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Unanswered Questions

7,519 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
138 votes
0 answers
13k views

Grothendieck-Teichmüller conjecture

(1) In "Esquisse d'un programme", Grothendieck conjectures Grothendieck-Teichmüller conjecture: the morphism $$ G_{\mathbb{Q}} \longrightarrow Aut(\widehat{T}) $$ is an isomorphism. Here $...
78 votes
0 answers
3k views

The exponent of Ш of $y^2 = x^3 + px$, where $p$ is a Fermat prime

For $d$ a non-zero integer, let $E_d$ be the elliptic curve $$ E_d : y^2 = x^3+dx. $$ When we let $d$ be $p = 2^{2^k}+1$, for $k \in \{1,2,3,4\}$, sage tells us that, conditionally on BSD, $$ \# Ш(E_p)...
67 votes
0 answers
3k views

Constructing non-torsion rational points (over $\mathbb{Q}$) on elliptic curves of rank $>1$

Consider an elliptic curve $E$ defined over $\mathbb Q$. Assume that the rank of $E(\mathbb Q)$ is $\geq2$. (Assume the Birch-Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture if needed, so that analytic rank $=$ algebraic ...
58 votes
0 answers
4k views

Grothendieck's Period Conjecture and the missing p-adic Hodge Theories

Singular cohomology and algebraic de Rham cohomology are both functors from the category of smooth projective algebraic varieties over $\mathbb Q$ to $\mathbb Q$-vectors spaces. They come with the ...
55 votes
0 answers
3k views

On the first sequence without triple in arithmetic progression

In this Numberphile video (from 3:36 to 7:41), Neil Sloane explains an amazing sequence: It is the lexicographically first among the sequences of positive integers without triple in arithmetic ...
51 votes
0 answers
2k views

Does every triangle-free graph with maximum degree at most 6 have a 5-colouring?

A very specific case of Reed's Conjecture Reed's $\omega$,$\Delta$, $\chi$ conjecture proposes that every graph has $\chi \leq \lceil \tfrac 12(\Delta+1+\omega)\rceil$. Here $\chi$ is the chromatic ...
45 votes
0 answers
3k views

A = B (but not quite); 3-d arrays with multiple recurrences

Many years ago, I discovered the remarkable array (apparently originally discovered by Ramanujan) 1 1 3 2 10 15 6 40 105 105 24 196 700 1260 945 ...
43 votes
0 answers
1k views

Can a regular icosahedron contain a rational point on each face?

The title says it all: Is there a (regular) icosahedron containing a rational point on each of its faces? For other Platonic solids, the affirmative answer is easy. Indeed, regular tetrahedra, cubes, ...
41 votes
0 answers
1k views

Is there anything to the obvious analogy between Joyal's combinatorial species and Goodwillie calculus?

Combinatorial species and calculus of functors both take the viewpoint that many interesting functors can be expanded in a kind of Taylor series. Many operations familiar from actual calculus can be ...
41 votes
0 answers
2k views

What does the theta divisor of a number field know about its arithmetic?

This question is about a remark made by van der Geer and Schoof in their beautiful article "Effectivity of Arakelov divisors and the theta divisor of a number field" (from '98) (link). Let ...
40 votes
1 answer
5k views

A generalisation of the equation $n = ab + ac + bc$

In a result I am currently studying (completely unrelated to number theory), I had to examine the solvability of the equation $n = ab+ac+bc$ where $n,a,b,c$ are positive integers $0 < a < b < ...
36 votes
0 answers
2k views

3-colorings of the unit distance graph of $\Bbb R^3$

Let $\Gamma$ be the unit distance graph of $\Bbb R^3$: points $(x,y)$ form an edge if $|x,y|=1$. Let $(A,B,C,D)$ be a unit side rhombus in the plane, with a transcendental diagonal, e.g. $A = (\alpha,...
35 votes
0 answers
949 views

Orthogonal vectors with entries from $\{-1,0,1\}$

Let $\mathbf{1}$ be the all-ones vector, and suppose $\mathbf{1}, \mathbf{v_1}, \mathbf{v_2}, \ldots, \mathbf{v_{n-1}} \in \{-1,0,1\}^n$ are mutually orthogonal non-zero vectors. Does it follow that $...
35 votes
0 answers
1k views

Is there a rigid analytic geometry proof of the functional equation for the Riemann zeta function?

The adèles $\mathbb A$ arise naturally when considering the Berkovich space $\mathcal M(\mathbb Z)$ of the integers. Namely, they are the stalk $\mathbb A = (j_\ast j^{-1} \mathcal O_\mathbb Z)_p$ ...
34 votes
0 answers
1k views

Is there any positive integer sequence $c_{n+1}=\frac{c_n(c_n+n+d)}n$?

