milestones 1–5 and 7–8 are the facts invoked whenever a Noetherian hypothesis is used. Milestones 9–10 are the source of most examples, since they show that every scheme of finite type over a field or over Z\mathbb ZZ is Noetherian. Milestones 6, 11 and 12 show the limits of the notion: Noetherianity is not a topological property, and natural rings in number theory (adeles, rings of integers of infinite extensions) fall outside it, even in dimension one.

Mathlib already contains its own versions of several of these facts, phrased through AlgebraicGeometry.IsLocallyNoetherian and AlgebraicGeometry.IsNoetherian, which take "every open affine has Noetherian sections" as the definition. The statements here use the source's cover-based definition, so connecting the two is part of the work.

Difficulty

The central point of the goal is that a cover-based condition must be transferred to an arbitrary open affine UUU, which in general is not one of the covering opens and is not covered by finitely many standard opens of a single covering affine. The obvious argument (intersect UUU with the cover) produces opens that are not affine, or are affine in different rings, so a local-to-global argument for the property "Noetherian" on affine opens is needed. The non-examples (milestones 6, 11, 12) each require building or analysing a specific non-Noetherian ring that Mathlib does not yet study from this angle.

Formalization scope

  • Schemes are Mathlib's AlgebraicGeometry.Scheme in a fixed universe u. Open affines are X.affineOpens; rings of sections are Γ(X, U); local rings are stalks X.presheaf.stalk x.
  • "Covered by Spec⁡A\operatorname{Spec} ASpecA with AAA Noetherian" is encoded as "covered by affine opens whose rings of sections are Noetherian", using A≅Γ(X,U)A \cong \Gamma(X,U)A≅Γ(X,U). The empty scheme is Noetherian.
  • "Compact" means Mathlib's CompactSpace on the underlying space (quasi-compact, no Hausdorff condition).
  • Morphisms of finite type are written as LocallyOfFiniteType f together with QuasiCompact f.
  • The adele ring is Mathlib's NumberField.AdeleRing (𝓞 K) K. The field Q(μ∞)\mathbb Q(\mu_\infty)Q(μ∞​) is any field KKK of characteristic zero with IsCyclotomicExtension {n | 0 < n} ℚ K; such fields exist (for example inside an algebraic closure of Q\mathbb QQ), so the hypothesis is not vacuous.
  • Milestone 6 is an existence statement in the lowest universe, because not every non-Noetherian valuation ring has a Noetherian spectrum.
  • A formalization that simply reuses Mathlib's IsNoetherian as the definition would make the goal close to a restatement; the definitions here deliberately follow the source.
  • Not included: the sections on dévissage, Čech and sheaf cohomology, compatibility of cohomology with colimits, derived direct images, quasi-projective varieties, infinitesimal deformations, the maximal unramified extension example and the infinite polynomial-ring quotient. These need coherent sheaves, sheaf cohomology and derived categories of schemes, which are not yet available in Mathlib in the required form, and several of their formulas are not legible in the supplied copy of the source. They are candidates for follow-up missions.

Selected references

  • Wikipedia, Noetherian scheme, revision 1372079294. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Noetherian_scheme&oldid=1372079294
  • R. Hartshorne, Algebraic Geometry, Graduate Texts in Mathematics 52, Springer, 1977. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3849-0
  • The Stacks Project, Lemma 28.5.7 (Tag 0BA8), Lemma 28.5.8 (Tag 01P0), Lemma 29.15.6 (Tag 01T6). https://stacks.math.columbia.edu
  • B. Conrad, Weil and Grothendieck approaches to adelic points. http://math.stanford.edu/~conrad/papers/adelictop.pdf
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Algebra·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.
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Captain: marwahaha

The reverse logarithmic Kodaira inequality and additivityOpen Problem

Motivation

Logarithmic Kodaira dimension measures the supply of pluricanonical forms allowed poles along a boundary. Its behavior in a fibration depends especially on the case where a general fiber has no such nonzero forms. The source manuscript presents the surrounding research claim.

Setting

A stratum-smooth fibration is a surjective connected-fiber morphism of smooth projective complex varieties with reduced simple-normal-crossing boundaries E and D. The pullback of the base boundary is supported in E; the total space and every boundary stratum are smooth away from D.

Formalization target

Very generally on the base, the point lies outside D and every supplied fiber model F satisfies

κ(F)=−∞⟹κ(E)=κ(D)+κ(F),\kappa(F)=-\infty\Longrightarrow\kappa(E)=\kappa(D)+\kappa(F),κ(F)=−∞⟹κ(E)=κ(D)+κ(F),

with every positive-degree logarithmic pluriform section on the total space equal to zero.

The selected formal target is OAI.ReverseLogKodaira.SmoothProjectiveVariety.veryGenerally_fiber_negative_branch.

Significance and status

This is the fiber-negative branch of the manuscript’s wider additivity claim. Its vanishing assertion is part of the goal, not merely explanatory background. The published target is currently Open; the manuscript's argument and a checked Lean proof are separate deliverables.

Difficulty

The conclusion concerns all positive tensor degrees and every fiber model over very general points. One fixed fiber or one vanishing space of sections would not suffice.

Formalization scope

The definitions use schemes over ℂ, ideal-sheaf boundaries, exterior powers of Kähler differentials, and rational pluriform lattices. Kodaira dimension takes values in WithBot ℕ∞. Very generally means outside a countable family of proper closed subsets. The nonnegative branches and full reverse inequality are not additional attached targets.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, The reverse logarithmic Kodaira inequality and additivity, preprint, 2026. Pinned manuscript.
  • OpenAI, accompanying formal statements, commit adc7f1241b42. Goal source.
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Number Theory·Captain: marwahaha

The Bogomolov-Pop reconstruction theoremOpen Problem

Motivation

Birational anabelian geometry studies how much of a function field is determined by a small quotient of its absolute Galois group. This mission isolates uniqueness in the reconstruction correspondence. The source manuscript presents the surrounding research claim.

Setting

Fix a prime ℓ. The fields K/k and L/l are essentially finite type extensions of algebraically closed constant fields, have transcendence degree at least two, and have characteristic different from ℓ. The abelian-by-central datum records the pro-ℓ abelian quotient and the commutator pairing. IsomF consists of constant-preserving perfect-closure isomorphisms modulo Frobenius; IsomCUnits quotients bracket-compatible Galois isomorphisms by the encoded ℓ-adic unit relation.

Formalization target

For field-isomorphism classes a and a′ and a Galois-isomorphism class b, prove

PhiGraph⁡(a,b)  ∧  PhiGraph⁡(a′,b)⟹a=a′.\operatorname{PhiGraph}(a,b)\;\land\;\operatorname{PhiGraph}(a^{\prime},b)\quad\Longrightarrow\quad a=a^{\prime}.PhiGraph(a,b)∧PhiGraph(a′,b)⟹a=a′.

PhiGraph is the relation induced by representatives and a compatible extension to algebraic closures.

The selected formal target is OAI.BogomolovPop.main_graph_injective.

Significance and status

This establishes uniqueness of the field class whenever two representatives produce the same Galois class. The manuscript states a full reconstruction bijection; the selected published Lean target is its graph-injectivity assertion. The published target is currently Open; the manuscript's argument and a checked Lean proof are separate deliverables.

Difficulty

Equality is required after two different quotient constructions, one generated by Frobenius and one by ℓ-adic scalar limits. Recovering equality of classes must respect both ambiguities and the contravariant Galois action.

Formalization scope

The definition block constructs topological pro-ℓ quotients, closed commutator subgroups, perfect closures and the pullback graph. The theorem quantifies over arbitrary field types with the stated algebraic instances. It does not assert existence, surjectivity or functionality of PhiGraph, and those broader manuscript conclusions are not attached as proved results. Only the existing injectivity target and its definition block are referenced.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, The Bogomolov-Pop reconstruction theorem, preprint, 2026. Pinned manuscript.
  • OpenAI, accompanying formal statements, commit adc7f1241b42. Goal source.
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AlgebraRepresentation Theory·Captain: wurtle

Quadratic stabilization of the canonical Foulkes--Howe mapResearch Paper

Motivation: plethysm, Foulkes' conjecture and the canonical map

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

Timeline

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

Setting

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

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

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

Formalization targets

Goal: quadratic stabilization (Theorem 1)

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

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

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

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

Significance

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

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

Difficulty

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

Formalization scope

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

Selected references

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

Universal-cover splitting for compact Kähler manifoldsResearch Paper

Motivation: when does a split tangent bundle come from a product?

If a complex manifold is a product Y1×Y2Y_1\times Y_2Y1​×Y2​, its holomorphic tangent bundle is the direct sum of the tangent bundles of the factors. The converse question asks when a given holomorphic decomposition TX=E1⊕E2T_X=E_1\oplus E_2TX​=E1​⊕E2​ of the tangent bundle of a compact manifold XXX comes from a product decomposition of its universal cover, with the product realizing the specified summands rather than some other splitting. This is the complex-analytic counterpart of the de Rham decomposition theorem for Riemannian manifolds with parallel complementary distributions (de Rham 1952), but a holomorphic splitting supplies no complete metric making the distributions parallel, so de Rham's argument does not apply. The question sits between foliation theory, Kähler geometry and the classification of projective manifolds with split tangent bundle.

Timeline

  • 1952 — de Rham: a complete Riemannian manifold with parallel complementary orthogonal distributions has universal cover isometric to a product (de Rham 1952).
  • 1993 — Yau proves a splitting theorem for Kähler–Einstein manifolds (Yau, Comm. Anal. Geom. 1 (1993)).
  • 2000 — Beauville formulates the compatible universal-cover conjecture for compact Kähler manifolds whose tangent summands have integrable partial sums, and proves it for Kähler–Einstein manifolds and compact Kähler surfaces (Beauville 2000, Section 2.3, Theorems A and C). Druel treats projective manifolds whose tangent bundle is a sum of line bundles (Druel 2000).
  • 2006 — Brunella, Pereira and Touzet settle the case of a line summand with integrable complement on compact Kähler manifolds (BPT 2006).
  • 2007 — Höring proves automatic integrability for split tangent bundles on non-uniruled projective manifolds (Höring 2007).
  • 2013–2024 — Pereira–Touzet obtain a compatible Euclidean factor when one involutive summand is Hermitian flat (PT 2013); Druel, Pereira, Pym and Touzet handle a foliation with a compact leaf with finite holonomy (DPPT 2022) and numerically flat regular foliations (DPPT 2024).
  • 2026 — Höring proves algebraic integrability for tangent summands on klt Fano-type varieties (Höring 2026). An OpenAI preprint, Universal-cover splitting for compact Kähler manifolds (OpenAI Math Release, September 23, 2026), claims the two-summand case of Beauville's conjecture in arbitrary positive ranks. The preprint has not been peer reviewed, and its main theorem is not formally verified.

Setting

A complex manifold XXX of dimension nnn is a Hausdorff, second-countable space with holomorphic charts to Cn\mathbb C^nCn. A Kähler metric is a smooth Riemannian metric ggg on the real tangent bundle that is Hermitian (g(Ju,Jv)=g(u,v)g(Ju,Jv)=g(u,v)g(Ju,Jv)=g(u,v) for multiplication JJJ by iii) and whose fundamental form ω(u,v)=g(Ju,v)\omega(u,v)=g(Ju,v)ω(u,v)=g(Ju,v) is closed.

A holomorphic splitting of TXT_XTX​ with ranks r1,r2r_1,r_2r1​,r2​ is given by a field PPP of C\mathbb CC-linear idempotents Px:TxX→TxXP_x:T_xX\to T_xXPx​:Tx​X→Tx​X, holomorphic in charts, with rank⁡Px=r1\operatorname{rank}P_x=r_1rankPx​=r1​ and dim⁡ker⁡Px=r2\dim\ker P_x=r_2dimkerPx​=r2​; then E1=im⁡PE_1=\operatorname{im}PE1​=imP, E2=ker⁡PE_2=\ker PE2​=kerP and TX=E1⊕E2T_X=E_1\oplus E_2TX​=E1​⊕E2​. A subbundle is integrable if its local holomorphic sections are closed under the Lie bracket. The ordinary universal cover π:X~→X\pi:\widetilde X\to Xπ:X→X is a connected, simply connected covering space carrying the lifted complex structure.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1 (compatible universal-cover splitting)

Let XXX be a compact connected Kähler manifold of complex dimension n≥2n\ge2n≥2 and TX=E1⊕E2T_X=E_1\oplus E_2TX​=E1​⊕E2​ a holomorphic splitting into integrable subbundles of positive ranks r1,r2r_1,r_2r1​,r2​. Then there are connected, simply connected complex manifolds Y1,Y2Y_1,Y_2Y1​,Y2​ with dim⁡CYi=ri\dim_{\mathbb C}Y_i=r_idimC​Yi​=ri​ and a biholomorphism Φ:X~→Y1×Y2\Phi:\widetilde X\to Y_1\times Y_2Φ:X→Y1​×Y2​ with

dΦ(π∗E1)=pr1∗TY1,dΦ(π∗E2)=pr2∗TY2.d\Phi\big(\pi^*E_1\big)=\mathrm{pr}_1^*T_{Y_1},\qquad d\Phi\big(\pi^*E_2\big)=\mathrm{pr}_2^*T_{Y_2}.dΦ(π∗E1​)=pr1∗​TY1​​,dΦ(π∗E2​)=pr2∗​TY2​​.

The goal statement is published on the platform with status Open: no machine-checked proof exists yet.

Significance

The result itself. The theorem proves the two-summand form of Beauville's conjecture with no flatness, compact-leaf or line-bundle assumption: integrability of both summands and a Kähler metric on a compact manifold suffice. Combined with Höring's integrability theorem it gives compatible product decompositions for every split tangent bundle on a non-uniruled projective manifold (Corollary 1.2), and for projective manifolds with nef and big canonical bundle (Corollary 1.3). With the companion preprint on rationally connected manifolds it also covers split tangent bundles there. The factors may be noncompact, and the conclusion concerns the universal cover, not a finite cover.

Formalizing it. The statement involves universal covers, Kähler forms, holomorphic distributions and biholomorphisms of products, all of which must be expressed with Mathlib's manifold library. A machine-checked proof would certify a global continuation argument (Hartogs-type extension, boundary crossing, path rectangles and monodromy) for which no prior formal treatment exists.

Difficulty

Integrability alone gives, by holomorphic Frobenius, local product coordinates. The obvious strategy is to continue these local products along paths and use simple connectivity of X~\widetilde XX. This fails because a path in one foliation need not be transportable along a path in the other: local product charts can break down, and leaves can be noncompact and dense. Compactness makes every metric complete, but does not make the foliations parallel, so the de Rham argument is unavailable. Beauville's example on A×P1A\times\mathbb P^1A×P1 (AAA an abelian surface) shows that even when XXX is a product, a non-integrable complementary summand need not be realized by any product structure, so both integrability hypotheses are needed.

Formalization scope

  • ComplexManifold n bundles a Hausdorff, second-countable type with an atlas modeled on Fin n → ℂ that is smooth for 𝓘(ℂ, Fin n → ℂ), i.e. holomorphic transition maps.
  • KahlerMetric X is a real bilinear form on each tangent space that is symmetric, positive definite, invariant under multiplication by Complex.I, smooth in every chart, and whose fundamental form is closed (the cyclic sum of its chart derivatives vanishes).
  • HolomorphicSplitting X r₁ r₂ is a field of idempotent continuous ℂ-linear maps, holomorphic in charts, with range of rank r1r_1r1​ and kernel of rank r2r_2r2​. Integrable P says that chart-local holomorphic vector fields with values in the range of PPP have bracket in the range of PPP; both S.projection and the complementary projection are assumed integrable.
  • OrdinaryUniversalCover X Z is a covering map from a connected, simply connected complex manifold ZZZ that is a local biholomorphism.
  • CompatibleProduct asks for a homeomorphism Φ:Z→Y1×Y2\Phi:Z\to Y_1\times Y_2Φ:Z→Y1​×Y2​, holomorphic with holomorphic inverse, whose differential sends the pullback of E1E_1E1​ onto ker⁡(snd)\ker(\mathrm{snd})ker(snd) and the pullback of E2E_2E2​ onto ker⁡(fst)\ker(\mathrm{fst})ker(fst).
  • Hypotheses: XXX compact and connected, n≥2n\ge2n≥2, r1,r2>0r_1,r_2>0r1​,r2​>0. A rank-zero summand would make the statement trivial and is excluded, as in the source.
  • Infrastructure needed: holomorphic Frobenius, foliation leaves, meromorphic Hartogs extension, Stokes' theorem for Kähler forms, monodromy for covering spaces. The Kähler-metric and splitting definitions are reusable for the companion integrability mission.

Selected references

  • G. de Rham, Sur la réductibilité d'un espace de Riemann, Comment. Math. Helv. 26 (1952), 328–344. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02564308
  • S.-T. Yau, A splitting theorem and an algebraic geometric characterization of locally Hermitian symmetric spaces, Comm. Anal. Geom. 1 (1993), 473–486.
  • A. Beauville, Complex manifolds with split tangent bundle, in Complex Analysis and Algebraic Geometry (de Gruyter, 2000), 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110806090-004
  • S. Druel, Variétés algébriques dont le fibré tangent est totalement décomposé, J. Reine Angew. Math. 522 (2000), 161–171. https://arxiv.org/abs/math/9901138v2
  • M. Brunella, J. V. Pereira, F. Touzet, Kähler manifolds with split tangent bundle, Bull. Soc. Math. France 134 (2006), 241–252. https://doi.org/10.24033/bsmf.2507
  • A. Höring, Uniruled varieties with split tangent bundle, Math. Z. 256 (2007), 465–479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00209-006-0072-5
  • J. V. Pereira, F. Touzet, Foliations with vanishing Chern classes, Bull. Braz. Math. Soc. 44 (2013), 731–754. https://arxiv.org/abs/1210.5916v1
  • S. Druel, J. V. Pereira, B. Pym, F. Touzet, A global Weinstein splitting theorem for holomorphic Poisson manifolds, Geom. Topol. 26 (2022), 2831–2853. https://doi.org/10.2140/gt.2022.26.2831
  • S. Druel, J. V. Pereira, B. Pym, F. Touzet, Numerically flat foliations and holomorphic Poisson geometry, preprint (2024). https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.08806v1
  • A. Höring, Fano varieties with split tangent sheaf, preprint (2026). https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.15427v1
  • OpenAI, Universal-cover splitting for compact Kähler manifolds, OpenAI Math Release preprint, September 23, 2026 (source of the goal; Theorem 1.1, p. 3). https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/Universal-cover-splitting-for-compact-Kahler-manifolds-September-23-2026/paper.pdf
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Algebra·Captain: wurtle

An explicit failure of complex affine-space cancellationResearch Paper

Motivation

Zariski's cancellation problem asks whether affine space can be recognized from its cylinder: if a variety XXX satisfies X×A1≅An+1X\times\mathbb A^1\cong\mathbb A^{n+1}X×A1≅An+1, must X≅AnX\cong\mathbb A^nX≅An? Algebraically, for a finitely generated commutative C\mathbb CC-algebra AAA and an independent variable www,

A[w]≅C[n+1] ⟹? A≅C[n],A[w]\cong\mathbb C^{[n+1]}\ \overset{?}{\Longrightarrow}\ A\cong\mathbb C^{[n]},A[w]≅C[n+1] ⟹?​ A≅C[n],

where C[r]\mathbb C^{[r]}C[r] is a polynomial ring in rrr variables and all isomorphisms are C\mathbb CC-algebra isomorphisms. The problem is one of the central questions of affine algebraic geometry, closely tied to the recognition of affine space, coordinates of polynomial rings, and polynomial fibrations.

Background

  • 1972. Abhyankar, Heinzer and Eakin prove cancellation for the affine line (doi:10.1016/0021-8693(72)90134-2).
  • 1974. Dolgachev and Weisfeiler formulate the affine-fibration conjecture (doi:10.1070/IM1974v008n04ABEH002127).
  • 1979–1980. Fujita, and Miyanishi and Sugie, prove cancellation for the complex affine plane (doi:10.3792/pjaa.55.106, doi:10.1215/kjm/1250522319).
  • 1987. Asanuma constructs, in positive characteristic, threefolds whose cylinders are affine four-space (doi:10.1007/BF01389155).
  • 1996. Makar-Limanov uses additive group actions to show that the Russell cubic is not C3\mathbb C^3C3 (doi:10.1007/BF02937314).
  • 2014. Gupta proves failure of cancellation in every dimension ≥3\ge3≥3 over every field of positive characteristic (doi:10.1007/s00222-013-0455-2, doi:10.1016/j.aim.2014.07.012).
  • 2018–2021. El Kahoui–Ouali and Dutta–Lahiri prove that residual coordinates are one-stably coordinates (doi:10.1216/JCA-2018-10-3-317, doi:10.1016/j.jpaa.2021.106707).
  • 2026. Gaifullin and Petrov still list the characteristic-zero problem in dimension ≥3\ge3≥3 as unresolved (arXiv:2607.13593).

The source of this mission is an OpenAI preprint dated September 23, 2026.

