Vela Mathematics Program: problems

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declared open · formalizederdos:12

A \subset \mathbb{N}

be infinite with no distinct

a, b, c \in A

such that

a \mid (b + c)

with

b, c > a

. Can

|A \cap [1, N]|/\sqrt{N}

have positive lower limit? Must every such

A

fall below

N^{1-c}

infinitely often?

number theoryN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:130

For an infinite planar set in strong general position, how large can the chromatic and clique numbers of its positive-integer-distance graph be - in particular, can the chromatic number be infinite? Yes: there is such a set, no three collinear and no four concyclic, with infinite chromatic number.

graph theorychromatic numberN/A4 sources

declared open · formalized · $500erdos:138

W(k)

is the least

N

such that every two-colouring of

\{1, \dots, N\}

contains a monochromatic

k

-term arithmetic progression, must

W(k+1) - W(k) \to \infty

additive combinatoricsA0053464 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:254

A \subseteq \mathbb{N}

has unbounded dyadic-shell counts and

\sum_{n \in A} \|\theta n\| = \infty

for every

0 < \theta < 1

, must

A

be complete - is every sufficiently large integer a sum of distinct elements of

A

number theoryN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:267

n_1 < n_2 < \cdots

with

n_{k+1}/n_k \ge c > 1

, must

\sum_k 1/F_{n_k}

be irrational? The proposed proof closes the range

1 < c < 2

left open by earlier criteria.

irrationalityN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:306

a/b \in \mathbb{Q}_{>0}

and

b

is squarefree, can

a/b

always be written as a finite sum of reciprocals of distinct products of two distinct primes?

number theoryunit fractionsN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:326

Does there exist

A=\{a_1<a_2<\cdots\}\subset \mathbb{N}

which is a minimal basis of order

2

(every large integer is the sum of

2

elements from

A

, and no proper subset of

A

has this property) such that

\lim_{k\to \infty}a_k/k^2=c

for some

c\neq 0

? A claimed construction gives a minimal basis with

A(x)=C\sqrt{x}+O(1)

, answering the question affirmatively; Erdős and Graham had conjectured a negative answer.

number theoryadditive basisN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:346

Let

A=\{1\leq a_1< a_2<\cdots\}

be a set of integers such that

A\backslash B

is complete for any finite subset

B

and not complete for any infinite subset

B

. If

a_{n+1}/a_n \geq 1+\epsilon

for all

n

, must

\lim_n a_{n+1}/a_n=(1+\sqrt{5})/2

? Under the reading where the ratio limit is assumed to exist, a Lean-verified argument forces the limit to be the golden ratio; a separate construction disproves the literal statement where convergence is not assumed.

number theorycomplete sequencesN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:390

Let

f(n)

be the least

m

for which

n!

can be written as

a_1\cdots a_k

with

n < a_1 < \cdots < a_k = m

- the smallest possible largest factor in a factorization of

n!

into distinct integers all exceeding

n

. Erdős, Guy and Selfridge proved

f(n) - 2n \asymp n/\log n

. Erdős asked whether there is a constant

c

with

f(n) - 2n \sim c\,\frac{n}{\log n},

and what it is. This preprint answers yes and names the constant:

\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{(f(n)-2n)\log n}{n} = \frac{4029639598}{25970038185} \approx 0.15516.

number theoryfactorialsA1934294 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:394

For the least

t_k(n)

with

n \mid t_k(n)(t_k(n)+1)\cdots(t_k(n)+k-1)

, do the conjectured logarithmic-saving and adjacent-length estimates hold on average? Both answered affirmatively, with

c = 1/2048

admissible in the

t_2

bound.

number theoryA3440054 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:424

Let

a_1 = 2

and

a_2 = 3

and continue the sequence by appending to

a_1, \dots, a_n

all possible values of

a_ia_j - 1

with

i \ne j

. Is it true that the set of integers which eventually appear has positive density?

number theoryA0052444 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:450

How large must

y(\varepsilon, n)

be so that every interval

(x, x+y)

contains at most

\varepsilon y

integers having a divisor in

(n, 2n)

? The candidate proof gives the sharp fixed-

\varepsilon

order

y = \Theta_\varepsilon(n)

, uniformly in the translate.

number theorydivisorsN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:477

Does there exist an integer polynomial

f

of degree at least two and a set

A \subseteq \mathbb{Z}

such that every integer has a unique representation

n = a + f(k)

? A manuscript claims the thirteenth powers admit a tiling complement.

number theoryN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:489

A

is a forbidden-divisor set with

|A \cap [1,x]| = o(\sqrt{x})

and

B = \{b_1 < b_2 < \cdots\}

the sifted set, must

x^{-1} \sum_{b_i < x} (b_{i+1} - b_i)^2

converge to a finite limit?

number theoryN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:501

For every

x \in \mathbb{R}

let

A_x \subset \mathbb{R}

be a bounded set of Lebesgue outer measure

< 1

. Must there be an infinite independent set, that is an infinite

X \subseteq \mathbb{R}

with

x \notin A_y

for all distinct

x, y \in X

? Erdős and Hajnal proved that arbitrarily large finite independent sets exist. Hechler showed in 1972 that the answer is no under the continuum hypothesis, so any positive answer had to come from a model where CH fails, and Sungchul Lee later derived one from a real-valued measurable cardinal. The answer is that neither side is provable. Dropping Lee's large cardinal by transferring his argument to the extension of a model of CH by random reals gives a model where the answer is yes; Hechler's construction gives one where it is no. The question is independent of ZFC.