In a recent answer Max Alekseyev provided two recurrences of the form mentioned in the title which stay integer for a long time. However, they eventually fail. QUESTION Is there any (added: ...
33 votes
0 answers
2k views

Defining $\mathbb{Z}$ in $\mathbb{Q}$

It was proved by Poonen that $\mathbb{Z}$ is definable in the structure $(\mathbb{Q}, +, \cdot, 0, 1)$ using $\forall \exists$ formula. Koenigsmann has shown that $\mathbb{Z}$ is in fact definable by ...
32 votes
0 answers
1k views

Cubic function $\mathbb{Z}^2 \to \mathbb{Z}$ cannot be injective

It is easy to show, with an explicit construction, that a homogeneous cubic function $f: \mathbb{Z}^2 \to \mathbb{Z}$ is not injective. I am seeking a proof of the same result without the condition ...
32 votes
0 answers
2k views

The easily bored sequence

If we want to compare the repetitiveness of two finite words, it looks reasonable, first of all, to consider more repetitive the word repeating more times one of its factors, and secondarily to ...
32 votes
0 answers
3k views

Vertex coloring inherited from perfect matchings (motivated by quantum physics)

Added (19.01.2021): Dustin Mixon wrote a blog post about the question where he reformulated and generalized the question. Added (25.12.2020): I made a youtube video to explain the question in detail. ...
32 votes
0 answers
1k views

Minimal number of intersections in a convex $n$-gon?

For a convex polygon $P$, draw all the diagonals of $P$ and consider the intersection points made by those diagonals. Let $f(n)$ be the minimal number of such intersections where $P$ ranges over all ...
32 votes
0 answers
2k views

Peano Arithmetic and the Field of Rationals

In 1949 Julia Robinson showed the undecidability of the first order theory of the field of rationals by demonstrating that the set of natural numbers $\Bbb{N}$ is first order definable in $(\Bbb{Q}, +,...
32 votes
0 answers
2k views

A Combinatorial Abstraction for The "Polynomial Hirsch Conjecture"

Consider $t$ disjoint families of subsets of {1,2,…,n}, ${\cal F}_1,{\cal F_2},\dots {\cal F_t}$ . Suppose that (*) For every $i \lt j \lt k$ and every $R \in {\cal F}_i$, and $T \in {\cal F}_k$, ...
31 votes
0 answers
2k views

A question related to the Hofstadter–Conway \$10000 sequence

The Hofstadter–Conway \$10000 sequence is defined by the nested recurrence relation $$c(n) = c(c(n-1)) + c(n-c(n-1))$$ with $c(1) = c(2) = 1$. This sequence is A004001 and it is well-known that this ...
30 votes
0 answers
743 views

Is there an Ehrhart polynomial for Gaussian integers

Let $N$ be a positive integer and let $P \subset \mathbb{C}$ be a polygon whose vertices are of the form $(a_1+b_1 i)/N$, $(a_2+b_2 i)/N$, ..., $(a_r+b_r i)/N$, with $a_j + b_j i$ being various ...
29 votes
0 answers
1k views

A modern perspective on the relationship between Drinfeld modules and shtukas

Shtukas were defined by Drinfeld as a generalization of Drinfeld modules. While the relationship between the definitions of Drinfeld modules and shtukas is not obvious, one does have a natural ...
29 votes
0 answers
1k views

Linking formulas by Euler, Pólya, Nekrasov-Okounkov

Consider the formal product $$F(t,x,z):=\prod_{j=0}^{\infty}(1-tx^j)^{z-1}.$$ (a) If $z=2$ then on the one hand we get Euler's $$F(t,x,2)=\sum_{n\geq0}\frac{(-1)^nx^{\binom{n}2}}{(x;x)_n}t^n,$$ on the ...
29 votes
0 answers
981 views

Non-linear expanders?

Recall that a family of graphs (indexed by an infinite set, such as the primes, say) is called an expander family if there is a $\delta>0$ such that, on every graph in the family, the discrete ...
29 votes
0 answers
3k views

Why do polytopes pop up in Lagrange inversion?

I'd be interested in hearing people's viewpoints on this. Looking for an intuitive perspective. See Wikipedia for descriptions of polytopes and the Lagrange inversion theorem/formula (LIF) for ...
29 votes
0 answers
3k views

What are the possible singular fibers of an elliptic fibration over a higher dimensional base?

An elliptic fibration is a proper morphism $Y\rightarrow B$ between varieties such that the fiber over a general point of the base $B$ is a smooth curve of genus one. It is often required for the ...
28 votes
0 answers
707 views

Does this infinite primes snake-product converge?

This re-asks a question I posed on MSE: Q. Does this infinite product converge? $$ \frac{2}{3}\cdot\frac{7}{5}\cdot\frac{11}{13}\cdot\frac{19}{17}\cdot\frac{23}{29}\cdot\frac{37}{31} \cdot \cdots \...

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