Setting

Let p,s,u,F,Jp,s,u,F,Jp,s,u,F,J be independent variables over C\mathbb CC and P=C[p,s,u,F,J]P=\mathbb C[p,s,u,F,J]P=C[p,s,u,F,J]. Put

x=s2+u3+p2F,H=x2F−(1+2sx)J−p2J2−pu,A=P/(H).x=s^2+u^3+p^2F,\qquad H=x^2F-(1+2sx)J-p^2J^2-pu,\qquad A=P/(H).x=s2+u3+p2F,H=x2F−(1+2sx)J−p2J2−pu,A=P/(H).

So AAA is the coordinate ring of the hypersurface {H=0}⊂A5\{H=0\}\subset\mathbb A^5{H=0}⊂A5. For a C\mathbb CC-algebra AAA, A[w]A[w]A[w] denotes the polynomial ring in one further variable, and C[r]\mathbb C^{[r]}C[r] the polynomial ring in rrr variables.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.1

A is a finitely generated integral domain of Krull dimension 4,A[w]≅CC[5],A̸≅CC[4].A\ \text{is a finitely generated integral domain of Krull dimension }4,\qquad A[w]\cong_{\mathbb C}\mathbb C^{[5]},\qquad A\not\cong_{\mathbb C}\mathbb C^{[4]}.A is a finitely generated integral domain of Krull dimension 4,A[w]≅C​C[5],A≅C​C[4].

The Lean statement OAI.ComplexCancellation.main is open on the platform.

Significance

Theorem 1.1 gives a negative answer to Zariski's cancellation problem over C\mathbb CC in dimension four, with an explicit counterexample of degree small enough to write in one line. The same polynomial yields two further consequences proved in the paper: HHH is a coordinate of P[w]P[w]P[w] but not of PPP, so the Stable Coordinate Conjecture fails in ambient dimension five (Corollary 1.2); and the maps p:Spec⁡A→A1p:\operatorname{Spec}A\to\mathbb A^1p:SpecA→A1 and (p,H):A5→A2(p,H):\mathbb A^5\to\mathbb A^2(p,H):A5→A2 are smooth A3\mathbb A^3A3-fibrations that are not Zariski-locally trivial, disproving the Dolgachev–Weisfeiler conjecture over these bases (Corollary 7.1). Cancellation in dimension three over C\mathbb CC is not addressed.

The result is proved in an OpenAI preprint, which has not been peer reviewed. No machine-checked proof exists.

Difficulty

The cylinder isomorphism A[w]≅C[5]A[w]\cong\mathbb C^{[5]}A[w]≅C[5] is comparatively explicit: a locally nilpotent derivation sends HHH to p3p^3p3, and exponentiating converts HHH into H+p3wH+p^3wH+p3w. The hard part is proving A≇C[4]A\not\cong\mathbb C^{[4]}A≅C[4]. Standard invariants do not help: AAA is smooth, factorial-type obstructions vanish, and topologically Spec⁡A\operatorname{Spec}ASpecA is contractible like C4\mathbb C^4C4 since its cylinder is C5\mathbb C^5C5. The paper uses additive group actions (locally nilpotent derivations), passing to an associated graded algebra along p=0p=0p=0, lifting actions through a line bundle over a smooth affine quadric, and a rigidity argument based on the Mason–Stothers polynomial abc inequality.

Formalization scope

  • P := MvPolynomial (Fin 5) ℂ with p, s, u, F, J := X 0, …, X 4; x and H are transcribed literally; A := P ⧸ Ideal.span {H}.
  • Dimension is ringKrullDim A = 4; integrality is IsDomain A; finite generation is Algebra.FiniteType ℂ A.
  • The cylinder statement is Nonempty (Polynomial A ≃ₐ[ℂ] MvPolynomial (Fin 5) ℂ); the non-polynomiality is ¬ Nonempty (A ≃ₐ[ℂ] MvPolynomial (Fin 4) ℂ). All isomorphisms are C\mathbb CC-algebra isomorphisms.

A complete development needs: explicit polynomial automorphisms (for the cylinder), Krull dimension of hypersurface quotients, locally nilpotent derivations and their kernels, filtrations and associated graded rings, and the Mason–Stothers theorem for polynomials. Contributions formalizing Proposition 2.2, Proposition 3.4 (the graded identification), Propositions 4.1–4.3, Lemma 5.1 (order of a locally nilpotent derivation), Lemma 6.1 (Mason–Stothers) and Proposition 6.3 are welcome.

Selected references

  • OpenAI, An explicit failure of complex affine-space cancellation, preprint, September 23, 2026. https://github.com/openai/math/blob/adc7f1241b42e322a6451854ab7e4b4c146bf78a/preprints/An-explicit-failure-of-complex-affine-space-cancellation-September-23-2026/paper.pdf
  • N. Gupta, On Zariski's cancellation problem in positive characteristic, Adv. Math., 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aim.2014.07.012
  • N. Gupta, On the cancellation problem for the affine space A3\mathbb A^3A3 in characteristic ppp, Invent. Math., 2014. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00222-013-0455-2
  • S. S. Abhyankar, W. Heinzer, P. Eakin, On the uniqueness of the coefficient ring in a polynomial ring, J. Algebra, 1972. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-8693(72)90134-2
  • T. Fujita, On Zariski problem, Proc. Japan Acad. Ser. A, 1979. https://doi.org/10.3792/pjaa.55.106
  • L. Makar-Limanov, On the hypersurface x+x2y+z2+t3=0x+x^2y+z^2+t^3=0x+x2y+z2+t3=0 in C4\mathbb C^4C4 or a C3\mathbb C^3C3-like threefold which is not C3\mathbb C^3C3, Israel J. Math., 1996. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02937314
  • A. K. Dutta, A. Lahiri, On residual and stable coordinates, J. Pure Appl. Algebra, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpaa.2021.106707
  • M. El Kahoui, M. Ouali, A note on residual coordinates of polynomial rings, J. Commut. Algebra, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1216/JCA-2018-10-3-317
  • B. Yu. Weisfeiler, I. V. Dolgachev, Unipotent group schemes over integral rings, Math. USSR-Izv., 1974. https://doi.org/10.1070/IM1974v008n04ABEH002127
  • S. Gaifullin, M. Petrov, Non-cancellative varieties, maximal tori, and the Makar-Limanov invariant, preprint, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.13593
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AlgebraConvex OptimizationOptimization·Captain: mikedeng1

Semidefinite Programming Relaxations for Semialgebraic Problems 1: A Polynomial System Has No Real Solution if and only if Its Degree-d Positivstellensatz SDP Is Feasible for All Large dResearch Paper

Motivation

Deciding whether a system of real polynomial equations, inequations and inequalities has a solution is the basic feasibility question behind nonconvex quadratic programming, polynomial optimization, robustness analysis in control, and combinatorial relaxations. Over the complex numbers, Hilbert's Nullstellensatz turns infeasibility into an algebraic identity whose bounded-degree instances are found by linear algebra. Over the reals this fails: x2+1=0x^2+1=0x2+1=0 has no real solution, yet 111 is not in the ideal generated by x2+1x^2+1x2+1.

The real substitute is the Positivstellensatz of Stengle (Stengle 1974; see Bochnak–Coste–Roy, Real Algebraic Geometry, Theorem 4.4.2): a real polynomial system is infeasible exactly when an identity f+g2+h=0f+g^2+h=0f+g2+h=0 holds, with fff built from sums of squares and the inequality constraints, ggg a product of the inequation polynomials and hhh in the ideal of the equations. Parrilo (2003), building on his thesis (2000), observed that once the degrees are bounded, the search for such an identity is a semidefinite program (SDP), because a polynomial is a sum of squares exactly when it has a positive semidefinite Gram matrix. This yields a hierarchy of SDPs that is sound at every level and complete in the limit, and it is the origin of the sum-of-squares (SOS) method used throughout polynomial optimization.

Timeline:

  • 1974: Stengle proves the Positivstellensatz for semialgebraic sets over real closed fields.
  • 1995: Choi, Lam and Reznick analyze the Gram matrix method for sums of squares.
  • 2000–2003: Parrilo (thesis; Math. Program. Ser. B 96) formulates bounded-degree Positivstellensatz refutations as SDPs (Theorem 5.1); Lasserre (2001) develops the dual moment approach independently.

Setting

Write R[x1,…,xn]\mathbb R[x_1,\dots,x_n]R[x1​,…,xn​] for real polynomials in nnn variables. Fix three finite, possibly empty, families: f1,…,fsf_1,\dots,f_sf1​,…,fs​ (inequalities), g1,…,gtg_1,\dots,g_tg1​,…,gt​ (inequations), h1,…,huh_1,\dots,h_uh1​,…,hu​ (equations). They define the basic semialgebraic set

K={x∈Rn∣fj(x)≥0, gk(x)≠0, hℓ(x)=0 for all j,k,ℓ}.(4.4)K=\{x\in\mathbb R^n \mid f_j(x)\ge 0,\ g_k(x)\ne 0,\ h_\ell(x)=0\ \text{for all } j,k,\ell\}.\qquad(4.4)K={x∈Rn∣fj​(x)≥0, gk​(x)=0, hℓ​(x)=0 for all j,k,ℓ}.(4.4)

A cone of R[x1,…,xn]\mathbb R[x_1,\dots,x_n]R[x1​,…,xn​] is a subset closed under addition and multiplication that contains every square a2a^2a2; P(S)P(S)P(S) is the smallest cone containing SSS, and P(∅)P(\emptyset)P(∅) is the set of sums of squares. MMM is the multiplicative monoid generated by the gkg_kgk​ (with the empty product 111), and III is the ideal generated by the hℓh_\ellhℓ​.

For a degree bound DDD, let zzz be the vector of all monomials xαx^\alphaxα of total degree at most DDD; it has (n+DD)\binom{n+D}{D}(Dn+D​) entries. For a real matrix QQQ indexed by these monomials, the Gram polynomial is zTQz=∑α,βQαβxαxβz^TQz=\sum_{\alpha,\beta}Q_{\alpha\beta}x^\alpha x^\betazTQz=∑α,β​Qαβ​xαxβ.

The degree-ddd Positivstellensatz SDP SDPd\mathrm{SDP}_dSDPd​: with G=∑kdeg⁡gkG=\sum_k\deg g_kG=∑k​deggk​ and N(d)=d(2G+1)N(d)=d(2G+1)N(d)=d(2G+1), find positive semidefinite matrices QTQ_TQT​ over the monomials of degree at most N(d)N(d)N(d), one for each T⊆{1,…,s}T\subseteq\{1,\dots,s\}T⊆{1,…,s}, and polynomials qℓq_\ellqℓ​ of degree at most 2N(d)2N(d)2N(d), such that

∑T(zTQTz)∏j∈Tfj+(∏k=1tgk2d)2+∑ℓ=1uqℓhℓ=0.\sum_{T}(z^TQ_Tz)\prod_{j\in T}f_j+\Big(\prod_{k=1}^t g_k^{2d}\Big)^2+\sum_{\ell=1}^u q_\ell h_\ell=0 .T∑​(zTQT​z)j∈T∏​fj​+(k=1∏t​gk2d​)2+ℓ=1∑u​qℓ​hℓ​=0.

Its unknowns are finitely many real numbers, the constraint is linear in them, and the matrices are constrained to be positive semidefinite.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 5.1

(∀d, SDPd feasible⇒K=∅)and(K=∅⇒∃d0 ∀d≥d0, SDPd feasible).\big(\forall d,\ \mathrm{SDP}_d\ \text{feasible}\Rightarrow K=\emptyset\big)\quad\text{and}\quad\big(K=\emptyset\Rightarrow\exists d_0\ \forall d\ge d_0,\ \mathrm{SDP}_d\ \text{feasible}\big).(∀d, SDPd​ feasible⇒K=∅)and(K=∅⇒∃d0​ ∀d≥d0​, SDPd​ feasible).

The first half says every feasible point is a refutation; the second says the hierarchy is complete once the degree bound is large enough. No bound on d0d_0d0​ is asserted, matching the paper.

Milestones

  • Theorem 4.6, 2⇒12\Rightarrow12⇒1: an identity f+g2+h=0f+g^2+h=0f+g2+h=0 with f∈Pf\in Pf∈P, g∈Mg\in Mg∈M, h∈Ih\in Ih∈I forces K=∅K=\emptysetK=∅.
  • A positive semidefinite Gram matrix gives a sum of squares (§3.2).
  • Theorem 4.6, 1⇒21\Rightarrow21⇒2 (Stengle's Positivstellensatz): K=∅K=\emptysetK=∅ forces such an identity.
  • P(∅)P(\emptyset)P(∅) is the set of sums of squares and the smallest cone; the finite-generator form P(S)={p+∑iqibi}P(S)=\{p+\sum_i q_ib_i\}P(S)={p+∑i​qi​bi​}; the squarefree form ∑TpT∏j∈Tfj\sum_T p_T\prod_{j\in T}f_j∑T​pT​∏j∈T​fj​ of the cone used in the proof of Theorem 5.1.
  • A sum of squares of degree at most 2d2d2d has a positive semidefinite Gram matrix over the monomials of degree at most ddd; Theorem 3.3 combining both directions with the size (n+dd)\binom{n+d}{d}(dn+d​); the count (n+dd)\binom{n+d}{d}(dn+d​) of the monomial vector.

Significance

Theorem 5.1 is the statement that makes Positivstellensatz certificates computable: it converts an existence theorem of real algebraic geometry into a sequence of convex feasibility problems, each solvable by interior-point methods, and any solution is an exact proof of infeasibility. Lower bounds in polynomial optimization (Example 5.4), the copositivity tests of §7.5, SOS relaxations for MAX-CUT and stable sets, and Lyapunov-function searches in control are all instances of this scheme.

The paper proves only the soundness direction of the Positivstellensatz and cites the converse. A complete formal development therefore contains the first machine-checked statement chain from Stengle's theorem to the SDP hierarchy. To the best of current searches, neither Mathlib nor Prove2Me contains the real Positivstellensatz, the Gram matrix characterization of sums of squares, or the monomial count; Mathlib has sums of squares in rings (IsSumSq), positive semidefinite matrices, and the complex Nullstellensatz.

Difficulty

The soundness half is elementary. Completeness rests on Stengle's Positivstellensatz, whose standard proofs pass through real closed fields, orderings of rings and the Tarski–Seidenberg transfer principle, none of which is available in Mathlib in usable form. A tempting shortcut, proving completeness by reasoning only about R\mathbb RR-points, does not work: the certificate must be an algebraic identity, and points cannot produce it.

A second, smaller difficulty is degree bookkeeping. Each level of the hierarchy has a fixed shape (the exponent of the gkg_kgk​ and the degree of every multiplier are tied to ddd), while a certificate supplied by the Positivstellensatz has arbitrary degrees and exponents. A Gram representation also needs a degree bound on every square in a sum of squares, not only on the sum.

Formalization scope

  • Polynomials are MvPolynomial (Fin n) ℝ; n,s,t,un,s,t,un,s,t,u are arbitrary natural numbers, including 000; the families are indexed by Fin s, Fin t, Fin u. The set (4.4) lives in Rn\mathbb R^nRn = Fin n → ℝ.
  • P(S)P(S)P(S) is the smallest set closed under +++, ⋅\cdot⋅ and containing all squares (Definition 4.5), an inductive predicate. Mathlib's RingPreordering is not used: it excludes −1-1−1, which an infeasible system's cone typically contains.
  • Sums of squares are IsSumSq; positive semidefiniteness is Matrix.PosSemidef (symmetric, which is the paper's Q∈SnQ\in\mathcal S^nQ∈Sn); MMM is Submonoid.closure, III is Ideal.span.
  • The meta-claim "the search … can be done using semidefinite programming" is the definition of SDPd\mathrm{SDP}_dSDPd​: finitely many PSD Gram matrices indexed by a finite type of monomials, and ideal multipliers of bounded total degree. The degree choices (m=dm=dm=d in g=∏gk2mg=\prod g_k^{2m}g=∏gk2m​; multiplier degree d2=2d(2G+1)d_2=2d(2G+1)d2​=2d(2G+1)) fill the freedom the proof leaves and satisfy its printed bounds d2≥dd_2\ge dd2​≥d, d2≥deg⁡gd_2\ge\deg gd2​≥degg. "Large enough" is ∃d0 ∀d≥d0\exists d_0\,\forall d\ge d_0∃d0​∀d≥d0​.
  • A formalization without the degree bounds or with an infinite index type would make SDPd\mathrm{SDP}_dSDPd​ equivalent to Theorem 4.6 item 2 and is ruled out; so is a goal stated for a fixed nnn, for empty families only, or with soundness only at large ddd.
  • Needed infrastructure: Stengle's Positivstellensatz over R\mathbb RR (real closed field theory or a direct proof), the Gram matrix correspondence, and degree lemmas for sums of squares. The Positivstellensatz and the Gram correspondence are reusable far beyond this mission; contributions toward either are welcome.

Selected references

  • P. A. Parrilo, Semidefinite programming relaxations for semialgebraic problems, Math. Program. Ser. B 96 (2003) 293–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10107-003-0387-5
  • G. Stengle, A Nullstellensatz and a Positivstellensatz in semialgebraic geometry, Math. Ann. 207 (1974) 87–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01362149
  • J. Bochnak, M. Coste, M.-F. Roy, Real Algebraic Geometry, Springer, 1998, Theorem 4.4.2. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03718-8
  • M. D. Choi, T. Y. Lam, B. Reznick, Sums of squares of real polynomials, Proc. Sympos. Pure Math. 58 (1995) 103–126. https://doi.org/10.1090/pspum/058.2/1327293
  • J. B. Lasserre, Global optimization with polynomials and the problem of moments, SIAM J. Optim. 11 (2001) 796–817. https://doi.org/10.1137/S1052623400366802
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Differential GeometryLinear OptimizationOperations Research+1·Captain: mikedeng1

Log-Barrier Interior Point Methods Are Not Strongly Polynomial 2: The Total Curvature of the Central Path of LW_r(t) Exceeds (2^(r−2) − 1)π/2 − ε for All Large tResearch Paper

Motivation: curvature of the central path as a complexity measure

Path-following interior point methods solve a linear program by tracking its central path, a smooth curve that runs through the interior of the feasible set and ends at an optimal solution. Their number of iterations is polynomial in the bit size of the input, and whether some interior point method is strongly polynomial (bounded by a polynomial in the number of variables and constraints alone) is open. Bayer and Lagarias called the central path "a fundamental mathematical object underlying Karmarkar's algorithm". Dedieu and Shub proposed its total curvature as an informal complexity measure: a path that turns little should be easy to follow with straight steps. Several results bound that curvature:

  • 2005. Dedieu and Shub conjecture that the total curvature of the central path is bounded linearly in the dimension. Dedieu, Malajovich and Shub prove an O(n)O(n)O(n) bound on average over the regions of a hyperplane arrangement. De Loera, Sturmfels and Vinzant later obtain the same averaged bound with matroid methods (arXiv:1012.3978).
  • 2008–2009. Deza, Terlaky and Zinchenko build redundant Klee–Minty cubes and "snakes" with curvature Ω(m)\Omega(m)Ω(m) for mmm inequalities, which refutes the dimension version. They then conjecture the continuous analogue of the Hirsch conjecture: the total curvature is bounded linearly in the number of constraints.
  • 2014–2017. Allamigeon, Benchimol, Gaubert and Joswig disprove that conjecture with a family of linear programs whose central paths have curvature exponential in the number of constraints. The bound first appeared in arXiv:1405.4161 and was given an elementary tropical proof in arXiv:1708.01544v2, Theorem 25, which is the result of this mission.

Setting

A linear program in slack form has a real m×nm\times nm×n matrix AAA, b∈Rmb\in\mathbb R^mb∈Rm, c∈Rnc\in\mathbb R^nc∈Rn and N:=n+mN:=n+mN:=n+m:

LP(A,b,c): min⁡ ⟨c,x⟩  s.t. Ax+w=b, (x,w)≥0,DualLP(A,b,c): s−A⊤y=c, (s,y)≥0.\mathrm{LP}(A,b,c):\ \min\ \langle c,x\rangle\ \text{ s.t. } Ax+w=b,\ (x,w)\ge0,\qquad \mathrm{DualLP}(A,b,c):\ s-A^\top y=c,\ (s,y)\ge0 .LP(A,b,c): min ⟨c,x⟩  s.t. Ax+w=b, (x,w)≥0,DualLP(A,b,c): s−A⊤y=c, (s,y)≥0.

For μ>0\mu>0μ>0 the point of the central path (xμ,wμ,sμ,yμ)∈R2N(x^\mu,w^\mu,s^\mu,y^\mu)\in\mathbb R^{2N}(xμ,wμ,sμ,yμ)∈R2N is the unique solution of

Ax+w=b,s−A⊤y=c,xjsj=μ,wiyi=μ,x,w,s,y>0.(1)Ax+w=b,\quad s-A^\top y=c,\quad x_js_j=\mu,\quad w_iy_i=\mu,\quad x,w,s,y>0. \tag{1}Ax+w=b,s−A⊤y=c,xj​sj​=μ,wi​yi​=μ,x,w,s,y>0.(1)

The primal central path is μ↦(xμ,wμ)∈RN\mu\mapsto(x^\mu,w^\mu)\in\mathbb R^Nμ↦(xμ,wμ)∈RN.

