google-deepmind / google-deepmind/formal-conjectures

ErdosProblems/263.lean: definition omits "increasing" (misformalisation vs. the corrected problem statement)

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Description

The definition of `IsIrrationalitySequence` in `FormalConjectures/ErdosProblems/263.lean`
does not include a monotonicity hypothesis:

```lean
def IsIrrationalitySequence (a : ℕ → ℕ) : Prop :=
(∀ n : ℕ, a n > 0) ∧ (∀ b : ℕ → ℕ, ...)
```

The problem at https://www.erdosproblems.com/263 was **corrected on 2026-04-02** to
require the sequence to be *increasing* ("Let $a_n$ be an increasing sequence of
positive integers..."). The correction followed DeepMind's counterexample to the
non-increasing variant (noted on the same page, in the comments).

Consequences inside the file:

1. `erdos_263.parts.ii` is tagged `category research solved` with `answer(False)`,
via a counterexample sequence that is **not increasing**. Under the corrected
statement, the increasing variant of Q2 is open (no resolution is known to us;
the site's page reflects this as of 2026-08-01).
2. Both growth variants already carry `StrictMono` as a hypothesis
(`erdos_263.variants.sub_doubly_exponential`,
`erdos_263.variants.super_doubly_exponential`), so the file currently assumes
monotonicity everywhere except in the definition and `parts.i`/`parts.ii`.
3. Koizumi (arXiv:2504.05933, footnote 1) notes Erdős–Graham originally required
strictly increasing, and the site follows that reading.

Proposed fix (happy to PR): add `StrictMono a` to `IsIrrationalitySequence`, and
re-tag or annotate `erdos_263.parts.ii` to reflect that its resolution applies to
the pre-correction statement. `erdos_263.parts.i` (`2^{2^n}`) is unaffected — that
sequence is strictly increasing either way.

Separately, we have a complete Lean 4 + Mathlib proof of
`erdos_263.variants.super_doubly_exponential` (zero `sorry`, builds on Lean
4.32.2 / Mathlib v4.32.2) hosted at https://github.com/arex1337/erdos-263-lean. If welcome, we
will PR a `formal_proof using lean4` link for that variant.

*Disclosure: the formalization and this report were produced with AI assistance
(LLM agents) under a machine-verification gate (clean `lake build`, zero `sorry`,
statement-fidelity audit against erdosproblems.com). All verification commands are
in the linked repository's README.*

References:
- https://www.erdosproblems.com/263 (statement as corrected 2026-04-02)
- Koizumi, arXiv:2504.05933 (2025), footnote 1
- Kovač–Tao, arXiv:2406.17593 (2024)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Read FormalConjectures/ErdosProblems/263.lean, starting with IsIrrationalitySequence and erdos_263.parts.i/ii, then inspect the existing StrictMono hypotheses in the growth variants. Update the definition and annotate or re-tag part ii so its status matches the corrected statement, while preserving part i, and verify the affected Lean file builds.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
68/100

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