combinatoricsset theoryN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:522

For

P_n(z) = \sum_{k=0}^n \varepsilon_k z^k

with independent uniform signs, does the number

R_n

of roots in

|z| \le 1

satisfy

R_n/(n/2) \to 1

almost surely? The manuscript proves the strong law with

R_n = n/2 + O_\omega(n^{149/150})

analysispolynomialsprobabilityN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:538

If each integer has at most

r

representations

m = pa

with

p

prime and

a \in A \subseteq [1, N]

, what is the best upper bound for

\sum_{a \in A} 1/a

? The candidate proof gives the matching order

\Theta_r(\log N / \log\log N)

number theoryN/A5 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:539

For

|A| = n

, how small can the cofactor set

Q(A) = \{a / \gcd(a,b) : a, b \in A\}

be? The answer is

h(n) = n^{1/2 + o(1)}

: a new upper bound

h(n) \le n^{1/2} \exp(O(\sqrt{\log n}))

matches the classical lower bound.

number theorypossible5 sources

declared open · formalized · $500erdos:593

Which finite triple systems occur in every triple system of uncountable chromatic number? The claimed characterization: exactly those that, after removing isolated vertices, are linear, have every hyperedge-node of their Levi graph meeting a bridge, and have every Berge cycle even.

set theorygraph theoryhypergraphsN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:623

Let

X

be a set of cardinality

\aleph_\omega

and

f

a function from the finite subsets of

X

X

such that

f(A)\not\in A

for all

A

. Must there exist an infinite independent

Y\subseteq X

, i.e. with

f(B)\not\in Y

for all finite

B\subset Y

? Claimed resolution: the positive assertion is equivalent to Koepke's free-subset property, hence independent of ZFC, with consistency strength exactly a measurable cardinal.

set theoryN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:769

For the least cutoff

c(n)

after which every

k

occurs as the number of homothetic cubes in a decomposition of the unit

n

-cube, is

c(n) \gg n^n

? The Lean proof shows

c(n) = o(n^n)

along odd dimensions.

number theorygeometryA014544 · possible4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:796

g_3(n)

is the largest size of

A \subseteq [1,n]

with fewer than three representations of every product

a_1 a_2

, does its conjectured second-order normalized term converge? The candidate proof gives an explicit limit constant.

number theorypossible5 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:906

Is there an entire non-zero function

f:\mathbb{C}\to \mathbb{C}

such that, for any infinite sequence

n_1<n_2<\cdots

, the set

\{ z: f^{(n_k)}(z)=0 \textrm{ for some }k\geq 1\}

is everywhere dense? The literal question is trivial for polynomials, so the claims address the transcendental entire case, in the affirmative.

analysisiterated functionsN/A5 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:942

Let

h(n)

count powerful integers in

[n^2, (n+1)^2)

. What is the extremal order of

h(n)

number theorypossible4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:959

How large can the difference between the largest and second-largest distance multiplicities be among

n

planar points?

geometrydistancesN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:996

Let

n_1<n_2<\cdots

be a lacunary sequence of integers and

f\in L^2([0,1])

with

n

th Fourier partial sum

f_n

. Is there an absolute constant

C>0

such that if

\| f-f_n\|_2 \ll (\log\log\log n)^{-C}

then

\frac{1}{N}\sum_{k\leq N}f(\{\alpha n_k\})\to\int_0^1 f

for almost every

\alpha

? A preprint answers this negatively via a dyadic spike-block counterexample.

analysisN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:1038

Among all nonconstant monic polynomials

f

whose roots lie in

[-1, 1]

, determine

\inf_f |\{x \in \mathbb{R} : |f(x)| < 1\}|

analysisN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:1061

Let

S(x)

count ordered pairs

(a,b)

with

a+b \le x

and

\sigma(a)+\sigma(b) = \sigma(a+b)

. Erdos asked whether

S(x) \sim cx

. The opposite extreme holds: for every

R > 0

S(x)/(x(\log x)^R) \to \infty

, so the count beats every fixed logarithmic scale.

number theoryA110177 · possible4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:1101

Does there exist a good pairwise-coprime sequence

u_n

with

\sum 1/u_n < \infty

and polynomial growth? What if one only requires

u_n \le e^{o(n)}

number theoryN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:1133

Must every sufficiently large node set admit bounded labels that force any polynomial fitting almost all labels at degree below

(1+\varepsilon)n

to have arbitrarily large uniform norm? Claimed via Beurling density for Bernstein spaces.

analysispolynomialsN/A4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:1188

Estimate the number

F(x)

of minimal distinct covering systems whose moduli all lie in

[1, x]

. The candidate proof gives

\log\log F(x)/\log x \to 1

, i.e.

F(x) = \exp(x^{1+o(1)})

number theorycovering systemspossible4 sources

declared open · formalizederdos:1201

Is it true that for every

\epsilon,\eta>0

there exists a

k

such that the density of

n

for which

P(n(n+1)\cdots(n+k))>n^{1-\epsilon}

is at least

1-\eta

, where

P(m)

is the greatest prime divisor of

m

? A short argument via the Matomäki-Radziwiłł theorem establishes the lower-density version.

number theoryprimespossible4 sources

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