For r≥1r\ge1r≥1 and t>0t>0t>0, the program LWr(t)\mathbf{LW}_r(t)LWr​(t) minimizes x1x_1x1​ over x∈R2rx\in\mathbb R^{2r}x∈R2r subject to

x1≤t2,x2≤t,x2j+1≤t x2j−1,x2j+1≤t x2j,x2j+2≤t1−1/2j(x2j−1+x2j)  (1≤j<r),x≥0.x_1\le t^2,\quad x_2\le t,\quad x_{2j+1}\le t\,x_{2j-1},\quad x_{2j+1}\le t\,x_{2j},\quad x_{2j+2}\le t^{1-1/2^j}(x_{2j-1}+x_{2j})\ \ (1\le j<r),\quad x\ge0 .x1​≤t2,x2​≤t,x2j+1​≤tx2j−1​,x2j+1​≤tx2j​,x2j+2​≤t1−1/2j(x2j−1​+x2j​)  (1≤j<r),x≥0.

With slacks w1,…,w3r−1w_1,\dots,w_{3r-1}w1​,…,w3r−1​ it becomes LWr=(t)=LP(A,b,c)\mathbf{LW}^=_r(t)=\mathrm{LP}(A,b,c)LWr=​(t)=LP(A,b,c) with n=2rn=2rn=2r, m=3r−1m=3r-1m=3r−1, N=5r−1N=5r-1N=5r−1.

For points U,V,WU,V,WU,V,W of Euclidean space with U≠V≠WU\ne V\ne WU=V=W, the turning angle ∠UVW∈[0,π]\angle UVW\in[0,\pi]∠UVW∈[0,π] is the angle between the vectors V−UV-UV−U and W−VW-VW−V. For a curve σ\sigmaσ parameterized over I⊆RI\subseteq\mathbb RI⊆R, the total curvature is

κ(σ,I)=sup⁡{∑k=1p−1∠ σ(μk−1)σ(μk)σ(μk+1) : μ0<⋯<μp in I}∈[0,+∞].\kappa(\sigma,I)=\sup\Big\{\sum_{k=1}^{p-1}\angle\,\sigma(\mu_{k-1})\sigma(\mu_k)\sigma(\mu_{k+1})\ :\ \mu_0<\dots<\mu_p\ \text{in } I\Big\}\in[0,+\infty].κ(σ,I)=sup{k=1∑p−1​∠σ(μk−1​)σ(μk​)σ(μk+1​) : μ0​<⋯<μp​ in I}∈[0,+∞].

The milestones also use the field K\mathbb KK of absolutely convergent generalized real Puiseux series ∑α∈Raαtα\sum_{\alpha\in\mathbb R}a_\alpha t^\alpha∑α∈R​aα​tα. Such a series can be evaluated at large real ttt, and it has a valuation val∈T=R∪{−∞}\mathrm{val}\in\mathbb T=\mathbb R\cup\{-\infty\}val∈T=R∪{−∞}, its leading exponent. Read over K\mathbb KK, LWr\mathbf{LW}_rLWr​ is one linear program. The valuation of its central path at μ=tλ\mu=t^\lambdaμ=tλ is the tropical central path Ctrop(λ)∈R2N\mathcal C^{\mathrm{trop}}(\lambda)\in\mathbb R^{2N}Ctrop(λ)∈R2N, a piecewise-linear curve with an explicit recursive description (Propositions 20–21 of the paper).

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 25

For every r≥1r\ge1r≥1 and ϵ>0\epsilon>0ϵ>0 there is t0t_0t0​ such that for all t>t0t>t_0t>t0​,

κ(μ↦(xμ,wμ),(0,∞))>(2r−2−1)π2−ϵandκ(μ↦(xμ,wμ,sμ,yμ),(0,∞))>(2r−2−1)π2−ϵ\kappa\big(\mu\mapsto(x^\mu,w^\mu),(0,\infty)\big)>\big(2^{r-2}-1\big)\tfrac\pi2-\epsilon\quad\text{and}\quad\kappa\big(\mu\mapsto(x^\mu,w^\mu,s^\mu,y^\mu),(0,\infty)\big)>\big(2^{r-2}-1\big)\tfrac\pi2-\epsilonκ(μ↦(xμ,wμ),(0,∞))>(2r−2−1)2π​−ϵandκ(μ↦(xμ,wμ,sμ,yμ),(0,∞))>(2r−2−1)2π​−ϵ

for the central path of LWr=(t)\mathbf{LW}^=_r(t)LWr=​(t). Here t0t_0t0​ may depend on rrr and ϵ\epsilonϵ. Both the primal and the primal-dual curves are part of the goal, as in the paper.

Milestones, in the order of the paper's argument

  1. Lemma 22: for non-null x,y∈Kd\mathbf x,\mathbf y\in\mathbb K^dx,y∈Kd, the angle ∠x(t)y(t)\angle\mathbf x(t)\mathbf y(t)∠x(t)y(t) has a limit, which is π/2\pi/2π/2 when the arg maxes of val x\mathrm{val}\,\mathbf xvalx and val y\mathrm{val}\,\mathbf yvaly are disjoint.
  2. Lemma 23: the turning angle ∠U(t)V(t)W(t)→π/2\angle\mathbf U(t)\mathbf V(t)\mathbf W(t)\to\pi/2∠U(t)V(t)W(t)→π/2 when max⁡val U<max⁡val V<max⁡val W\max\mathrm{val}\,\mathbf U<\max\mathrm{val}\,\mathbf V<\max\mathrm{val}\,\mathbf WmaxvalU<maxvalV<maxvalW and the arg maxes of val V\mathrm{val}\,\mathbf VvalV and val W\mathrm{val}\,\mathbf WvalW are disjoint.
  3. Proposition 24: lim inf⁡tκ(Ct,[tλ0,tλp])≥∑k=1p−1∠∗Ctrop(λk−1)Ctrop(λk)Ctrop(λk+1)\liminf_{t}\kappa(\mathcal C_t,[t^{\lambda_0},t^{\lambda_p}])\ge\sum_{k=1}^{p-1}\angle^*\mathcal C^{\mathrm{trop}}(\lambda_{k-1})\mathcal C^{\mathrm{trop}}(\lambda_k)\mathcal C^{\mathrm{trop}}(\lambda_{k+1})liminft​κ(Ct​,[tλ0​,tλp​])≥∑k=1p−1​∠∗Ctrop(λk−1​)Ctrop(λk​)Ctrop(λk+1​), where ∠∗\angle^*∠∗ is the weak tropical angle (π/2\pi/2π/2 under the conditions of Lemma 23, else 000).
  4. Table 1: the coordinates of the tropical central path of LWr\mathbf{LW}_rLWr​ at λ=(4k+2c)/2j\lambda=(4k+2c)/2^jλ=(4k+2c)/2j.
  5. Claims in the proof of Theorem 25 (p. 23): on [0,2][0,2][0,2] the dual coordinates of Ctrop\mathcal C^{\mathrm{trop}}Ctrop are at most max⁡(0,λ−1)\max(0,\lambda-1)max(0,λ−1). At λk=4k/2r−1\lambda_k=4k/2^{r-1}λk​=4k/2r−1 the largest coordinate is r−1+(2k+2)/2r−1r-1+(2k+2)/2^{r-1}r−1+(2k+2)/2r−1, attained only by w3(r−1)w_{3(r-1)}w3(r−1)​ or w3(r−1)+1w_{3(r-1)+1}w3(r−1)+1​. Hence ∠∗=π/2\angle^*=\pi/2∠∗=π/2 at each interior subdivision point.

Significance

The theorem shows that the total curvature of the central path is not bounded by any polynomial in the number of constraints: LWr\mathbf{LW}_rLWr​ has 3r+13r+13r+1 constraints and curvature at least about 2r−2π/22^{r-2}\pi/22r−2π/2. This settles the conjecture of Deza, Terlaky and Zinchenko in the negative. It also shows that the averaged upper bounds of Dedieu–Malajovich–Shub and De Loera–Sturmfels–Vinzant cannot hold for every region. A companion mission of this series formalizes the paper's second main result, an exponential lower bound on the number of iterations of log-barrier path-following methods on the same family.

The result is proved on paper. As far as is known, it has not been formalized in any proof assistant, and Mathlib has no notion of the total curvature of a curve, of Puiseux-series evaluation and valuation, or of the tropical central path. Formalizing the theorem would give a machine-checked reference point for a much-cited negative result in interior point theory. The Lean definitions of total curvature and of the turning angle are general and reusable.

Difficulty

The total curvature is a supremum over inscribed polygons, and a lower bound needs explicit polygons whose angles can be estimated for every large ttt. The central path of LWr=(t)\mathbf{LW}^=_r(t)LWr=​(t) has no closed form, so its points cannot be written down at given parameters μ\muμ. Numerical evidence at a fixed ttt says nothing uniform in rrr. The natural first idea, to compute the path's angles directly from system (1) for a fixed instance, gives no handle on how the number of turns grows with rrr. What is needed is control of the path's geometry uniformly over the whole scale of ttt, with 2r−22^{r-2}2r−2 turns located at once, and the threshold t0t_0t0​ is not explicit.

Formalization scope

Vectors in which angles are measured are EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin d). The turning angle is InnerProductGeometry.angle (V - U) (W - V), not Mathlib's vertex angle ∠ U V W, which is π\piπ minus it. A degenerate triple (U=VU=VU=V or V=WV=WV=W) contributes angle 000. Total curvature is an EReal-valued supremum over strictly increasing parameter sequences in the parameter set, and the goal uses the set (0,∞)(0,\infty)(0,∞). The primal and primal-dual curves are the vectors (x,w)∈R5r−1(x,w)\in\mathbb R^{5r-1}(x,w)∈R5r−1 and (x,w,s,y)∈R2(5r−1)(x,w,s,y)\in\mathbb R^{2(5r-1)}(x,w,s,y)∈R2(5r−1). System (1) is the published Vanderbei central-path system with objective −c-c−c. The goal quantifies over every curve solving (1) for all μ>0\mu>0μ>0. Existence and uniqueness of that curve is the referenced platform statement VanderbeiLP.CentralPath.central_path_exists_unique and is not posed again. Indices are the paper's, 1-based, mapped to Fin by subtracting one. Powers 2r−22^{r-2}2r−2 use integer exponents of the real number 222.

A trivializing formalization is ruled out explicitly: the curvature is a supremum in EReal (a real sSup of an unbounded set would be 000), the turning angle is not the vertex angle, and degenerate polygons cannot add spurious right angles.

Lemmas 22–24 are stated over a model of K\mathbb KK by coefficient functions with the paper's support and absolute-convergence conditions. Equalities, products and order in K\mathbb KK are expressed through evaluation at all sufficiently large ttt, which is how the paper characterizes them. Table 1 and the claims of the proof are stated for the explicit tropical central path of LWr\mathbf{LW}_rLWr​ given by Propositions 20–21 (milestones of the companion mission), written as a definition here. One repair: the paper's "uniquely attained" claim fails at r=2r=2r=2, k=0k=0k=0, where w1=w4=2w_1=w_4=2w1​=w4​=2. It is stated with that case excluded, which the proof does not use.

Welcome contributions: a general theory of total curvature of curves (monotonicity under refinement, behaviour under limits), asymptotics of evaluated Puiseux series, and the comparison between the central path over K\mathbb KK and its real specializations.

Selected references

  • X. Allamigeon, P. Benchimol, S. Gaubert, M. Joswig, Log-Barrier Interior Point Methods Are Not Strongly Polynomial, SIAM J. Appl. Algebra Geom. 2(1), 2018; preprint v2 (cited throughout) arXiv:1708.01544, doi:10.1137/17M1142132.
  • X. Allamigeon, P. Benchimol, S. Gaubert, M. Joswig, Long and winding central paths, preprint, 2014. arXiv:1405.4161
  • J. A. De Loera, B. Sturmfels, C. Vinzant, The central curve in linear programming, Found. Comput. Math. 12(4), 2012. arXiv:1012.3978
  • J.-P. Dedieu, G. Malajovich, M. Shub, On the curvature of the central path of linear programming theory, Found. Comput. Math. 5(2), 2005.
  • J.-P. Dedieu, M. Shub, Newton flow and interior point methods in linear programming, Int. J. Bifurcation and Chaos 15(3), 2005.
  • A. Deza, T. Terlaky, Y. Zinchenko, Central path curvature and iteration-complexity for redundant Klee–Minty cubes, in Advances in Applied Mathematics and Global Optimization, Springer, 2009.
  • L. van den Dries, P. Speissegger, The real field with convergent generalized power series, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 350(11), 1998.
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Log-Barrier Interior Point Methods Are Not Strongly Polynomial 1: Every Polygonal Curve in the Wide Neighborhood of the Central Path of LW_r(t) from μ̄ ≤ 1 to μ̄ ≥ t² Has at Least 2^(r−1) SegmentsResearch Paper

Motivation

Interior point methods solve linear programs in a number of arithmetic operations polynomial in the bit length of the input (Karmarkar 1984). Whether linear programming admits a strongly polynomial algorithm, one whose number of arithmetic operations is bounded by a polynomial in the number of variables and constraints alone, is open; it is the ninth of Smale's problems for the next century (Smale 1998/2000, see the references). A natural question is whether some interior point method is strongly polynomial. Primal-dual path-following methods follow the central path of a log-barrier problem and are the methods used in practice.

Allamigeon, Benchimol, Gaubert and Joswig (arXiv:1708.01544, SIAM J. Appl. Algebra Geom. 2018) gave such a family. For linear programs LWr(t)\mathbf{LW}_r(t)LWr​(t) with 2r2r2r variables and 3r+13r+13r+1 constraints, every path-following method that stays in the wide neighborhood of the central path needs at least 2r−12^{r-1}2r−1 iterations once ttt is large enough. The same family disproves the "continuous Hirsch conjecture" of Deza, Terlaky and Zinchenko (DTZ09, see the references) on the total curvature of the central path. That curvature result is the subject of a separate mission. This mission formalizes the iteration bound.

Setting

For a real m×nm\times nm×n matrix AAA, b∈Rmb\in\mathbb R^mb∈Rm, c∈Rnc\in\mathbb R^nc∈Rn and N:=n+mN:=n+mN:=n+m, the paper considers the linear program in slack form and its dual,

LP(A,b,c): min⁡ ⟨c,x⟩  s.t.  Ax+w=b, (x,w)≥0,DualLP(A,b,c): s−A⊤y=c, (s,y)≥0.\mathrm{LP}(A,b,c):\ \min\ \langle c,x\rangle\ \text{ s.t. }\ Ax+w=b,\ (x,w)\ge0,\qquad \mathrm{DualLP}(A,b,c):\ s-A^\top y=c,\ (s,y)\ge0 .LP(A,b,c): min ⟨c,x⟩  s.t.  Ax+w=b, (x,w)≥0,DualLP(A,b,c): s−A⊤y=c, (s,y)≥0.

A primal-dual point is z=(x,w,s,y)∈R2Nz=(x,w,s,y)\in\mathbb R^{2N}z=(x,w,s,y)∈R2N. The set F∘\mathcal F^\circF∘ of strictly feasible points consists of the zzz with all 2N2N2N coordinates positive that satisfy both equality systems. The duality measure is

μˉ(z)=1N(⟨x,s⟩+⟨w,y⟩),\bar\mu(z)=\frac1N\big(\langle x,s\rangle+\langle w,y\rangle\big),μˉ​(z)=N1​(⟨x,s⟩+⟨w,y⟩),

and for 0<θ<10<\theta<10<θ<1 the wide neighborhood of the central path is

Nθ−∞={z∈F∘: xjsj≥(1−θ)μˉ(z) ∀j,  wiyi≥(1−θ)μˉ(z) ∀i}.\mathcal N^{-\infty}_\theta=\Big\{z\in\mathcal F^\circ:\ x_js_j\ge(1-\theta)\bar\mu(z)\ \forall j,\ \ w_iy_i\ge(1-\theta)\bar\mu(z)\ \forall i\Big\}.Nθ−∞​={z∈F∘: xj​sj​≥(1−θ)μˉ​(z) ∀j,  wi​yi​≥(1−θ)μˉ​(z) ∀i}.

The central path itself is the set of points where all products xjsjx_js_jxj​sj​, wiyiw_iy_iwi​yi​ are equal. The neighborhood bounds the products only from below. It contains the ℓ2\ell_2ℓ2​ and ℓ∞\ell_\inftyℓ∞​ neighborhoods used by short-step, long-step and predictor-corrector methods.

The instance is LWr(t)\mathbf{LW}_r(t)LWr​(t), for r≥1r\ge1r≥1 and t>0t>0t>0:

min⁡ x1  s.t.  x1≤t2, x2≤t, x2j+1≤t x2j−1, x2j+1≤t x2j, x2j+2≤t1−1/2j(x2j−1+x2j) (1≤j<r), x2r−1,x2r≥0.\min\ x_1\ \text{ s.t. }\ x_1\le t^2,\ x_2\le t,\ x_{2j+1}\le t\,x_{2j-1},\ x_{2j+1}\le t\,x_{2j},\ x_{2j+2}\le t^{1-1/2^j}(x_{2j-1}+x_{2j})\ (1\le j<r),\ x_{2r-1},x_{2r}\ge0 .min x1​  s.t.  x1​≤t2, x2​≤t, x2j+1​≤tx2j−1​, x2j+1​≤tx2j​, x2j+2​≤t1−1/2j(x2j−1​+x2j​) (1≤j<r), x2r−1​,x2r​≥0.

With slacks w1,…,w3r−1w_1,\dots,w_{3r-1}w1​,…,w3r−1​ it becomes LWr=(t)=LP(A,b,c)\mathbf{LW}^=_r(t)=\mathrm{LP}(A,b,c)LWr=​(t)=LP(A,b,c) with n=2rn=2rn=2r, m=3r−1m=3r-1m=3r−1, N=5r−1N=5r-1N=5r−1. Its wide neighborhood is written Nθ,t−∞\mathcal N^{-\infty}_{\theta,t}Nθ,t−∞​. A polygonal curve is a union [z0,z1]∪⋯∪[zp−1,zp][z^0,z^1]\cup\dots\cup[z^{p-1},z^p][z0,z1]∪⋯∪[zp−1,zp] of ppp segments, and it is contained in the neighborhood when every point of every segment is.

The milestones use the tropical semifield T=R∪{−∞}\mathbb T=\mathbb R\cup\{-\infty\}T=R∪{−∞} with a⊕b=max⁡(a,b)a\oplus b=\max(a,b)a⊕b=max(a,b) and a⊙b=a+ba\odot b=a+ba⊙b=a+b. The tropical segment tsegm(u,v)\mathsf{tsegm}(u,v)tsegm(u,v) is the set of points λ⊙u⊕μ⊙v\lambda\odot u\oplus\mu\odot vλ⊙u⊕μ⊙v with λ⊕μ=0\lambda\oplus\mu=0λ⊕μ=0. The Funk metric is δF(x,y)=max⁡(0,max⁡k(yk−xk))\delta_F(x,y)=\max(0,\max_k(y_k-x_k))δF​(x,y)=max(0,maxk​(yk​−xk​)), with d∞(x,y)=max⁡(δF(x,y),δF(y,x))d_\infty(x,y)=\max(\delta_F(x,y),\delta_F(y,x))d∞​(x,y)=max(δF​(x,y),δF​(y,x)) and the directed Hausdorff distance d∞(X,Y)=sup⁡x∈Xinf⁡y∈Yd∞(x,y)d_\infty(X,Y)=\sup_{x\in X}\inf_{y\in Y}d_\infty(x,y)d∞​(X,Y)=supx∈X​infy∈Y​d∞​(x,y). Finally, log⁡t\log_tlogt​ is applied coordinatewise, with log⁡t0=−∞\log_t0=-\inftylogt​0=−∞.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 30 (p. 27)

Let r≥1r\ge1r≥1 and 0<θ<10<\theta<10<θ<1, and suppose that

t>(max⁡((10r−2)!, ((10r−1)!)24(1−θ)3))2r−1.(36)t>\Big(\max\Big((10r-2)!,\ \frac{((10r-1)!)^{24}}{(1-\theta)^3}\Big)\Big)^{2^{r-1}} .\tag{36}t>(max((10r−2)!, (1−θ)3((10r−1)!)24​))2r−1.(36)

If a polygonal curve [z0,z1]∪⋯∪[zp−1,zp][z^0,z^1]\cup\dots\cup[z^{p-1},z^p][z0,z1]∪⋯∪[zp−1,zp] is contained in Nθ,t−∞\mathcal N^{-\infty}_{\theta,t}Nθ,t−∞​ with μˉ(z0)≤1\bar\mu(z^0)\le1μˉ​(z0)≤1 and μˉ(zp)≥t2\bar\mu(z^p)\ge t^2μˉ​(zp)≥t2, then

p≥2r−1.p\ge2^{r-1}.p≥2r−1.

The threshold (36) is the paper's own explicit constant. Corollary 31 (Theorem B of the introduction) restates the result for algorithms. Any method whose iterates and the segments joining them stay in the wide neighborhood performs at least 2r−12^{r-1}2r−1 iterations to reduce the duality measure from t2t^2t2 to 111.

Milestones

  1. Proposition 1 (p. 5). On the primal-dual feasible set, μˉ((1−α)z+αz′)=(1−α)μˉ(z)+αμˉ(z′)\bar\mu((1-\alpha)z+\alpha z')=(1-\alpha)\bar\mu(z)+\alpha\bar\mu(z')μˉ​((1−α)z+αz′)=(1−α)μˉ​(z)+αμˉ​(z′) for all α∈R\alpha\in\mathbb Rα∈R.
  2. Lemma 5 (p. 10). For u≤vu\le vu≤v in Td\mathbb T^dTd, tsegm(u,v)\mathsf{tsegm}(u,v)tsegm(u,v) is a polygonal curve whose segments, oriented from uuu to vvv, have directions eK1,…,eKℓe^{K_1},\dots,e^{K_\ell}eK1​,…,eKℓ​ with K1⊊⋯⊊KℓK_1\subsetneq\dots\subsetneq K_\ellK1​⊊⋯⊊Kℓ​ and ℓ≤d\ell\le dℓ≤d.
  3. Lemma 8 (p. 11). For a segment S=[u,v]S=[u,v]S=[u,v] in R+d\mathbb R^d_+R+d​ and t>1t>1t>1,
d∞(tsegm(log⁡tu,log⁡tv), log⁡tS)≤log⁡t2.d_\infty\big(\mathsf{tsegm}(\log_tu,\log_tv),\ \log_tS\big)\le\log_t2 .d∞​(tsegm(logt​u,logt​v), logt​S)≤logt​2.
  1. Lemma 11 (p. 13). For a d×dd\times dd×d matrix M\mathbf MM with monomial entries ±tαij\pm t^{\alpha_{ij}}±tαij​ and t>1t>1t>1, log⁡t∣det⁡M(t)∣\log_t|\det\mathbf M(t)|logt​∣detM(t)∣ and val⁡(det⁡M)\operatorname{val}(\det\mathbf M)val(detM) differ by at most log⁡td!\log_td!logt​d!; the lower bound holds once t≥(d!)1/η(M)t\ge(d!)^{1/\eta(\mathbf M)}t≥(d!)1/η(M).
  2. Proposition 20 (p. 19). The explicit recursion for xλx^\lambdaxλ gives the greatest point of the tropical polyhedron {x∈P′:x1≤λ}\{x\in\mathcal P':x_1\le\lambda\}{x∈P′:x1​≤λ}, where P′⊆T2r\mathcal P'\subseteq\mathbb T^{2r}P′⊆T2r is cut out by the tropicalized constraints (26) of LWr\mathbf{LW}_rLWr​.

Significance

The theorem shows that the iteration count of a large class of primal-dual log-barrier interior point methods cannot be bounded by any function of rrr that grows more slowly than 2r−12^{r-1}2r−1, uniformly in the data. The class includes the methods of Kojima–Mizuno–Yoshise, Monteiro–Adler and Mizuno–Todd–Ye. No such method is strongly polynomial. The constraint matrix of LWr(t)\mathbf{LW}_r(t)LWr​(t) is fixed by rrr and ttt alone, so the bound concerns the combinatorial dimension, not the bit length. The only property of the method used is that its trajectory stays in Nθ,t−∞\mathcal N^{-\infty}_{\theta,t}Nθ,t−∞​. The lower bound therefore applies to every method with that property, whatever rule chooses its steps.

The result is proved in the paper; no machine-checked proof of it or of its tropical ingredients is known. A formalization would check the explicit threshold (36), which the paper derives in a few lines from bounds on Puiseux polyhedra. It would also produce reusable statements about tropical segments, the Funk and Hilbert metrics on Td\mathbb T^dTd, and determinants of monomial matrices.

Difficulty

Following the central path is not hard in principle: the obvious argument tracks the duality measure, which decreases by a constant factor per iteration in a neighborhood of the path. That argument gives only upper bounds. The lower bound requires showing that the neighborhood itself, for large ttt, is too thin to be crossed in a few straight steps, uniformly over every possible trajectory. The paper does this by passing to the limit t→∞t\to\inftyt→∞ on logarithmic scale. The image of Nθ,t−∞\mathcal N^{-\infty}_{\theta,t}Nθ,t−∞​ under log⁡t\log_tlogt​ collapses onto a piecewise-linear tropical central path, and a segment of R2N\mathbb R^{2N}R2N becomes, up to log⁡t2\log_t2logt​2, a tropical segment. The tropical central path of LWr\mathbf{LW}_rLWr​ then has to be shown to need 2r−12^{r-1}2r−1 tropical segments. The limit argument has to be made quantitative at a finite, explicit ttt. That is where the Puiseux-series machinery (Theorems 12, 15 and 19 of the paper) and the explicit constant enter.

Formalization scope

Everything is stated over R\mathbb RR and T\mathbb TT; the goal typechecks without the field of Puiseux series. A primal-dual point is an element of Rn×Rm×Rn×Rm\mathbb R^n\times\mathbb R^m\times\mathbb R^n\times\mathbb R^mRn×Rm×Rn×Rm. The dual equation is s−A⊤y=cs-A^\top y=cs−A⊤y=c with Mathlib's transpose, μˉ\bar\muμˉ​ divides by N=n+mN=n+mN=n+m (equal to 5r−15r-15r−1 for LWr=\mathbf{LW}^=_rLWr=​), and the wide neighborhood is one-sided. The instance matrix is generated from the paper's 1-based row and column numbers; Lean indices are 0-based. A polygonal curve is a map z:{0,…,p}→R2Nz:\{0,\dots,p\}\to\mathbb R^{2N}z:{0,…,p}→R2N with segment ℝ (z i) (z (i+1)) ⊆ N. The power 2r−12^{r-1}2r−1 in (36) is a natural-number power and the factorials are natural-number factorials. T\mathbb TT is WithBot ℝ, and distances that can be infinite take values in EReal, with the convention −∞+(+∞)=−∞-\infty+(+\infty)=-\infty−∞+(+∞)=−∞ encoded explicitly.

Two statements are repaired or restated. Lemma 11 is printed for all t>0t>0t>0, but its first inequality fails for 0<t<10<t<10<t<1 (for M=(t111)\mathbf M=\begin{pmatrix}t&1\\1&1\end{pmatrix}M=(t1​11​) at t=1/2t=1/2t=1/2), so it is stated for t>1t>1t>1. Lemma 8 makes explicit its implicit hypotheses t>1t>1t>1 and u,v≥0u,v\ge0u,v≥0. Proposition 20 is stated in the form its proof establishes, as the greatest point of a tropical polyhedron. Its identification with the valuation of the Puiseux central path is not part of the item. Monomial matrices are given by sign and exponent matrices, and the valuation of the determinant is computed from the permutation expansion.

A trivializing formalization is ruled out: Nθ,t−∞\mathcal N^{-\infty}_{\theta,t}Nθ,t−∞​ is not empty, since the build includes a sorry-free proof that it contains an explicit point for r=1r=1r=1, t=2t=2t=2, θ=1/2\theta=1/2θ=1/2. A curve with p=0p=0p=0 cannot satisfy both duality-measure conditions, since t2>1t^2>1t2>1.

The paper's Puiseux-series results are not posed: Theorems 12, 15, 19 and 29, Propositions 14, 16, 21 and 28, Corollary 17, and the count γ([0,2])≥2r−1\gamma([0,2])\ge2^{r-1}γ([0,2])≥2r−1 of §6.2. They need a faithful model of the field of absolutely convergent generalized Puiseux series and of the tropical central path. Contributions of that infrastructure, and of these statements as further milestones, are welcome. So are proofs of the five milestones, which need no Puiseux series. Proposition 1, Lemma 5 and Proposition 20 are elementary, and Lemma 8 and Lemma 11 are estimates with explicit constants.

Selected references

  • X. Allamigeon, P. Benchimol, S. Gaubert, M. Joswig, Log-barrier interior point methods are not strongly polynomial, SIAM J. Appl. Algebra Geom. 2(1), 2018; arXiv:1708.01544v2. https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.01544
  • A. Deza, T. Terlaky, Y. Zinchenko, Central path curvature and iteration-complexity for redundant Klee–Minty cubes, in Advances in Applied Mathematics and Global Optimization, Adv. Mech. Math. 17, Springer, 2009, pp. 223–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-75714-8
  • S. Smale, Mathematical problems for the next century, Math. Intelligencer 20(2), 1998, 7–15; reprinted in Mathematics: Frontiers and Perspectives, AMS, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03025291
  • M. Develin, B. Sturmfels, Tropical convexity, Doc. Math. 9, 2004. https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0308254
  • S. J. Wright, Primal-Dual Interior-Point Methods, SIAM, 1997. https://doi.org/10.1137/1.9781611971453
  • X. Allamigeon, S. Gaubert, M. Skomra, Tropical spectrahedra, Discrete Comput. Geom. 63, 2020; arXiv:1610.06746. https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.06746
12 thms2 active usersReviewed
Dynamical Systems·Captain: Lucas

Albouy–Kaloshin: Finiteness of Planar Five-Body Central ConfigurationsResearch Paper

Motivation

A central configuration of the Newtonian nnn-body problem is a placement of nnn point masses in which the gravitational acceleration of every body points toward the centre of mass and is proportional to its distance from it. Central configurations generate the only explicitly known solutions of the nnn-body problem (the homographic, or self-similar, motions), they are the possible limiting shapes of total collisions, and they organise the topology of the integral manifolds. Counting them is therefore a basic question of celestial mechanics.

Timeline.

  • Euler (1767) and Lagrange (1772) found all central configurations of three bodies: three collinear ones and the equilateral triangle.
  • Moulton (1910) showed there are exactly n!/2n!/2n!/2 collinear central configurations for any positive masses.
  • Chazy (1918) postulated that all central configurations are nondegenerate, which would imply finiteness; Wintner (1941) stated finiteness as a conjecture.
  • Palmore (1975) gave a degenerate example, refuting Chazy's postulate but not finiteness.
  • Smale (1998) listed finiteness of relative equilibria for every choice of positive masses as the 6th of his problems for the 21st century.
  • Hampton and Moeckel (2006) proved finiteness for n=4n = 4n=4, using heavy computer algebra (BKK theory).
  • Albouy and Kaloshin (2012) gave a new proof for n=4n = 4n=4 that avoids heavy computation, and proved finiteness for n=5n = 5n=5 except possibly for masses in a codimension-2 algebraic subset of the mass space. The case n≥6n \ge 6n≥6, and the n=5n = 5n=5 case for the excluded masses, remain open.

Setting

Fix nnn bodies with masses m1,…,mnm_1,\dots,m_nm1​,…,mn​; body kkk sits at (xk,yk)∈R2(x_k,y_k)\in\mathbb R^2(xk​,yk​)∈R2. Write xkl=xl−xkx_{kl}=x_l-x_kxkl​=xl​−xk​, ykl=yl−yky_{kl}=y_l-y_kykl​=yl​−yk​ and rkl=xkl2+ykl2r_{kl}=\sqrt{x_{kl}^2+y_{kl}^2}rkl​=xkl2​+ykl2​​. A configuration with all rkl>0r_{kl}>0rkl​>0 is a central configuration (normalised so that the proportionality constant is 111) when, for every kkk,

(xkyk)=∑l≠kml rkl−3(xk−xlyk−yl).\begin{pmatrix}x_k\\ y_k\end{pmatrix}=\sum_{l\ne k} m_l\, r_{kl}^{-3}\begin{pmatrix}x_k-x_l\\ y_k-y_l\end{pmatrix}.(xk​yk​​)=l=k∑​ml​rkl−3​(xk​−xl​yk​−yl​​).

These equations are invariant under rotations of the plane; imposing y12=0y_{12}=0y12​=0 removes this freedom, and a solution with this normalisation is a positive normalized central configuration (Definition 1 of the paper; Lean: PosNormalizedCC n m).

The proof works in the complex domain. Introducing unknowns δkl\delta_{kl}δkl​ (inverse distances) with δkl2(xkl2+ykl2)=1\delta_{kl}^2(x_{kl}^2+y_{kl}^2)=1δkl2​(xkl2​+ykl2​)=1 turns the equations into the polynomial system (4) on C2n×Cn(n−1)/2\mathbb C^{2n}\times\mathbb C^{n(n-1)/2}C2n×Cn(n−1)/2:

xk=∑l≠kml δkl3 (xk−xl),yk=∑l≠kml δkl3 (yk−yl),y12=0.x_k=\sum_{l\ne k} m_l\,\delta_{kl}^3\,(x_k-x_l),\qquad y_k=\sum_{l\ne k} m_l\,\delta_{kl}^3\,(y_k-y_l),\qquad y_{12}=0 .xk​=l=k∑​ml​δkl3​(xk​−xl​),yk​=l=k∑​ml​δkl3​(yk​−yl​),y12​=0.

A complex solution is a normalized central configuration (Lean: NormalizedCC n m), a real one if all xk,ykx_k,y_kxk​,yk​ are real (Lean: RealNormalizedCC n m). The potential is U=∑k<lmkmlδklU=\sum_{k<l}m_km_l\delta_{kl}U=∑k<l​mk​ml​δkl​ (Lean: potential n m).

Formalization targets

Goal — Theorem 2 (planar five bodies)

There is a closed algebraic subset A⊂R5A\subset\mathbb R^5A⊂R5 of codimension at least 222 such that for all masses m∈(R>0)5∖Am\in(\mathbb R_{>0})^5\setminus Am∈(R>0​)5∖A,

#{positive normalized central configurations of the planar 5-body problem with masses m}<∞.\#\{\text{positive normalized central configurations of the planar 5-body problem with masses } m\}<\infty .#{positive normalized central configurations of the planar 5-body problem with masses m}<∞.

The exceptional set is not made explicit; only its existence and dimension bound are asserted.

Stronger — Theorem 6

The same statement with all complex solutions of system (4) in place of the positive real ones.

Four bodies — Theorems 1, 3, 4, 5

For n=4n=4n=4 and every positive masses: finitely many positive (Theorem 1, Hampton–Moeckel) and even real (Theorem 5) normalized central configurations; finitely many complex ones unless the masses satisfy explicit polynomial relations (Theorem 3) or are all equal (Theorem 4).

Tools — Lemmas 1 and 2 and an explicit example

Lemma 1 (a polynomial image of an affine variety is finite or cofinite), Lemma 2 (the potential takes finitely many values on the solution set), and the explicit mass vector (1,2,3,4,5)(1,2,3,4,5)(1,2,3,4,5).

Significance

The result. Theorem 2 is the first finiteness result for planar central configurations of five bodies, settling Smale's 6th problem for n=5n=5n=5 for generic masses; before it, no single 5-tuple of positive masses was known to have finitely many planar central configurations. Its four-body part gives a short proof of the Hampton–Moeckel theorem, including the real (not necessarily positive) solutions.

Formalizing it. The results are proved on paper; none of them is formalized. A formal development requires affine elimination theory (Chevalley's theorem on constructible images in the form of Lemma 1), a Sard-type argument on algebraic sets (Lemma 2), and the singular-sequence analysis of Sections 3–9, which is a long case analysis of limiting diagrams together with polynomial eliminations done by computer algebra in the paper.

Difficulty

Finiteness is not a local statement: nondegeneracy fails in general (Palmore), so no implicit-function argument applies, and a continuum of solutions would have to be excluded globally. In the complex domain continua genuinely exist for some masses (Roberts' continuum with a negative mass; its sign-modified version with positive masses solves system (4)), so any proof must use the positivity of the masses in an essential way, and the exceptional mass set of Theorem 2 cannot simply be dropped with the present method.

Formalization scope

  • Bodies are indexed by Fin n; the paper's bodies 111 and 222 are the indices 0 and 1, so the normalisation reads y 1 - y 0 = 0.
  • Masses are real (and hypothesised positive) in all main theorems; in the definition of NormalizedCC they are complex, as in Section 2 of the paper. Lemma 2 carries the paper's standing hypothesis that no nonempty subset of bodies has total mass zero (NoZeroSubMass).
  • A point of system (4) is a triple (x, y, δ); δ is a full n × n array constrained to be symmetric with zero diagonal, so it carries exactly the n(n−1)/2n(n-1)/2n(n−1)/2 unknowns δkl\delta_{kl}δkl​, k<lk<lk<l. Finiteness of the solution set is unaffected by this encoding.
  • "Closed algebraic subset of codimension 2 of the mass space" is encoded as the real zero locus massZeroLocus I of an ideal I of R[m1,…,m5]\mathbb R[m_1,\dots,m_5]R[m1​,…,m5​] with ringKrullDim (ℝ[m] ⧸ I) ≤ 3. Taking I=0I=0I=0 is impossible (the quotient has dimension 555), so the goal is not trivialised by an exceptional set equal to the whole mass space.
  • Finiteness is Set.Finite of the solution set.

Useful reusable infrastructure: finite-or-cofinite images of polynomial maps on affine varieties, and basic facts on central configurations (centre of mass, the identity I=UI=UI=U).

Selected references

  • A. Albouy, V. Kaloshin, Finiteness of central configurations of five bodies in the plane, Annals of Mathematics 176 (2012), 535–588. https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2012.176.1.10
  • M. Hampton, R. Moeckel, Finiteness of relative equilibria of the four-body problem, Inventiones Mathematicae 163 (2006), 289–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00222-005-0461-0
  • S. Smale, Mathematical problems for the next century, The Mathematical Intelligencer 20 (1998), 7–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03025291
10 thms2 active usersReviewed
AlgebraNumber Theory·Captain: vatsj

Milnor conjecture (Voevodsky 2003), formalizedResearch Paper

Motivation

For a field FFF, two invariants built from very different data turn out to carry the same mod-2 information. One is Milnor K-theory KnM(F)K^M_n(F)KnM​(F), defined by generators and relations from the multiplicative group F×F^\timesF× alone. The other is Galois cohomology Hn(F,Z/2)H^n(F,\mathbb{Z}/2)Hn(F,Z/2), the continuous cohomology of the absolute Galois group of FFF. In 1970 Milnor considered a natural map KnM(F)/2→Hn(F,Z/2)K^M_n(F)/2 \to H^n(F,\mathbb{Z}/2)KnM​(F)/2→Hn(F,Z/2) in all degrees, verified that it is an isomorphism for several classes of fields, and remarked that he knew of no field where it fails (Milnor 1970). The statement that it is always an isomorphism when char⁡F≠2\operatorname{char} F \neq 2charF=2 became known as the Milnor conjecture. Its companion conjecture on quadratic forms was later deduced from it (Orlov–Vishik–Voevodsky 2007). Together they identify the graded Witt ring of quadratic forms, Galois cohomology mod 2, and K∗M(F)/2K^M_*(F)/2K∗M​(F)/2.

Timeline. The attributions below follow the introduction of Voevodsky 2003.

  • 1970: Milnor considers the map KnM(F)/2→Hn(F,Z/2)K^M_n(F)/2 \to H^n(F,\mathbb{Z}/2)KnM​(F)/2→Hn(F,Z/2) in all degrees and gives classes of fields where it is an isomorphism (Milnor 1970).
  • Bass–Tate (published 1973): the Kummer classes satisfy the Steinberg relation, so the Kummer map extends to a ring homomorphism on K∗M(F)K^M_*(F)K∗M​(F) (Bass–Tate 1973).
  • Degrees 0 and 1: the map is an isomorphism, by Kummer theory and Hilbert's Theorem 90.
  • 1981: Merkurjev proves degree 2 with 222 as the coefficient prime.
  • 1982: Merkurjev and Suslin extend degree 2 to every prime ℓ\ellℓ (Merkurjev–Suslin 1982).
  • Degree 3, ℓ=2\ell = 2ℓ=2: proved by Merkurjev–Suslin and, independently, by Rost.
  • 2003: Voevodsky proves all degrees, in every characteristic ≠2\neq 2=2 (Voevodsky 2003, Cor. 7.5), using the motivic Steenrod operations constructed in Voevodsky 2003b. This work was cited for his 2002 Fields Medal.
  • 2011: the analogue for odd primes, the Bloch–Kato conjecture, is proved (Voevodsky 2011); a book-length account is Haesemeyer–Weibel 2019.

Setting

Let FFF be a field with 2≠02 \neq 02=0 in FFF.

Milnor K-theory. For n≥0n \ge 0n≥0, KnM(F)K^M_n(F)KnM​(F) is the quotient of the nnn-fold tensor power (F×)⊗n(F^\times)^{\otimes n}(F×)⊗n, taken over Z\mathbb{Z}Z with F×F^\timesF× written additively, by the subgroup generated by the pure tensors a1⊗⋯⊗ana_1\otimes\cdots\otimes a_na1​⊗⋯⊗an​ in which some adjacent pair satisfies ai+ai+1=1a_i + a_{i+1} = 1ai​+ai+1​=1. This is the degree-nnn part of T(F×)/IT(F^\times)/IT(F×)/I, where III is the two-sided ideal generated by a⊗(1−a)a\otimes(1-a)a⊗(1−a). The class of a1⊗⋯⊗ana_1\otimes\cdots\otimes a_na1​⊗⋯⊗an​ is the symbol {a1,…,an}\{a_1,\dots,a_n\}{a1​,…,an​}. In particular K0M(F)=ZK^M_0(F) = \mathbb{Z}K0M​(F)=Z and K1M(F)=F×K^M_1(F) = F^\timesK1M​(F)=F×. In Lean these are MilnorK F n and symbol a for a : Fin n → Fˣ.

Galois cohomology. Let FsepF^{\mathrm{sep}}Fsep be a separable closure and GF=Gal⁡(Fsep/F)G_F = \operatorname{Gal}(F^{\mathrm{sep}}/F)GF​=Gal(Fsep/F) the absolute Galois group, a profinite group under the Krull topology. Hn(F,Z/2)H^n(F,\mathbb{Z}/2)Hn(F,Z/2) is the continuous cohomology Hctsn(GF,Z/2)H^n_{\mathrm{cts}}(G_F,\mathbb{Z}/2)Hctsn​(GF​,Z/2) with trivial action, computed from GFG_FGF​-invariant continuous homogeneous cochains. In Lean this is H F n, Mathlib's continuousCohomology n of the trivial representation.

The Galois symbol. For a∈F×a \in F^\timesa∈F× fix a∈Fsep\sqrt a \in F^{\mathrm{sep}}a​∈Fsep. The Kummer character χa:GF→Z/2\chi_a : G_F \to \mathbb{Z}/2χa​:GF​→Z/2 is χa(σ)=0\chi_a(\sigma) = 0χa​(σ)=0 if σ(a)=a\sigma(\sqrt a) = \sqrt aσ(a​)=a​ and 111 otherwise. It is a continuous homomorphism representing the Kummer class δa∈H1\delta a \in H^1δa∈H1. The Galois symbol of (a1,…,an)(a_1,\dots,a_n)(a1​,…,an​) is the class of the homogeneous cocycle

(x0,…,xn) ⟼ ∏j=1n(χaj(xj)−χaj(xj−1)),(x_0,\dots,x_n)\ \longmapsto\ \prod_{j=1}^{n}\bigl(\chi_{a_j}(x_j)-\chi_{a_j}(x_{j-1})\bigr),(x0​,…,xn​) ⟼ j=1∏n​(χaj​​(xj​)−χaj​​(xj−1​)),

the homogeneous form of (σ1,…,σn)↦χa1(σ1)⋯χan(σn)(\sigma_1,\dots,\sigma_n) \mapsto \chi_{a_1}(\sigma_1)\cdots\chi_{a_n}(\sigma_n)(σ1​,…,σn​)↦χa1​​(σ1​)⋯χan​​(σn​), i.e. the cup product δa1∪⋯∪δan\delta a_1\cup\cdots\cup\delta a_nδa1​∪⋯∪δan​. In Lean this is galoisSymbol a.

Formalization targets

Goal: the Milnor conjecture (Voevodsky 2003, Corollary 7.5)

For every field FFF with char⁡F≠2\operatorname{char} F \neq 2charF=2 and every n≥0n \ge 0n≥0 there is a homomorphism

φ:KnM(F)→Hn(F,Z/2),φ{a1,…,an}=δa1∪⋯∪δan,\varphi : K^M_n(F) \to H^n(F,\mathbb{Z}/2),\qquad \varphi\{a_1,\dots,a_n\} = \delta a_1\cup\cdots\cup\delta a_n,φ:KnM​(F)→Hn(F,Z/2),φ{a1​,…,an​}=δa1​∪⋯∪δan​,

which is surjective and whose kernel is exactly 2 KnM(F)2\,K^M_n(F)2KnM​(F).

Since symbols generate KnM(F)K^M_n(F)KnM​(F), such a φ\varphiφ is unique; it is the norm residue homomorphism. The statement is therefore equivalent to KnM(F)/2≅Hn(F,Z/2)K^M_n(F)/2 \cong H^n(F,\mathbb{Z}/2)KnM​(F)/2≅Hn(F,Z/2) via the norm residue map. Its existence, i.e. the fact that the Steinberg relations map to zero, is part of the claim.

Significance

The result itself. The theorem gives a presentation of mod-2 Galois cohomology by generators and relations: every class is a sum of cup products of degree-one classes, and every relation among such products comes from Steinberg relations and multiples of 2. With Orlov–Vishik–Voevodsky 2007 it yields Milnor's conjecture on quadratic forms, which classifies quadratic forms up to Witt equivalence by their Galois-cohomological invariants.

Formalizing it. The theorem is proved but not formalized. At the time of writing, Mathlib has neither Milnor K-theory nor cup products in group or continuous cohomology, and has Hilbert 90 only for finite Galois extensions. This mission's definitions provide a sorry-free Galois symbol in Mathlib's continuous cohomology, which already makes the degree 0 and degree 1 cases (Kummer theory) meaningful targets. A complete development would formalize the IHES proof, including motivic cohomology with Z/2\mathbb{Z}/2Z/2 coefficients and the motivic Steenrod algebra. No part of that is currently available in Lean. Related existing work: on this platform, a graded cup product (groupCohomology.exists_isGradedCupProduct) and a Kummer theory and Hilbert 90 for level-constant cocycles have been formalized on top of Mathlib's discrete groupCohomology. The cup product is for discrete groups, and the Kummer and Hilbert 90 results use finite-level hypotheses in place of continuity, so none of them transfers directly to continuousCohomology.

Difficulty

Degrees 0 and 1 follow from Kummer theory and Hilbert 90. Degree 2 is Merkurjev's theorem, whose proof goes through the K-theory of Severi–Brauer varieties. No argument internal to Galois cohomology or K-theory of fields is known in higher degrees. The known proof reformulates the statement as a vanishing theorem for motivic cohomology of fields, the "Hilbert 90" property for weight nnn. It then argues by induction on nnn through geometry over FFF: splitting varieties of symbols (Pfister quadrics), their motives, and cohomology operations on motivic cohomology. Each of these is a substantial theory, none of it exists in Mathlib, and the induction passes through statements about arbitrary smooth varieties, not only fields.

Formalization scope

Scope. The target is the Milnor conjecture, i.e. the prime 222 with coefficients Z/2≅μ2\mathbb{Z}/2 \cong \mu_2Z/2≅μ2​. The Bloch–Kato conjecture for odd primes is out of scope.

Conventions.

  • The field is F : Type, universe 0. Mathlib's continuousCohomology requires the coefficient module to live in the universe of the group. For FFF in a higher universe this forces ULift (ZMod 2), for which the needed Module and ContinuousSMul instances are not available as global instances. Universe polymorphism is not part of this mission. It does not follow by plain transport, since a field in a higher universe need not be isomorphic to any field in Type; one route is a limit argument, using that both sides commute with directed unions of fields and that every field is the directed union of its countable subfields, each isomorphic to a field in Type.
  • The hypothesis char⁡F≠2\operatorname{char} F \neq 2charF=2 is [NeZero (2 : F)].
  • HnH^nHn is Mathlib's continuousCohomology, built from homogeneous cochains, with Z/2\mathbb{Z}/2Z/2 as a trivial representation of GFG_FGF​ with the Krull topology.
  • KnM(F)K^M_n(F)KnM​(F) is defined one degree at a time, not as a graded ring.
  • "Kernel =2KnM= 2K^M_n=2KnM​" means φ(x)=0  ⟺  ∃y, x=2y\varphi(x)=0 \iff \exists y,\ x = 2yφ(x)=0⟺∃y, x=2y.

Ruling out trivializations. The Galois symbol is not a free parameter. It is a fixed, sorry-free definition, and the existence of φ\varphiφ with the prescribed values on symbols is part of the goal. Neither can be chosen to make the statement vacuous.

Route. Reductions should follow Voevodsky 2003 together with Voevodsky 2003b. That route avoids resolution of singularities and works in every characteristic ≠2\neq 2=2. The following rely on resolution of singularities (or on characteristic-0 reductions) and should not be used as inputs:

  • Mazza–Voevodsky–Weibel (MVW 2006), results 16.24, 16.25 and 20.1, and the cdh-topology and compactly-supported-motive material;
  • the original Suslin–Voevodsky paper relating Bloch–Kato to Beilinson–Lichtenbaum (Suslin–Voevodsky 2000); use Haesemeyer–Weibel 2019, Chapter 2, instead;
  • Haesemeyer–Weibel Part II, and their reduction to characteristic 0 (Lemma 1.3);
  • Voevodsky's 1995–96 preprints on the Milnor conjecture.

Infrastructure needed and reusable. A complete development needs:

  • the ring structure on K∗M(F)K^M_*(F)K∗M​(F) (cf. Carlier's KMilnorWitt for Milnor–Witt K-theory);
  • cup products in continuous cohomology;
  • Hilbert 90 for profinite Galois groups;
  • Galois cohomology as étale cohomology of Spec⁡F\operatorname{Spec} FSpecF;
  • the Nisnevich topology;
  • presheaves with transfers, motivic complexes and motivic cohomology;
  • motivic Steenrod operations;
  • motives of Pfister quadrics.

Most of this is reusable well beyond the mission. The homogeneous-cochain construction in the definition files, which turns an invariant continuous cocycle Gn+1→MG^{n+1}\to MGn+1→M into a class in Mathlib's continuousCohomology, applies to any locally compact group with trivial coefficients. Contributions of any of these components, and of the degree 0 and 1 cases, are welcome.

Selected references

  • V. Voevodsky, Motivic cohomology with Z/2\mathbb{Z}/2Z/2-coefficients, Publ. Math. IHÉS 98 (2003), 59–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10240-003-0010-6
  • V. Voevodsky, Reduced power operations in motivic cohomology, Publ. Math. IHÉS 98 (2003), 1–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10240-003-0009-z
  • J. Milnor, Algebraic K-theory and quadratic forms, Invent. Math. 9 (1970), 318–344. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01425486
  • H. Bass, J. Tate, The Milnor ring of a global field, in Algebraic K-theory II, Lecture Notes in Math. 342, Springer, 1973. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0073733
  • A. S. Merkurjev, A. A. Suslin, K-cohomology of Severi–Brauer varieties and the norm residue homomorphism, Math. USSR Izv. 21 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1070/IM1983v021n02ABEH001793
  • D. Orlov, A. Vishik, V. Voevodsky, An exact sequence for K∗M/2K^M_*/2K∗M​/2 with applications to quadratic forms, Ann. of Math. 165 (2007), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2007.165.1
  • V. Voevodsky, On motivic cohomology with Z/l\mathbb{Z}/lZ/l-coefficients, Ann. of Math. 174 (2011), 401–438. https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2011.174.1.11
  • C. Haesemeyer, C. Weibel, The Norm Residue Theorem in Motivic Cohomology, Annals of Math. Studies 200, Princeton, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691189635
  • C. Mazza, V. Voevodsky, C. Weibel, Lecture Notes on Motivic Cohomology, Clay Math. Monographs 2, AMS, 2006. https://www.claymath.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Motivic-Cohomology.pdf
  • A. Suslin, V. Voevodsky, Bloch–Kato conjecture and motivic cohomology with finite coefficients, in The Arithmetic and Geometry of Algebraic Cycles, NATO Sci. Ser. C 548, Kluwer, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4098-0_5
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Mathematical Physics·Captain: Lucas

Quantum field theory over F1: Grothendieck classes of banana graph hypersurfacesResearch Paper

Motivation

Perturbative quantum field theory produces algebraic varieties. In the parametric (Feynman–Symanzik) formulation of a momentum-space Feynman integral of a graph Γ\GammaΓ, the integrand is built from the Kirchhoff (first Symanzik) polynomial ΨΓ\Psi_\GammaΨΓ​, and the period that the integral computes is governed by the graph hypersurface XΓ={ΨΓ=0}X_\Gamma = \{\Psi_\Gamma = 0\}XΓ​={ΨΓ​=0}. Because ΨΓ\Psi_\GammaΨΓ​ has integer coefficients, XΓX_\GammaXΓ​ is defined over Z\mathbb{Z}Z, and one can ask arithmetic questions about it: how many points does it have over a finite field Fq\mathbb{F}_qFq​, is that count a polynomial in qqq, and what is its class in the Grothendieck ring of varieties?

A separate line of work asks when a variety defined over Z\mathbb{Z}Z carries an additional structure over the "field with one element" F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​. Tits observed in 1956 that #GLn(Fq)\#\mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb{F}_q)#GLn​(Fq​) is a polynomial in qqq whose behaviour as q→1q \to 1q→1 is governed by the symmetric group, and several inequivalent theories of F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​-geometry have been proposed since. In the formulation of López Peña and Lorscheid, an F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​-structure is witnessed by a torification: a decomposition of the variety into split tori Gmd\mathbb{G}_m^dGmd​ inducing a bijection on kkk-points for every field kkk.

Bejleri and Marcolli, Quantum field theory over F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​ (Journal of Geometry and Physics, 2013, doi:10.1016/j.geomphys.2013.03.002), brought these two lines together: they asked which varieties of perturbative QFT admit an F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​-structure, proved a blow-up formula for torified varieties, and deduced that the wonderful compactifications of graph configuration spaces and the moduli spaces M‾0,n\overline{M}_{0,n}M0,n​ are F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​-varieties. Along the way they recorded elementary but sharp necessary conditions for an F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​-structure, and tested them on concrete families of graph hypersurfaces. This mission formalizes that necessary-condition layer for the simplest infinite family, the banana graphs. The programme continues to be cited in the physics literature (arXiv:2401.07822).

Setting

For n≥3n \ge 3n≥3, the banana graph Γn\Gamma_nΓn​ has two vertices joined by nnn parallel edges. Its graph hypersurface XΓn⊂Pn−1X_{\Gamma_n} \subset \mathbb{P}^{n-1}XΓn​​⊂Pn−1 is cut out by the Kirchhoff polynomial of Γn\Gamma_nΓn​, and YΓn=Pn−1∖XΓnY_{\Gamma_n} = \mathbb{P}^{n-1} \smallsetminus X_{\Gamma_n}YΓn​​=Pn−1∖XΓn​​ is its complement.

Write L=[A1]\mathbb{L} = [\mathbb{A}^1]L=[A1] for the Lefschetz class in the Grothendieck ring of varieties and set

T  =  [Gm]  =  L−1.\mathbb{T} \;=\; [\mathbb{G}_m] \;=\; \mathbb{L} - 1 .T=[Gm​]=L−1.

If a variety XXX admits a torification by tori Gmd1,…,Gmdr\mathbb{G}_m^{d_1}, \dots, \mathbb{G}_m^{d_r}Gmd1​​,…,Gmdr​​, then its class is ∑iTdi\sum_i \mathbb{T}^{d_i}∑i​Tdi​, so it is a polynomial in T\mathbb{T}T with non-negative integer coefficients; this is Lemma 3.8 of the paper. Writing [X]=∑k≥0akTk[X] = \sum_{k \ge 0} a_k \mathbb{T}^k[X]=∑k≥0​ak​Tk, the Euler characteristic is the constant term a0a_0a0​, because positive-dimensional tori have vanishing Euler characteristic — whence the coarser necessary condition χ≥0\chi \ge 0χ≥0 of Proposition 3.1. Non-negativity of the coefficients aka_kak​ is therefore a necessary condition for an F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​-structure, and one that can be checked by pure computation once the class is known.

For the banana graphs the class is known in closed form (Aluffi–Marcolli, quoted as equation (3.8) of the paper):

[XΓn]  =  (1+T)n−1T  −  Tn−(−1)nT+1  −  n Tn−2,[YΓn]  =  Tn−(−1)nT+1+n Tn−2.[X_{\Gamma_n}] \;=\; \frac{(1+\mathbb{T})^n - 1}{\mathbb{T}} \;-\; \frac{\mathbb{T}^n - (-1)^n}{\mathbb{T}+1} \;-\; n\,\mathbb{T}^{n-2}, \qquad [Y_{\Gamma_n}] \;=\; \frac{\mathbb{T}^n - (-1)^n}{\mathbb{T}+1} + n\,\mathbb{T}^{n-2}.[XΓn​​]=T(1+T)n−1​−T+1Tn−(−1)n​−nTn−2,[YΓn​​]=T+1Tn−(−1)n​+nTn−2.

The first summand is [Pn−1][\mathbb{P}^{n-1}][Pn−1], and the two quotients are exact divisions: they are the polynomials ∑k=1n(nk)Tk−1\sum_{k=1}^{n} \binom{n}{k}\mathbb{T}^{k-1}∑k=1n​(kn​)Tk−1 and ∑j=0n−1(−1)n−1−jTj\sum_{j=0}^{n-1} (-1)^{n-1-j}\mathbb{T}^{j}∑j=0n−1​(−1)n−1−jTj of equations (3.9) and (3.10).

Target

The goal is the first half of Lemma 3.9: for all n≥3n \ge 3n≥3, every coefficient of [XΓn][X_{\Gamma_n}][XΓn​​], as a polynomial in T\mathbb{T}T, is non-negative,

[XΓn]  =  ∑k≥0ak(n) Tk,ak(n)≥0for all k,[X_{\Gamma_n}] \;=\; \sum_{k \ge 0} a_k(n)\, \mathbb{T}^k, \qquad a_k(n) \ge 0 \quad \text{for all } k,[XΓn​​]=k≥0∑​ak​(n)Tk,ak​(n)≥0for all k,

so that XΓnX_{\Gamma_n}XΓn​​ passes the necessary condition of Lemma 3.8.

The milestones are the steps the paper uses, and the contrast it draws:

  1. equation (3.9), the identity T⋅[Pn−1]=(1+T)n−1\mathbb{T}\cdot[\mathbb{P}^{n-1}] = (1+\mathbb{T})^n - 1T⋅[Pn−1]=(1+T)n−1;
  2. equation (3.10), the identity (T+1)∑j<n(−1)n−1−jTj=Tn−(−1)n(\mathbb{T}+1)\sum_{j<n}(-1)^{n-1-j}\mathbb{T}^j = \mathbb{T}^n - (-1)^n(T+1)∑j<n​(−1)n−1−jTj=Tn−(−1)n;
  3. the resulting closed formula for the coefficients ak(n)a_k(n)ak​(n);
  4. the constant term a0(n)=n+(−1)n≥0a_0(n) = n + (-1)^n \ge 0a0​(n)=n+(−1)n≥0, i.e. the Euler-characteristic condition of Proposition 3.1;
  5. the second half of Lemma 3.9: for n≥4n \ge 4n≥4 the complement class [YΓn][Y_{\Gamma_n}][YΓn​​] has a negative coefficient, namely the coefficient of Tn−4\mathbb{T}^{n-4}Tn−4 equals −1-1−1.

Item 5 is the point of the lemma: the necessary condition separates XΓnX_{\Gamma_n}XΓn​​ from YΓnY_{\Gamma_n}YΓn​​, so it is not vacuous on this family.

Significance

The combination "[XΓn][X_{\Gamma_n}][XΓn​​] passes, [YΓn][Y_{\Gamma_n}][YΓn​​] fails" is the paper's concrete evidence that the torification condition is a usable filter on the varieties of perturbative QFT: it rules out an F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​-structure on the hypersurface complements — the objects whose periods are the Feynman integrals — while leaving the hypersurfaces themselves as candidates, and it motivates the paper's Question 3.10 (whether the graph hypersurfaces satisfying the condition actually admit torifications).

What this mission produces on top of the paper is a machine-checked version of that computation. The mathematics here is not open: Lemma 3.9 is proved in the source, and the six statements of this proposal are elementary consequences of the closed formula (3.8) once the two divisions are performed. The captain has checked that all six compile and are provable in Lean 4 with Mathlib. The deliverable is therefore a formalization, not a new theorem: a reusable Lean model of Grothendieck classes in the variable T\mathbb{T}T for this family, with the coefficient positivity and the failure of positivity for the complement both verified, and the printed expansion for n=15n = 15n=15 in the paper reproduced by the formalized coefficient formula.

Difficulty

The obstruction is bookkeeping, not depth. Equation (3.8) is a rational expression; the two fractions are exact divisions only after one knows the quotients, so a formalization has to fix polynomial representatives and prove the two division identities rather than manipulate fractions. The alternating tail ∑j(−1)n−1−jTj\sum_j (-1)^{n-1-j}\mathbb{T}^j∑j​(−1)n−1−jTj has an exponent that depends on both nnn and the summation index through a truncated natural-number subtraction, which is the main source of friction: the parity rearrangement (−1)n−1−j=(−1)n−1(−1)j(-1)^{n-1-j} = (-1)^{n-1}(-1)^{j}(−1)n−1−j=(−1)n−1(−1)j is valid only for j≤n−1j \le n-1j≤n−1 and has to be justified in that form. Finally the positivity argument is a case split — the coefficient at k=n−2k = n-2k=n−2 is exactly (nn−1)−(−1)1−n=1\binom{n}{n-1} - (-1)^1 - n = 1(n−1n​)−(−1)1−n=1, while every other coefficient is (nk+1)±1≥0\binom{n}{k+1} \pm 1 \ge 0(k+1n​)±1≥0 — and the degenerate small-nnn cases must be excluded, which is why the goal carries n≥3n \ge 3n≥3.

Formalization scope

Everything is stated in Z[T]\mathbb{Z}[\mathbb{T}]Z[T], i.e. Polynomial ℤ with X playing the role of T\mathbb{T}T; no Grothendieck ring, no scheme theory, and no torification is formalized. The classes of equation (3.8) are defined to be the polynomial representatives above: the mission takes the closed formula of the source as given and proves the statements about it. This is the sense in which the goal is faithful to Lemma 3.9, and it should be read that way: it is a statement about the coefficients of an explicitly given polynomial, not a proof that XΓnX_{\Gamma_n}XΓn​​ is or is not an F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​-variety.

Conventions fixed in Lean: the index nnn ranges over ℕ and all subtractions in exponents (n - 1 - j, n - 2, n - 4) are truncated natural subtraction, which is harmless under the stated hypotheses (n≥3n \ge 3n≥3, resp. n≥4n \ge 4n≥4) but is why those hypotheses appear; coefficients are read off with Polynomial.coeff, so the goal quantifies over all kkk, including kkk beyond the degree, where the coefficient is 000. The goal is not trivially true: for n≥4n \ge 4n≥4 the sibling statement about [YΓn][Y_{\Gamma_n}][YΓn​​] exhibits a coefficient equal to −1-1−1 in the same formalism, so the ambient set-up does admit negative coefficients.

Contributions welcome: direct proofs of the six statements; and, beyond this mission, formalizations of the other necessary-condition computations of the paper (the wheel and lemon-wedge families of section 3.6, the Chern-class condition of Lemma 6.3).

Selected references

  • D. Bejleri, M. Marcolli, Quantum field theory over F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​, Journal of Geometry and Physics (2013). doi:10.1016/j.geomphys.2013.03.002 — §3.3 Proposition 3.1, §3.5 Definition 3.7 and Lemma 3.8, §3.6 equations (3.8)–(3.10) and Lemma 3.9.
  • P. Aluffi, M. Marcolli, Feynman motives of banana graphs, Communications in Number Theory and Physics 3 (2009), no. 1, 1–57 — Theorem 3.10 there is the closed formula for [XΓn][X_{\Gamma_n}][XΓn​​] quoted as equation (3.8), and Corollary 3.13 the formula for [YΓn][Y_{\Gamma_n}][YΓn​​].
  • J. López Peña, O. Lorscheid, Torified varieties and their geometries over F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​, Mathematische Zeitschrift 267 (2011), no. 3–4, 605–643 — torifications and the affine condition.
  • S. Khaki, Original F1\mathbb{F}_1F1​ in emergent spacetime, arXiv:2401.07822 — a recent physics letter that takes the Bejleri–Marcolli programme as its starting point.
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Complexity TheoryRepresentation Theory·Captain: Lucas

Geometric Complexity Theory: No Occurrence ObstructionsResearch Paper

Motivation

The permanent versus determinant problem asks how large an nnn must be for the permanent of an m×mm \times mm×m matrix to be written as the determinant of an n×nn \times nn×n matrix whose entries are affine linear functions of the m2m^2m2 input variables. Valiant showed that some finite nnn always works and conjectured in 1979 that the least such nnn, the determinantal complexity dc(perm)\mathrm{dc}(\mathrm{per}_m)dc(perm​), grows faster than every polynomial in mmm; this is the algebraic counterpart of P≠NP\mathbf{P} \ne \mathbf{NP}P=NP.

Geometric complexity theory (GCT), proposed by Mulmuley and Sohoni in 2001, attacks the conjecture by replacing the two polynomials with the closures of their GL\mathrm{GL}GL-orbits and comparing the GL\mathrm{GL}GL-representations carried by the coordinate rings of those closures. If some irreducible representation occurs in the coordinate ring of the orbit closure of the padded permanent but not in that of the determinant, then one orbit closure cannot contain the other, and a lower bound on dc(perm)\mathrm{dc}(\mathrm{per}_m)dc(perm​) follows. Such a representation is an occurrence obstruction, and Mulmuley and Sohoni conjectured that occurrence obstructions exist for every polynomial padding.

Timeline of what is actually proved.

  • 1979: Valiant introduces dc\mathrm{dc}dc and conjectures superpolynomial growth (Valiant 1979).
  • 2001: Mulmuley and Sohoni restate the conjecture in terms of orbit closures and propose proving it by exhibiting occurrence obstructions (arXiv:cs/9908014).
  • 2014: Kadish and Landsberg show that any partition occurring for the padded permanent has at most m2m^2m2 rows and a first row of length at least (n−m)d(n-m)d(n−m)d (arXiv:1204.4772).
  • 2016: Ikenmeyer and Panova show that vanishing rectangular Kronecker coefficients cannot supply occurrence obstructions (arXiv:1512.03798).
  • 2016: Mulmuley, in GCT V, makes the "infinitesimally close approximation" form of the permanent hardness hypothesis the engine of derandomized Noether normalization (JAMS).
  • 2017: Ikenmeyer, Mulmuley and Walter prove that deciding positivity of Kronecker coefficients is NP\mathbf{NP}NP-hard and construct superpolynomially many vanishing triples in the Kronecker cone (comput. complex. 26).
  • 2019: Bürgisser, Ikenmeyer and Panova prove that no occurrence obstructions exist at all once n≥m25n \ge m^{25}n≥m25, refuting the Mulmuley–Sohoni conjecture on obstructions (JAMS 32).

Setting

Fix nnn and write V=Cn×nV = \mathbb{C}^{n \times n}V=Cn×n. A form of degree nnn is a homogeneous polynomial of degree nnn in the n2n^2n2 variables XijX_{ij}Xij​, 0≤i,j<n0 \le i, j < n0≤i,j<n; the space of such forms is SymnV∗\mathrm{Sym}^n V^*SymnV∗. The group GLn2\mathrm{GL}_{n^2}GLn2​ acts on it by linear substitution of the variables, and for a form ppp we write GLn2⋅p‾\overline{\mathrm{GL}_{n^2}\cdot p}GLn2​⋅p​ for the closure of its orbit in the Euclidean topology, which for these orbits agrees with the Zariski closure.

Two orbit closures matter:

Ωn  =  GLn2⋅det⁡n‾,Zn,m  =  GLn2⋅X00 n−mperm‾,\Omega_n \;=\; \overline{\mathrm{GL}_{n^2}\cdot \det\nolimits_n}, \qquad Z_{n,m} \;=\; \overline{\mathrm{GL}_{n^2}\cdot X_{00}^{\,n-m}\mathrm{per}_m},Ωn​=GLn2​⋅detn​​,Zn,m​=GLn2​⋅X00n−m​perm​​,

where det⁡n=∑σ∈Snsgn(σ)∏iXiσ(i)\det_n = \sum_{\sigma \in S_n}\mathrm{sgn}(\sigma)\prod_i X_{i\sigma(i)}detn​=∑σ∈Sn​​sgn(σ)∏i​Xiσ(i)​ and perm=∑σ∈Sm∏iXiσ(i)\mathrm{per}_m = \sum_{\sigma \in S_m}\prod_i X_{i\sigma(i)}perm​=∑σ∈Sm​​∏i​Xiσ(i)​, and the second polynomial is padded by a power of the single variable X00X_{00}X00​ so that it, too, has degree nnn.

The coordinate ring of a GLn2\mathrm{GL}_{n^2}GLn2​-stable subset SSS of SymnV∗\mathrm{Sym}^n V^*SymnV∗ decomposes into irreducible polynomial representations, which are labelled by partitions λ\lambdaλ with at most n2n^2n2 parts. A partition λ⊢nd\lambda \vdash ndλ⊢nd occurs in the degree ddd part of the coordinate ring of SSS when some polynomial function FFF of degree ddd on SymnV∗\mathrm{Sym}^n V^*SymnV∗ is an eigenvector of the Borel subgroup of upper triangular matrices,

F(g⋅p)  =  (∏vgvvλv)F(p)for all upper triangular invertible g and all forms p,F(g \cdot p) \;=\; \Big(\prod_{v} g_{vv}^{\lambda_{v}}\Big) F(p) \quad\text{for all upper triangular invertible } g \text{ and all forms } p,F(g⋅p)=(v∏​gvvλv​​)F(p)for all upper triangular invertible g and all forms p,

and FFF does not vanish identically on SSS. If λ\lambdaλ occurs for Zn,mZ_{n,m}Zn,m​ but not for Ωn\Omega_nΩn​, then Zn,m⊈ΩnZ_{n,m} \not\subseteq \Omega_nZn,m​⊆Ωn​, hence dc(perm)>n\mathrm{dc}(\mathrm{per}_m) > ndc(perm​)>n: this is an occurrence obstruction.

Formalization targets

Goal — no occurrence obstructions (Theorem 1.4)

n≥m25,λ⊢nd,λ occurs for Zn,m  ⟹  λ occurs for Ωn.n \ge m^{25},\quad \lambda \vdash nd, \quad \lambda \text{ occurs for } Z_{n,m} \;\Longrightarrow\; \lambda \text{ occurs for } \Omega_n .n≥m25,λ⊢nd,λ occurs for Zn,m​⟹λ occurs for Ωn​.

No partition can separate the two orbit closures once the padding is at least polynomial of degree 252525; the occurrence-obstruction route to Valiant's conjecture is therefore closed.

Supporting targets

The milestone list follows the structure of the proof: the shape restriction for the padded permanent (Theorem 2.1), the semigroup property of occurring partitions (Lemma 2.2), the occurrence of row extended even rectangles (Proposition 2.3), the non-vanishing of highest weight vectors of long first row on Ωn\Omega_nΩn​ (Proposition 2.4), and the fact that padded power sums lie in Ωn\Omega_nΩn​ (Theorem 2.5), together with two elementary anchors (Ω2\Omega_2Ω2​ is everything; a symbolic determinant of size nnn puts the padded permanent into Ωn\Omega_nΩn​) and the GCT V hardness hypothesis, which is exactly the statement that the padded permanent stays outside Ωs\Omega_sΩs​ for subexponential sss.

Significance

Theorem 1.4 removes an entire proof strategy: after fifteen years in which occurrence obstructions were the main object of study in GCT, the theorem shows that they do not exist in the regime where they would be useful, so lower bounds must come from comparing multiplicities rather than mere occurrence. The supporting statements are of independent use: Theorem 2.5 and Proposition 2.3 give explicit families of points and partitions for Ωn\Omega_nΩn​, and the shape restriction of Theorem 2.1 constrains every future obstruction argument.

None of this is formalized anywhere. What this mission produces is a machine-checked model of orbit closures of forms, of the Borel-eigenvector description of occurrence, and of the known statements about Ωn\Omega_nΩn​ and Zn,mZ_{n,m}Zn,m​ — infrastructure that any later multiplicity-based argument would reuse. The goal theorem is proved in the literature; the work here is formalizing that proof. The hardness hypothesis and the Mulmuley–Sohoni conjecture itself remain open, and are labelled as such.

Difficulty

The naive approach to "λ occurs in C[Ωn]\mathbb{C}[\Omega_n]C[Ωn​]" is to decompose the plethysm SymdSymnV\mathrm{Sym}^d \mathrm{Sym}^n VSymdSymnV and read off multiplicities; this fails because the coordinate ring of Ωn\Omega_nΩn​ is a quotient of that plethysm by the unknown vanishing ideal of the orbit closure, and almost nothing is known about which highest weight vectors survive restriction. The proof of Theorem 1.4 works instead with explicit highest weight vectors evaluated at explicit points of Ωn\Omega_nΩn​ (padded power sums), using the fundamental invariant of SymnCN\mathrm{Sym}^n \mathbb{C}^NSymnCN and a lifting map for highest weight vectors in plethysms; the combinatorics of tableaux and the case distinction on the degree ddd are where the work lies. A formalization additionally has to build the representation-theoretic vocabulary from scratch, since Mathlib has neither plethysms, nor Weyl modules, nor highest weight theory for GLN\mathrm{GL}_NGLN​.

Formalization scope

Conventions fixed by the Lean development, all in the namespace GCTOcc:

  1. Polynomials live in one ring, with variables indexed by pairs of natural numbers; the n×nn \times nn×n matrix of variables occupies the indices i,j<ni, j < ni,j<n, so forms of different sizes need no renaming maps.
  2. The padding variable is X00X_{00}X00​, an entry of the matrix itself, as in the source; the choice of padding linear form is known to be immaterial.
  3. Orbit closure is defined sequentially: ppp lies in the closure when the coefficients of a sequence of orbit points converge to those of ppp. On this finite-dimensional space sequential closure is the Euclidean closure.
  4. Occurrence of λ\lambdaλ is defined by the existence of a Borel eigenvector of weight λ\lambdaλ and degree ddd that does not vanish identically on the set. Weights are indexed by the order (i,j)↦in+j(i,j) \mapsto in+j(i,j)↦in+j on the variables, and triangularity refers to the same order. A partition is a nonincreasing function N→N\mathbb{N} \to \mathbb{N}N→N supported on the first n2n^2n2 indices whose parts sum to ndndnd.
  5. The statements are not vacuous: all hypotheses used in the milestones are satisfiable, and the elementary anchors (Ω2\Omega_2Ω2​, the symbolic determinant bridge) exhibit points of the orbit closures explicitly.

Infrastructure a complete development needs, and which is reusable beyond this mission: plethysms SymdSymnV\mathrm{Sym}^d\mathrm{Sym}^n VSymdSymnV and their highest weight vectors, the fundamental invariant of a form space, semistandard tableaux of rectangular content, and basic facts about orbit closures of forms. Contributions of any of these pieces are welcome, as are counterexample-hunting reports on the elementary anchors.

Not covered here: the Kronecker-coefficient strand of the program (Ikenmeyer–Mulmuley–Walter 2017 on NP\mathbf{NP}NP-hardness of Kronecker positivity, and the construction of vanishing triples in the Kronecker cone). Stating those results requires irreducible characters of the symmetric group indexed by partitions, or equivalently symmetric-function machinery, which Mathlib does not yet have; they are natural targets for a companion mission once Specht modules exist.

Selected references

  • P. Bürgisser, C. Ikenmeyer, G. Panova, No occurrence obstructions in geometric complexity theory, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 32 (2019), 163–193, doi:10.1090/jams/908.
  • K. D. Mulmuley, Geometric Complexity Theory V: Efficient algorithms for Noether normalization, J. Amer. Math. Soc., electronically published 2016, doi:10.1090/jams/864.
  • C. Ikenmeyer, K. D. Mulmuley, M. Walter, On vanishing of Kronecker coefficients, comput. complex. 26 (2017), doi:10.1007/s00037-017-0158-y.
  • L. G. Valiant, Completeness classes in algebra, STOC 1979, doi:10.1145/800135.804419.
  • H. Kadish, J. M. Landsberg, Padded polynomials, their cousins, and geometric complexity theory, Comm. Algebra 42 (2014), arXiv:1204.4772.
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Arithmetic GeometryNumber Theory·Captain: Lucas

Esquisse d'un Programme I: Dessins d'Enfants and the Faithfulness of the Galois ActionResearch Paper

Motivation

In Esquisse d'un Programme (1984), Alexandre Grothendieck describes a discovery that reorganised his mathematical interests: a finite oriented combinatorial map drawn on a surface — a dessin d'enfant, a child's drawing — determines canonically a smooth projective algebraic curve together with a map to the projective line ramified only above 000, 111 and ∞\infty∞, and that curve and map are defined over the field Q‾\overline{\mathbb{Q}}Q​ of algebraic numbers (Esquisse, §3, pp. 14–16 of the French text). Consequently the absolute Galois group Γ=Gal(Q‾/Q)\Gamma = \mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})Γ=Gal(Q​/Q) acts on these purely combinatorial objects; in the spherical case, where the structural map is a rational function f(z)=P(z)/Q(z)f(z) = P(z)/Q(z)f(z)=P(z)/Q(z), the action of γ∈Γ\gamma \in \Gammaγ∈Γ is obtained simply by applying γ\gammaγ to the coefficients of PPP and QQQ. Grothendieck states in §2 (p. 9) that the resulting outer action of Γ\GammaΓ on the profinite fundamental group π^0,3\hat{\pi}_{0,3}π^0,3​ of P1∖{0,1,∞}\mathbb{P}^1 \smallsetminus \{0,1,\infty\}P1∖{0,1,∞} is faithful, and in §3 that the theorem of Belyi, announced at the 1978 Helsinki congress, is what makes the dictionary between combinatorics and arithmetic exact.

Timeline of the results this mission formalizes. Belyi (1979, On Galois extensions of a maximal cyclotomic field, Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR) proved that a smooth projective curve over C\mathbb{C}C is defined over a number field if and only if it admits a map to P1\mathbb{P}^1P1 unramified outside {0,1,∞}\{0,1,\infty\}{0,1,∞}; the "only if" half is an explicit construction with polynomials over Q\mathbb{Q}Q. Grothendieck (1984) drew the consequence that Γ\GammaΓ acts on dessins and asserted faithfulness of the action on π^0,3\hat{\pi}_{0,3}π^0,3​. Lenstra, in an appendix to L. Schneps (ed.), The Grothendieck Theory of Dessins d'Enfants (LMS Lecture Notes 200, CUP 1994), showed that the action is already faithful on the much smaller class of plane trees, equivalently on Shabat polynomials. That tree-level statement is the goal of this mission, because it is the sharpest form of faithfulness that can be stated without first building the theory of étale fundamental groups.

Setting

Work over Q‾\overline{\mathbb{Q}}Q​, realized as the algebraic closure of Q\mathbb{Q}Q, and write Γ\GammaΓ for its group of field automorphisms fixing Q\mathbb{Q}Q pointwise.

A nonconstant polynomial PPP over a field KKK is a Belyi polynomial (classically a Shabat polynomial) when every critical value of PPP lies in {0,1}\{0,1\}{0,1}: for every z∈Kz \in Kz∈K with P′(z)=0P'(z) = 0P′(z)=0 one has P(z)=0P(z) = 0P(z)=0 or P(z)=1P(z) = 1P(z)=1. Over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero this says exactly that PPP, viewed as a degree-nnn map P1→P1\mathbb{P}^1 \to \mathbb{P}^1P1→P1, is unramified outside the fibres over 000, 111 and ∞\infty∞. The associated dessin is the preimage P−1([0,1])P^{-1}([0,1])P−1([0,1]), a plane tree with nnn edges whose vertices are the points above 000 and 111, with vertex orders equal to the multiplicities of the corresponding roots of PPP and of P−1P - 1P−1.

Two Belyi polynomials define the same dessin exactly when they are affinely equivalent: Q=P(aX+b)Q = P(aX + b)Q=P(aX+b) for some a≠0a \neq 0a=0 and some bbb. The target coordinate is already rigidified by the normalisation of the critical values to {0,1}\{0,1\}{0,1}; only the source coordinate remains free.

The group Γ\GammaΓ acts coefficientwise: PγP^{\gamma}Pγ is the polynomial obtained from PPP by applying γ\gammaγ to each coefficient. This is exactly the action described in §3 of the Esquisse. It sends Belyi polynomials to Belyi polynomials, and it descends to an action on affine equivalence classes, i.e. on dessins.

Formalization targets

Goal — faithfulness of the Galois action on plane trees

∀ γ∈Γ,γ≠1 ⟹ ∃ P∈Q‾[X] a Belyi polynomial with P̸∼affPγ.\forall\, \gamma \in \Gamma,\quad \gamma \neq 1 \ \Longrightarrow\ \exists\, P \in \overline{\mathbb{Q}}[X] \text{ a Belyi polynomial with } P \not\sim_{\mathrm{aff}} P^{\gamma}.∀γ∈Γ,γ=1 ⟹ ∃P∈Q​[X] a Belyi polynomial with P∼aff​Pγ.

Equivalently: no nontrivial element of the absolute Galois group fixes every plane tree. This is the weakest stable form of the faithfulness assertion in the Esquisse: it fixes no degree, no genus and no tree, asserting only that some dessin is moved.

Supporting targets

  • Belyi's theorem, polynomial form. For every finite set S⊆Q‾S \subseteq \overline{\mathbb{Q}}S⊆Q​ there is a Belyi polynomial f∈Q[X]f \in \mathbb{Q}[X]f∈Q[X] with f(S)⊆{0,1}f(S) \subseteq \{0,1\}f(S)⊆{0,1}.
  • Descent to Q‾\overline{\mathbb{Q}}Q​. Every Belyi polynomial over C\mathbb{C}C is affinely equivalent to one whose coefficients are algebraic over Q\mathbb{Q}Q.
  • Galois equivariance and invariants. PγP^{\gamma}Pγ is again a Belyi polynomial of the same degree, and the multiplicity of zzz as a root of P−cP - cP−c equals the multiplicity of γ(z)\gamma(z)γ(z) as a root of Pγ−γ(c)P^{\gamma} - \gamma(c)Pγ−γ(c): the dessin's vertex and face orders are Galois invariants.
  • Finiteness of the orbit. The set of Galois conjugates of a fixed polynomial over Q‾\overline{\mathbb{Q}}Q​ is finite — the "visibly finite number of conjugates" of §3.
  • Finiteness in a fixed degree. For each nnn there are only finitely many monic Belyi polynomials of degree nnn over Q‾\overline{\mathbb{Q}}Q​ with vanishing subleading coefficient.
  • Separation. For every α∈Q‾\alpha \in \overline{\mathbb{Q}}α∈Q​ there is a Belyi polynomial PPP such that every γ\gammaγ fixing the class of PPP fixes α\alphaα. The goal follows from this by taking α\alphaα with γ(α)≠α\gamma(\alpha) \neq \alphaγ(α)=α.

Significance

The result itself. Faithfulness turns the combinatorics of finite maps into a faithful representation of Γ\GammaΓ: every nontrivial automorphism of Q‾\overline{\mathbb{Q}}Q​ is detected by a finite tree, so invariants of dessins (degree, valency lists, monodromy group, field of moduli) are in principle a complete set of tools for distinguishing Galois elements. It is also the entry point to the anabelian programme described in §3 of the Esquisse, since the same statement expresses that Γ\GammaΓ embeds into the outer automorphism group of π^0,3\hat{\pi}_{0,3}π^0,3​.

Formalizing it. Belyi's theorem and the faithfulness of the Galois action on trees are both established results. Mathlib at the environment revision of this mission contains no declaration mentioning Belyi maps or dessins d'enfants, and no étale fundamental group, so both statements have to be built from the polynomial and Galois-theoretic libraries. What this mission produces is a formal version of the combinatorial half of the dictionary, in a form that avoids scheme theory entirely: everything is phrased with polynomials over Q‾\overline{\mathbb{Q}}Q​ and C\mathbb{C}C, so the development rests only on Mathlib's existing polynomial, field theory and Galois theory libraries.

Difficulty

The naive attack on the goal — exhibit one tree and one Galois element moving it — does not scale: the statement quantifies over all γ≠1\gamma \neq 1γ=1, and Γ\GammaΓ has no accessible presentation. The real work is the separation statement, which demands, for an arbitrary algebraic number α\alphaα, a tree whose isomorphism class remembers α\alphaα; the construction must control both the existence of a Belyi polynomial with prescribed arithmetic and the rigidity that makes affine equivalence classes finite. Belyi's theorem in polynomial form is itself an induction on the degree of the field of definition of the critical values, and each step changes the polynomial, so bookkeeping of critical values through composition is the bulk of the formal proof. The descent statement over C\mathbb{C}C is not a formal manipulation either: it needs the finiteness of the set of Belyi polynomials of a given degree up to affine equivalence, which is where the combinatorial classification enters.

Formalization scope

Conventions fixed in the Lean development, and not to be re-litigated by solvers:

  • Q‾\overline{\mathbb{Q}}Q​ is AlgebraicClosure ℚ, and Γ\GammaΓ is its group of Q\mathbb{Q}Q-algebra automorphisms.
  • "Belyi polynomial" means: positive degree, and every root of the formal derivative is sent to 000 or 111. Critical values are required to lie in {0,1}\{0,1\}{0,1}, not to be exactly {0,1}\{0,1\}{0,1}; degenerate cases such as XnX^nXn (one finite critical value) are therefore included.
  • Being a Belyi polynomial is stated over an arbitrary field but is only intended over algebraically closed fields (Q‾\overline{\mathbb{Q}}Q​, C\mathbb{C}C), where quantifying over the field's own elements captures all critical points.
  • Dessin isomorphism is modelled as affine equivalence of the source variable only; conjugating by an affine map of the target is excluded, since the target is rigidified by {0,1}\{0,1\}{0,1}.
  • The Galois action is coefficientwise application of γ\gammaγ.

Trivialization is ruled out as follows: the goal asserts the existence of a moved Belyi polynomial for each nontrivial γ\gammaγ, with the nondegeneracy 0 < deg P built into the definition, so no constant or empty witness satisfies it, and no hypothesis of the goal is vacuous (γ≠1\gamma \neq 1γ=1 is satisfiable).

A complete development needs: critical values and their behaviour under composition of polynomials; the classification of Belyi polynomials of fixed degree up to affine equivalence; Galois descent for a finite set of polynomials stable under conjugation; and, for the descent target, the identification of the coefficients of a Belyi polynomial over C\mathbb{C}C as algebraic numbers. All of these are reusable outside this mission. Contributions of general polynomial-ramification infrastructure are welcome, as are alternative formalizations of the same statements over a general algebraically closed field of characteristic zero.

Selected references

  • A. Grothendieck, Esquisse d'un Programme (1984), published in L. Schneps and P. Lochak (eds.), Geometric Galois Actions 1, LMS Lecture Note Series 242, Cambridge University Press, 1997. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511758874
  • G. V. Belyi, On Galois extensions of a maximal cyclotomic field, Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR Ser. Mat. 43 (1979), 267–276. English translation: Math. USSR-Izv. 14 (1980), 247–256. https://doi.org/10.1070/IM1980v014n02ABEH001096
  • L. Schneps (ed.), The Grothendieck Theory of Dessins d'Enfants, LMS Lecture Note Series 200, Cambridge University Press, 1994. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511569302
  • S. K. Lando and A. K. Zvonkin, Graphs on Surfaces and Their Applications, Encyclopaedia of Mathematical Sciences 141, Springer, 2004. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-38361-1
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Geometry & Topology·Captain: Lucas

Algebraicity of Weil classes on abelian sixfolds of discriminant -1Research Paper

Motivation

The Hodge conjecture predicts that on a non-singular complex projective variety XXX every rational cohomology class of type (p,p)(p,p)(p,p) is a rational linear combination of the classes of algebraic subvarieties of XXX. Abelian varieties are the oldest testing ground for the conjecture, and the hardest known classes on them were isolated by A. Weil. A 2n2n2n-dimensional complex abelian variety AAA is of Weil type for an imaginary quadratic field K=Q(−d)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-d})K=Q(−d​) if KKK embeds into EndQ(A)\mathrm{End}_{\mathbb{Q}}(A)EndQ​(A) in such a way that both eigenspaces of η(−d)\eta(\sqrt{-d})η(−d​) meet H1,0(A)H^{1,0}(A)H1,0(A) in an nnn-dimensional subspace. Such an AAA carries a distinguished two-dimensional space of rational (n,n)(n,n)(n,n)-classes, the Weil classes, which for a generic AAA of Weil type does not lie in the subring generated by divisor classes. Weil classes are therefore the standard obstruction to the Hodge conjecture in low dimension: for abelian fourfolds the conjecture reduces to their algebraicity.

Timeline of the unconditional results on algebraicity of Weil classes:

  • A. Weil (1977) constructed the classes and showed that the generic abelian variety of Weil type has a three-dimensional space of rational (n,n)(n,n)(n,n)-classes, spanned by hnh^nhn and the two-dimensional Weil plane.
  • C. Schoen (Compositio Math. 65 (1988) and its 1998 Addendum, Compositio Math. 114) proved algebraicity for fourfolds of Weil type with K=Q(−3)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-3})K=Q(−3​) and arbitrary discriminant, for sixfolds with K=Q(−3)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-3})K=Q(−3​) and trivial discriminant, and for fourfolds with K=Q(−1)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-1})K=Q(−1​) and discriminant −1-1−1; a second proof of the last case is in B. van Geemen's survey (1994).
  • K. Koike (Canad. Math. Bull. 47 (2004)) proved algebraicity for sixfolds with K=Q(−1)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-1})K=Q(−1​) and discriminant −1-1−1, which yields fourfolds with K=Q(−1)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-1})K=Q(−1​) and arbitrary discriminant.
  • E. Markman (JEMS 25 (2023)) proved algebraicity for fourfolds, arbitrary KKK, and discriminant 111.
  • E. Markman, arXiv:2502.03415, proves algebraicity for sixfolds of discriminant −1-1−1 and every imaginary quadratic KKK, and deduces the Hodge conjecture for all abelian fourfolds.

Setting

Fix ggg and present a ggg-dimensional complex torus by its first homology: a complex structure JJJ on H1(A,R)=R2gH_1(A,\mathbb{R})=\mathbb{R}^{2g}H1​(A,R)=R2g with J2=−1J^2=-1J2=−1, the lattice being Z2g⊂R2g\mathbb{Z}^{2g}\subset\mathbb{R}^{2g}Z2g⊂R2g. A polarization is a rational alternating form EEE on H1(A,Q)=Q2gH_1(A,\mathbb{Q})=\mathbb{Q}^{2g}H1​(A,Q)=Q2g satisfying the Riemann relations E(Jx,Jy)=E(x,y)E(Jx,Jy)=E(x,y)E(Jx,Jy)=E(x,y) and E(x,Jx)>0E(x,Jx)>0E(x,Jx)>0 for x≠0x\neq 0x=0. Cohomology is Hk(A,C)=∧kH1(A,C)H^k(A,\mathbb{C})=\wedge^k H^1(A,\mathbb{C})Hk(A,C)=∧kH1(A,C), realized as the alternating C\mathbb{C}C-multilinear forms on H1(A,C)=C2gH_1(A,\mathbb{C})=\mathbb{C}^{2g}H1​(A,C)=C2g; a class is rational if its values on rational vectors are rational, and it has type (p,q)(p,q)(p,q) if it is multiplied by zpzˉqz^p\bar z^{q}zpzˉq under the scaling action v↦(Re z)v+(Im z)Jvv\mapsto (\mathrm{Re}\,z)v+(\mathrm{Im}\,z)Jvv↦(Rez)v+(Imz)Jv of z∈Cz\in\mathbb{C}z∈C. A Hodge class of degree 2p2p2p is a rational class of type (p,p)(p,p)(p,p).

Let g=2ng=2ng=2n and K=Q(−d)K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-d})K=Q(−d​) with d>0d>0d>0. A polarized abelian 2n2n2n-fold of Weil type is such an (A,E)(A,E)(A,E) together with a rational endomorphism M=η(−d)M=\eta(\sqrt{-d})M=η(−d​) of H1(A,Q)H_1(A,\mathbb{Q})H1​(A,Q) with

M2=−d,MJ=JM,E(Mx,My)=d E(x,y),M^2=-d,\qquad MJ=JM,\qquad E(Mx,My)=d\,E(x,y),M2=−d,MJ=JM,E(Mx,My)=dE(x,y),

the last condition saying that η(k)\eta(k)η(k) multiplies the polarization class by the norm Nm(k)\mathrm{Nm}(k)Nm(k), and such that each of the two eigenspaces W,W‾⊂H1(A,C)W,\overline{W}\subset H_1(A,\mathbb{C})W,W⊂H1​(A,C) of MMM meets the iii-eigenspace of JJJ in an nnn-dimensional subspace. The Hodge–Weil classes are the rational classes in

HW^  =  (∧2nW  ⊕  ∧2nW‾)∩H2n(A,Q),\widehat{HW}\;=\;\big(\wedge^{2n}W\;\oplus\;\wedge^{2n}\overline{W}\big)\cap H^{2n}(A,\mathbb{Q}),HW=(∧2nW⊕∧2nW)∩H2n(A,Q),

equivalently the rational degree-2n2n2n classes that vanish on every tuple of vectors containing both a vector of WWW and a vector of W‾\overline{W}W.

The form H(x,y)=E(Mx,y)+−d E(x,y)H(x,y)=E(Mx,y)+\sqrt{-d}\,E(x,y)H(x,y)=E(Mx,y)+−d​E(x,y) is KKK-valued and hermitian on H1(A,Q)H_1(A,\mathbb{Q})H1​(A,Q), viewed as a KKK-vector space through η\etaη. The determinant of its Gram matrix in a KKK-basis lies in Q×\mathbb{Q}^{\times}Q×, and its class in Q×/Nm(K×)\mathbb{Q}^{\times}/\mathrm{Nm}(K^{\times})Q×/Nm(K×) is the discriminant det⁡H\det HdetH of (A,η,h)(A,\eta,h)(A,η,h). Discriminant −1-1−1 means that this determinant equals −(a2+dc2)-(a^2+dc^2)−(a2+dc2) for some rationals a,ca,ca,c not both zero.

Algebraicity is not modelled abstractly. An abelian variety is tied to a genuine non-singular projective variety X⊆PNX\subseteq\mathbb{P}^NX⊆PN by a projective realization: a smooth, Z2g\mathbb{Z}^{2g}Z2g-periodic immersion u:R2g→Xu:\mathbb{R}^{2g}\to Xu:R2g→X, surjective onto XXX and injective modulo the lattice, whose differential intertwines JJJ with the complex structure of PN\mathbb{P}^NPN. A class w∈H2p(A,C)w\in H^{2p}(A,\mathbb{C})w∈H2p(A,C) is algebraic when some de Rham class of XXX whose periods over the 2p2p2p-cycles swept out by rational vectors λ1,…,λ2p\lambda_1,\dots,\lambda_{2p}λ1​,…,λ2p​ equal w(λ1,…,λ2p)w(\lambda_1,\dots,\lambda_{2p})w(λ1​,…,λ2p​) is a rational combination of cycle classes cl(Z)\mathrm{cl}(Z)cl(Z) of irreducible subvarieties Z⊆XZ\subseteq XZ⊆X of dimension g−pg-pg−p. Cycle classes, de Rham cohomology of a projective variety, (p,q)(p,q)(p,q)-types and Hodge classes are taken from the platform's HodgeConjecture bundle, which formalizes §1 of Deligne's Clay problem description.

Formalization targets

Goal — Theorem 1.5.1 of arXiv:2502.03415

For every d>0: the Hodge–Weil classes of a polarized abelian sixfold of Weil type with CM by Q(−d) and discriminant −1 are algebraic.\text{For every } d>0:\ \text{the Hodge–Weil classes of a polarized abelian sixfold of Weil type with CM by }\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-d})\text{ and discriminant }-1\text{ are algebraic.}For every d>0: the Hodge–Weil classes of a polarized abelian sixfold of Weil type with CM by Q(−d​) and discriminant −1 are algebraic.

The statement fixes neither the field KKK nor the sixfold: it quantifies over every d>0d>0d>0, every polarized abelian sixfold of Weil type of discriminant −1-1−1, and every projective realization of it.

Milestone — Weil's plane of Hodge–Weil classes (§1.1)

HW^ is a two-dimensional Q-space, and each of its elements has type (n,n).\widehat{HW}\ \text{is a two-dimensional }\mathbb{Q}\text{-space, and each of its elements has type }(n,n).HW is a two-dimensional Q-space, and each of its elements has type (n,n).

Milestone — Schoen's degeneration step (§1.6)

Goal for all sixfolds of discriminant −1 ⟹ Hodge–Weil classes of every abelian fourfold of Weil type are algebraic,\text{Goal for all sixfolds of discriminant }-1\ \Longrightarrow\ \text{Hodge–Weil classes of every abelian fourfold of Weil type are algebraic,}Goal for all sixfolds of discriminant −1 ⟹ Hodge–Weil classes of every abelian fourfold of Weil type are algebraic,

for every imaginary quadratic KKK and every discriminant; this is the use made of Schoen's Proposition 10 (Compositio Math. 114 (1998)) in the paper.

Milestone — Corollary 1.6.1

The Hodge conjecture holds for abelian fourfolds.\text{The Hodge conjecture holds for abelian fourfolds.}The Hodge conjecture holds for abelian fourfolds.

Milestone — Lefschetz (1,1)(1,1)(1,1)

Divisor classes: every Hodge class in H2H^2H2 of a non-singular projective variety is algebraic. This is an already published platform statement, imported here as a reference, since the reduction in Corollary 1.6.1 uses the algebraicity of divisor classes.

Significance

Weil classes are, by the results of Moonen–Zarhin (Duke Math. J. 77 (1995), Math. Ann. 315 (1999)), the only obstruction left in dimension four: for a simple abelian fourfold H2,2(A,Q)H^{2,2}(A,\mathbb{Q})H2,2(A,Q) is spanned by quadratic expressions in divisor classes and by Weil classes, and the non-simple cases reduce to products treated by Ramón Marí (Collect. Math. 59 (2008)) and Moonen–Zarhin. The goal theorem therefore closes the Hodge conjecture for abelian fourfolds, the first dimension in which the conjecture for abelian varieties was open.

Formalizing it produces, first, a reusable Lean model of polarized abelian varieties, of complex multiplication of Weil type, of the Hodge–Weil plane and of the discriminant, tied to an honest notion of algebraic cohomology class through projective realizations. None of these objects exists in Mathlib today. The result itself is proved in the source preprint and has no machine-checked proof; the milestones below are equally unformalized, including the classical statements of Weil and Schoen that the paper's Corollary depends on.

Difficulty

The naive attack — write down subvarieties whose classes span HW^\widehat{HW}HW — fails because Weil classes are not expressible through divisors: for a generic abelian variety of Weil type the Néron–Severi group is cyclic while Hn,n(A,Q)H^{n,n}(A,\mathbb{Q})Hn,n(A,Q) is three-dimensional, so no product of divisor classes reaches the Weil plane. The source constructs instead a reflexive sheaf E\mathcal{E}E on X×X^X\times\hat XX×X^, for XXX the Jacobian of a genus-333 curve, whose characteristic class κ(E)\kappa(\mathcal{E})κ(E) remains of Hodge type along all deformations of (X×X^,η,h)(X\times\hat X,\eta,h)(X×X^,η,h) as a polarized abelian sixfold of Weil type, and deforms the pair over that moduli space using a semiregularity theorem for twisted sheaves. Each of these steps — Orlov's derived equivalence, spinor geometry of the Mukai lattice, semiregularity — is itself missing from Mathlib, which is why the milestone list stays on the Hodge-theoretic side of the argument rather than transcribing the sheaf-theoretic core.

Formalization scope

Conventions the Lean development commits to:

  1. Complex tori are presented by (J,E)(J,E)(J,E) on R2g\mathbb{R}^{2g}R2g with the lattice Z2g\mathbb{Z}^{2g}Z2g; the polarization form is rational rather than integral, which is the isogeny-invariant form of the Riemann relations.
  2. Cohomology is the space of alternating multilinear forms on H1(A,C)H_1(A,\mathbb{C})H1​(A,C), i.e. invariant forms on the torus; a period over a lattice cube is used to compare it with the de Rham cohomology of a projective realization.
  3. The Weil condition is imposed symmetrically on both eigenspaces of η(−d)\eta(\sqrt{-d})η(−d​), so it does not depend on the choice of convention for H1,0H^{1,0}H1,0 versus H0,1H^{0,1}H0,1.
  4. Discriminant −1-1−1 is stated as the existence of a KKK-basis in which the Gram determinant of HHH is −Nm(k)-\mathrm{Nm}(k)−Nm(k); changing the basis multiplies the determinant by a norm, so the condition is basis-independent.
  5. Algebraicity always refers to cycle classes of subvarieties of an actual projective variety, in the sense of Deligne's formulation, never to an abstract subspace of "algebraic" classes; in particular the goal cannot be satisfied by exhibiting a formal object, and the hypotheses are satisfiable — abelian varieties of Weil type of discriminant −1-1−1 exist for every KKK, and abelian varieties admit projective realizations.

A complete development needs, beyond what is drafted here: the spin representation of the Mukai lattice of an abelian nnn-fold, pure spinors and KKK-secant lines, Orlov's equivalence, Atiyah classes and semiregularity for twisted sheaves. Contributions establishing any of these, or proving the Hodge-theoretic milestones, are welcome.

Selected references

  • E. Markman, Cycles on abelian 2n2n2n-folds of Weil type from secant sheaves on abelian nnn-folds, arXiv:2502.03415. https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.03415
  • A. Weil, Abelian varieties and the Hodge ring, Collected Papers III, Springer 1980, 421–429.
  • C. Schoen, Hodge classes on self-products of a variety with an automorphism, Compositio Math. 65 (1988), 3–32; Addendum, Compositio Math. 114 (1998), 329–336. https://eudml.org/doc/89880
  • B. van Geemen, An introduction to the Hodge conjecture for abelian varieties, Lecture Notes in Math. 1594, Springer 1994, 233–252. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0094425
  • K. Koike, Algebraicity of some Weil Hodge classes, Canad. Math. Bull. 47 (2004), 566–572. https://doi.org/10.4153/CMB-2004-055-3
  • B. Moonen, Y. Zarhin, Hodge classes and Tate classes on simple abelian fourfolds, Duke Math. J. 77 (1995), 553–581. https://doi.org/10.1215/S0012-7094-95-07717-5
  • B. Moonen, Y. Zarhin, Hodge classes on abelian varieties of low dimension, Math. Ann. 315 (1999), 711–733. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002080050333
  • J. Ramón Marí, On the Hodge conjecture for products of certain surfaces, Collect. Math. 59 (2008), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03191179
  • E. Markman, The monodromy of generalized Kummer varieties and algebraic cycles on their intermediate Jacobians, J. Eur. Math. Soc. 25 (2023), 231–321. https://doi.org/10.4171/JEMS/1199
  • P. Deligne, The Hodge conjecture, Clay Mathematics Institute Millennium Prize Problem description, 2000. https://www.claymath.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/hodge.pdf
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AlgebraOptimization·Captain: mikedeng1

A Sparse Version of Reznick’s Positivstellensatz: Under the Running Intersection Property, a Sparse Positive Definite Form Is a Sum of Sparse SOS Fractions with Uniform DenominatorsResearch Paper

Motivation

A polynomial that is positive away from the origin can be certified by writing it as a sum of squares after multiplication by a suitable power of the squared Euclidean norm. This is the uniform denominator theorem of Reznick (1995). In polynomial optimization, the size of a sum of squares certificate is governed by the number of variables in each square. A dense certificate can therefore lose the computational advantage of a polynomial whose terms involve only small groups of variables. Mai, Magron and Lasserre establish a version of Reznick’s result in which every numerator retains its own variable block. The question addressed here is the exact algebraic statement of that certificate, including its denominators and degree bounds.

Setting

A form of degree 2d2d2d is a homogeneous polynomial fff in real variables x1,…,xnx_1,\ldots,x_nx1​,…,xn​; it is positive definite when f(x)>0f(x)>0f(x)>0 for every x≠0x\ne0x=0. The variables are covered by nonempty blocks I1,…,IpI_1,\ldots,I_pI1​,…,Ip​, with p≥2p\ge2p≥2. Write x(Il)x(I_l)x(Il​) for the coordinates in block IlI_lIl​ and ∥x(T)∥22=∑i∈Txi2\|x(T)\|_2^2=\sum_{i\in T}x_i^2∥x(T)∥22​=∑i∈T​xi2​ for any coordinate set TTT. A sparse form has a decomposition f=∑lflf=\sum_l f_lf=∑l​fl​, where each flf_lfl​ is a degree-2d2d2d form in x(Il)x(I_l)x(Il​). Individual flf_lfl​ need not be positive.

The running intersection property assigns every block l>1l>1l>1 an earlier parent sl<ls_l<lsl​<l. Its overlap with preceding blocks, I^l=Il∩⋃j<lIj\widehat I_l=I_l\cap\bigcup_{j<l}I_jIl​=Il​∩⋃j<l​Ij​, must be contained in IslI_{s_l}Isl​​. This condition lets the certificate keep each numerator in one block. The paper defines a polynomial Φl\Phi_lΦl​ by multiplying squared norms of I^l\widehat I_lIl​ (except at the first block) and of later overlaps whose parent is lll. It then sets Hl=∥x(Il)∥22ΦlH_l=\|x(I_l)\|_2^2\Phi_lHl​=∥x(Il​)∥22​Φl​. The set Σ[x(Il)]t\Sigma[x(I_l)]_tΣ[x(Il​)]t​ consists of finite sums of squares of polynomials in the variables x(Il)x(I_l)x(Il​) with total degree at most 2t2t2t.

A second class of objects appears in the supporting results. A continuous rational form is a continuous, homogeneous function represented by a quotient of polynomials wherever the denominator is nonzero. It is positive definite on a block when it is positive wherever the coordinates of that block are not all zero. This block condition is weaker than positivity at every nonzero point of the full ambient space, since the form ignores coordinates outside its block.

Formalization targets

Sparse positive definite forms

The goal is Corollary 2.1 of the pinned preprint. For a positive definite form f=∑l=1pflf=\sum_{l=1}^p f_lf=∑l=1p​fl​ of degree 2d2d2d, with d>0d>0d>0 and each flf_lfl​ supported on IlI_lIl​, it asserts the existence of a single k∈Nk\in\mathbb Nk∈N and blockwise sums of squares σl\sigma_lσl​ such that

f=∑l=1pσlHlk,σl∈Σ[x(Il)]d+k(1+deg⁡(Φl)/2).f=\sum_{l=1}^p\frac{\sigma_l}{H_l^k}, \qquad \sigma_l\in\Sigma[x(I_l)]_{d+k(1+\deg(\Phi_l)/2)}.f=l=1∑p​Hlk​σl​​,σl​∈Σ[x(Il​)]d+k(1+deg(Φl​)/2)​.

This is an identity of rational functions, evaluated where its denominators are nonzero. The degree index is part of the target: leaving it free would discard the quantitative certificate. In the formal statement, every overlap I^l\widehat I_lIl​ with l>1l>1l>1 is assumed nonempty so that the printed HlH_lHl​ is a nonzero polynomial.

Rational-form generalization

Theorem 2.1 is the last milestone. It begins with a positive definite rational form f=∑lpl/∥x(Il)∥22klf=\sum_l p_l/\|x(I_l)\|_2^{2k_l}f=∑l​pl​/∥x(Il​)∥22kl​​, in which plp_lpl​ is homogeneous of degree 2(d+kl)2(d+k_l)2(d+kl​), and yields the same blockwise degree bound with a common exponent kkk. The polynomial goal follows by taking every kl=0k_l=0kl​=0. Earlier milestones state the paper’s continuity, approximation, block-splitting, and uniform denominator results.

Significance

The result supplies a certificate whose numerator for block IlI_lIl​ uses only variables in that block. That is the structural property needed when a polynomial optimization problem is represented by smaller semidefinite constraints instead of one dense constraint. The running intersection hypothesis is explicit, so the theorem also records when that sparsity claim applies. The common exponent and exact bound on each numerator make the certificate suitable for a hierarchy indexed by degree, as described in the source paper.

The 2020 preprint proves these mathematical results; this mission asks for machine-checked proofs of the statements in Lean. The definitions of sparse sums of squares, rational forms on blocks, and running intersection data are reusable in other polynomial optimization formalizations. No proof of the target is claimed by the draft statements themselves.

Difficulty

A dense Reznick certificate does not identify numerators in individual blocks. Even if the sum fff is positive definite, a summand flf_lfl​ can be negative, so a separate application of a positivity theorem to each flf_lfl​ cannot establish the target. The supporting statements must express how positivity is recovered on each block while preserving both the rational representation and variable support. The denominator factors also overlap: their degree contribution depends on the parent map sls_lsl​, so the final bound must track each factor rather than only a global degree.

Formalization scope

Lean uses MvPolynomial (Fin n) ℝ, with blocks as finite sets of coordinate indices and a zero-based Fin p block index. The paper’s first block is index zero in Lean. The standing condition n>0n>0n>0 from page 3 is explicit in supporting lemmas that do not assume the running intersection property; that property already implies it for the other results. Its squared Euclidean norm is the polynomial ∑i∈TXi2\sum_{i\in T}X_i^2∑i∈T​Xi2​; the function norm on Fin n → ℝ is not used for this purpose. A sparse sum of squares is represented explicitly as a finite sum of squares whose bases lie in Mathlib’s supported subalgebra. The paper’s deg⁡(Φl)\deg(\Phi_l)deg(Φl​) is encoded by its combinatorial formula, which is even under the nonempty-overlap assumption. Lemma 3.3 requires the approximating polynomials to have exact total degree 2k2k2k, as printed.

The printed formulas divide by Φl\Phi_lΦl​, although the stated running intersection property allows an empty overlap and then makes that polynomial zero. The goal and Theorem 2.1 add nonempty overlaps for later blocks; Lemma 3.6 similarly requires every denominator block to be nonempty. Lemma 3.5 adds d>0d>0d>0, used by its cited continuity result. These are disclosed restrictions to the printed statements, rather than conclusions hidden in definitions. Rational identities are pointwise on the set where every displayed denominator is nonzero; at a zero denominator, Lean’s total division returns zero. The quotient q/∥x(T)∥22kq/\|x(T)\|_2^{2k}q/∥x(T)∥22k​ in the continuity lemma takes that zero value at the origin.

The supporting statements retain the restriction that every σl\sigma_lσl​ is a sum of squares in x(Il)x(I_l)x(Il​), the fixed degree bound, and positivity on each block’s own nonzero inputs. The nonempty-overlap conditions ensure the rational identity has points where all denominators are nonzero. Work on the algebraic preordering and real spectrum, homogeneous polynomial approximation, continuous rational forms, and degree control is within scope. The paper’s other main result, its sparse Putinar–Vasilescu certificate, is a separate target and is not stated here.

Selected references

  • N. H. A. Mai, V. Magron and J.-B. Lasserre, A Sparse Version of Reznick’s Positivstellensatz, arXiv:2002.05101v2, 2020. https://arxiv.org/abs/2002.05101
  • B. Reznick, Uniform denominators in Hilbert’s seventeenth problem, Mathematische Zeitschrift 220, 1995, 75–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02572604
  • M. Schweighofer, Iterated rings of bounded elements and generalizations of Schmüdgen’s Positivstellensatz, Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik 554, 2003, 19–45. https://doi.org/10.1515/crll.2003.004
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CombinatoricsDiscrete Geometry·Captain: mikedeng1

On the Number of Incidences Between Points and Planes in Three Dimensions: m Points and n ≤ m Planes in P³ (char ≠ 2, n = O(p²)) Have O(m√n + km) Incidences, k the Maximum Number of Collinear PlanesResearch Paper

Motivation

Incidence bounds count how often points can lie on lines, planes or other simple objects. Over the reals the model result is the Szemerédi–Trotter theorem for points and lines in the plane (Szemerédi–Trotter 1983). Its proofs use the order or topology of R\mathbb RR (cuttings, crossing numbers, polynomial partitioning), so they say nothing over finite fields or fields of positive characteristic. These are the settings that matter for the sum–product problem in Fp\mathbb F_pFp​ and for the finite-field versions of Erdős-type distance problems, where the absence of an incidence theorem was long the bottleneck.

M. Rudnev, On the number of incidences between points and planes in three dimensions (Combinatorica 38 (2018), doi:10.1007/s00493-016-3329-6), proves a point–plane incidence bound in P3\mathbb P^3P3 valid over every field of characteristic ≠2\neq2=2, with a constraint only in terms of the characteristic. It became the standard tool for sum–product estimates in positive characteristic: for example, Roche-Newton, Rudnev and Shkredov and Stevens and de Zeeuw build their bounds on it.

Timeline:

  • 2010: Guth and Katz settle the Erdős distinct-distances problem in R2\mathbb R^2R2 via a bound on line–line incidences in R3\mathbb R^3R3 (arXiv:1011.4105). The part of their argument that uses no ordering of R\mathbb RR rests on the Cayley–Salmon–Monge theorem on ruled surfaces.
  • 2014: Kollár carries the Guth–Katz line–line bound over to arbitrary fields under the constraint n=O(p2)n=O(p^2)n=O(p2) (arXiv:1405.2243).
  • 2014–2015: Rudnev (arXiv:1407.0426, versions v1–v5) reduces point–plane incidences in P3\mathbb P^3P3 to line–line incidences on a three-dimensional quadric in P5\mathbb P^5P5, and proves the line–line bound there.
  • 2016: de Zeeuw gives a shorter proof of the same bound, using the Guth–Katz–Kollár line theorem in P3\mathbb P^3P3 (arXiv:1612.02719).

Setting

Let F\mathbb FF be a field and P3\mathbb P^3P3 the projective three-space over F\mathbb FF. A point q=(q0:q1:q2:q3)q=(q_0:q_1:q_2:q_3)q=(q0​:q1​:q2​:q3​) and a plane π=(π0:π1:π2:π3)\pi=(\pi_0:\pi_1:\pi_2:\pi_3)π=(π0​:π1​:π2​:π3​) are both nonzero vectors of F4\mathbb F^4F4 up to scaling. The point lies on the plane, q∈πq\in\piq∈π, when q0π0+q1π1+q2π2+q3π3=0q_0\pi_0+q_1\pi_1+q_2\pi_2+q_3\pi_3=0q0​π0​+q1​π1​+q2​π2​+q3​π3​=0. A line of P3\mathbb P^3P3 is a 2-dimensional subspace of F4\mathbb F^4F4. For finite sets PPP of mmm points and Π\PiΠ of nnn planes, the incidence count is

∣I(P,Π)∣=#{(q,π)∈P×Π: q∈π}.|I(P,\Pi)|=\#\{(q,\pi)\in P\times\Pi:\ q\in\pi\}.∣I(P,Π)∣=#{(q,π)∈P×Π: q∈π}.

The collinearity parameter kkk is the largest number of planes of Π\PiΠ that contain a common line.

The proof works in the space of lines of P3\mathbb P^3P3. The line through qqq and uuu has Plücker vector L=(P01:P02:P03:P23:P31:P12)∈P5L=(P_{01}:P_{02}:P_{03}:P_{23}:P_{31}:P_{12})\in\mathbb P^5L=(P01​:P02​:P03​:P23​:P31​:P12​)∈P5, Pij=qiuj−qjuiP_{ij}=q_iu_j-q_ju_iPij​=qi​uj​−qj​ui​. These vectors fill the Klein quadric K={P01P23+P02P31+P03P12=0}\mathcal K=\{P_{01}P_{23}+P_{02}P_{31}+P_{03}P_{12}=0\}K={P01​P23​+P02​P31​+P03​P12​=0}. A point qqq defines its α-plane (the lines through qqq) and a plane π\piπ its β-plane (the lines in π\piπ), both projective planes inside K\mathcal KK. Cutting K\mathcal KK with a hyperplane SSS that is not tangent to it gives a three-quadric G=K∩S⊂S≅P4\mathcal G=\mathcal K\cap S\subset S\cong\mathbb P^4G=K∩S⊂S≅P4, and every α- and β-plane meets G\mathcal GG in a line.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 3

There are absolute constants c,C>0c,C>0c,C>0 such that for every field F\mathbb FF of characteristic ≠2\neq2=2, every set PPP of mmm points and every set Π\PiΠ of n≤mn\le mn≤m planes in P3\mathbb P^3P3, with n≤cp2n\le cp^2n≤cp2 when F\mathbb FF has positive characteristic ppp,

∣I(P,Π)∣≤C(mn+km).|I(P,\Pi)|\le C\big(m\sqrt n+km\big).∣I(P,Π)∣≤C(mn​+km).

In characteristic 000 there is no constraint on nnn.

Milestones

The proof decomposes as: point–plane incidences in P3\mathbb P^3P3 equal line–line incidences between two families of mutually skew lines in G\mathcal GG (Lemma 9), and those are bounded by

∣I(Lα,Lβ)∣≤C(mn+km)(Theorem 12),|I(L_\alpha,L_\beta)|\le C\big(m\sqrt n+km\big)\qquad(\text{Theorem 12}),∣I(Lα​,Lβ​)∣≤C(mn​+km)(Theorem 12),

where kkk now counts lines of LβL_\betaLβ​ in a three-dimensional section of G\mathcal GG. The supporting milestones are: the incidence criterion (9) for Plücker vectors, the intersection pattern of α- and β-planes, Lemma 6 on sections of G\mathcal GG, the generic projection from P4\mathbb P^4P4 to P3\mathbb P^3P3, the existence of a low-degree vanishing polynomial, the bound of ddd zeros on a line, and Salmon's theorem (Theorem 2) on surfaces with many lines.

Significance

Theorem 3 gives the incidence bound O(mn+km)O(m\sqrt n+km)O(mn​+km) with no assumption on the field beyond characteristic. The paper shows that its main term is sharp in positive characteristic under the constraint min⁡(m,n)=O(p2)\min(m,n)=O(p^2)min(m,n)=O(p2) alone (Remark 4), and that the bound is tight for n=mn=mn=m, k=mk=\sqrt mk=m​ (§6.2). It yields the paper's applications (distinct bilinear products of a planar point set over Fp\mathbb F_pFp​, and a pinned Erdős distance bound in positive characteristic), and it is the incidence input to sum–product estimates over Fp\mathbb F_pFp​ such as ∣AA∣+∣A+A∣≫∣A∣6/5|AA|+|A+A|\gg|A|^{6/5}∣AA∣+∣A+A∣≫∣A∣6/5.

The theorem is proved and published; it is not open. As far as is known, neither it nor its ingredients (the Klein correspondence in Plücker coordinates, the Guth–Katz polynomial argument over an arbitrary field, Salmon's theorem) has a machine-checked proof. This mission's statements give a formal target for the whole chain. Several milestones (the Plücker incidence criterion, the vanishing polynomial, zeros on a line, the generic projection) are standard facts of projective geometry over arbitrary fields that are useful well beyond this paper.

Difficulty

The obvious route, cell decomposition by polynomial partitioning as over R\mathbb RR, fails over a general field: there is no ordering, so no cells. The Guth–Katz algebraic argument survives, but in P3\mathbb P^3P3 it needs the hypothesis that few lines are concurrent, which point–plane arrangements violate. Rudnev's way out is to move the problem into the three-quadric G\mathcal GG. There the two line families are skew within themselves, and the collinearity parameter kkk becomes a count of lines in a three-dimensional section of G\mathcal GG.

The hard step is Theorem 12. It needs the polynomial method over an arbitrary field together with Salmon's theorem on flecnodal surfaces. That theorem holds in characteristic ppp only for degree d<pd<pd<p, which is the source of the constraint n=O(p2)n=O(p^2)n=O(p2). It also needs a structure theory of ruled surfaces to rule out many incidences inside non-quadric ruled components. Salmon's theorem alone has no formal proof anywhere.

Formalization scope

Points and planes of P3\mathbb P^3P3 are elements of Mathlib's ℙ F (Fin 4 → F). Finite sets of them are Finsets of projective classes, so they contain distinct points and planes. Incidence is Projectivization.orthogonal. Lines of P3\mathbb P^3P3, P4\mathbb P^4P4 and P5\mathbb P^5P5 are 2-dimensional subspaces. Two lines meet when their intersection is a nonzero subspace, and they are skew when it is zero. Plücker vectors are indexed in the order (P01,P02,P03,P23,P31,P12)(P_{01},P_{02},P_{03},P_{23},P_{31},P_{12})(P01​,P02​,P03​,P23​,P31​,P12​). A hyperplane SSS of P5\mathbb P^5P5 is given by its covector (u:w)(\boldsymbol u:\boldsymbol w)(u:w), and "not tangent to K\mathcal KK" is u⋅w≠0\boldsymbol u\cdot\boldsymbol w\neq0u⋅w=0. A three-subspace of SSS is a 4-dimensional subspace of SSS.

Committed conventions:

  • The constants ccc and CCC of Theorems 3 and 12 are quantified before the field and the configuration, because the paper declares O(⋅)O(\cdot)O(⋅) and ccc absolute (p. 1).
  • "n=O(p2)n=O(p^2)n=O(p2)" is read as n≤cp2n\le cp^2n≤cp2 for an existential absolute c>0c>0c>0. It applies only in positive characteristic.
  • kkk is any upper bound on the relevant count, which is equivalent to the maximum because the bound is monotone in kkk.
  • The field ranges over Type. Bounds are stated in R\mathbb RR, and Salmon's threshold d(11d−24)d(11d-24)d(11d−24) is computed in Z\mathbb ZZ.
  • "Ruled" means that every point of the surface lies on a line contained in it.
  • Lemma 6 carries the hypothesis S1≠S2S_1\neq S_2S1​=S2​, without which it is false.

Trivializing formalizations are excluded:

  • the constants may not depend on the field, the characteristic or kkk;
  • the characteristic constraint is not imposed in characteristic 000, where it would force n=0n=0n=0;
  • kkk is not a junk supremum over the infinitely many lines;
  • vector Finsets that would count one point twice are not used;
  • Theorem 12 is about lines in G⊂P4\mathcal G\subset\mathbb P^4G⊂P4, not lines in P3\mathbb P^3P3 (that would be the Guth–Katz theorem, with different hypotheses).

A complete development needs Plücker coordinates and the Klein correspondence over arbitrary fields, homogeneous polynomials on P3\mathbb P^3P3 and their zero sets, irreducible factorization, Salmon's theorem, and the Guth–Katz induction. Lemma 8 of the paper (generators of ruled surfaces as curves in K\mathcal KK) is not posed. Proofs of any milestone are welcome, as are proofs of the projective-geometry milestones as standalone Mathlib-style lemmas.

Selected references

  • M. Rudnev, On the number of incidences between points and planes in three dimensions, Combinatorica 38 (2018); arXiv:1407.0426v5 (the version formalized). https://arxiv.org/abs/1407.0426
  • L. Guth, N. H. Katz, On the Erdős distinct distances problem in the plane, Ann. of Math. 181 (2015) 155–190. https://arxiv.org/abs/1011.4105
  • J. Kollár, Szemerédi–Trotter-type theorems in dimension 3, Adv. Math. 271 (2015) 30–61. https://arxiv.org/abs/1405.2243
  • J. F. Voloch, Surfaces in P3\mathbb P^3P3 over finite fields, Contemp. Math. 324 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1090/conm/324
  • F. de Zeeuw, A short proof of Rudnev's point-plane incidence bound, arXiv:1612.02719 (2016). https://arxiv.org/abs/1612.02719
  • E. Szemerédi, W. T. Trotter, Extremal problems in discrete geometry, Combinatorica 3 (1983) 381–392. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02579194
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