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Pure Mathematics

29 missions · 8 completed

Mathematics pursued for its own internal structure: the study of abstract objects, spaces, and the maps between them, guided by rigor and generality rather than immediate application. Its landscape includes real and complex analysis, topology and geometry, measure theory, and the logical and set-theoretic foundations on which the rest of mathematics is built.

Missions

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Number Theory·Captain: Jack McCarthy

Every Odd Number Greater Than 1 is the Sum of at Most Five PrimesResearch Paper

Motivation

An additive question about the primes asks how many of them are needed to represent every integer. Shnirelman's constant is the least kkk such that every natural number greater than 111 is a sum of at most kkk primes; that such a kkk exists at all is Shnirelman's theorem (1930). The even Goldbach conjecture would give k=3k = 3k=3, and is close to equivalent to that claim, but Goldbach is open, so every bound on kkk has come from the circle method together with explicit numerical input.

The history is a sequence of shrinking bounds, each one effective and each one resting on a numerical verification available at the time:

  • 1937. Vinogradov proves that every sufficiently large odd integer is a sum of three primes, with no effective threshold (Vinogradov's theorem).
  • 1956. Borozdkin makes the threshold effective; later work reduces it, and Liu and Wang bring it to exp⁡(3100)\exp(3100)exp(3100) (Liu–Wang, 2002).
  • 1995. Ramaré proves that every even natural number is a sum of at most six primes, giving Shnirelman's constant k≤7k \le 7k≤7 (Ramaré).
  • 1995. Kaniecki obtains "at most five primes" under the Riemann hypothesis (Kaniecki).
  • 2012. Tao removes the hypothesis: every odd number greater than 111 is a sum of at most five primes, unconditionally, lowering Shnirelman's constant to k≤6k \le 6k≤6 (arXiv:1201.6656). This mission's goal.
  • 2013. Helfgott proves the ternary Goldbach conjecture outright — every odd n>5n > 5n>5 is a sum of three primes — which supersedes the statement above (arXiv:1312.7748). Neither result is formalized.

Setting

For a real number θ\thetaθ write e(θ)=exp⁡(2πiθ)e(\theta) = \exp(2\pi i\theta)e(θ)=exp(2πiθ). The von Mangoldt function Λ(n)\Lambda(n)Λ(n) equals log⁡p\log plogp when n=pmn = p^mn=pm is a prime power and 000 otherwise; it is Mathlib's ArithmeticFunction.vonMangoldt.

The paper does not work with the sharp-cutoff exponential sum S(x,α)=∑n≤xΛ(n)e(αn)S(x,\alpha) = \sum_{n \le x} \Lambda(n)e(\alpha n)S(x,α)=∑n≤x​Λ(n)e(αn) but with a smoothed variant. For a piecewise smooth η:R→C\eta : \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{C}η:R→C and a modulus q0q_0q0​, set

Sη,q0(x,α)  :=  ∑nΛ(n) e(αn) 1(n,q0)=1 η(n/x).S_{\eta,q_0}(x,\alpha) \;:=\; \sum_{n} \Lambda(n)\,e(\alpha n)\, \mathbf{1}_{(n,q_0)=1}\,\eta(n/x).Sη,q0​​(x,α):=n∑​Λ(n)e(αn)1(n,q0​)=1​η(n/x).

The modulus q0q_0q0​ is a technical device: taking q0=2q_0 = 2q0​=2 restricts the sum to odd nnn and saves a factor of two in the explicit constants. Because of that restriction it is 4α4\alpha4α, not α\alphaα, that gets approximated by a rational a/qa/qa/q.

Two explicit cutoffs are fixed. The Lipschitz cutoff

η0(t):=4(log⁡2−∣log⁡2t∣)+\eta_0(t) := 4\big(\log 2 - |\log 2t|\big)_+η0​(t):=4(log2−∣log2t∣)+​

has unit mass and is supported on [1/4,1][1/4, 1][1/4,1]; it is chosen because it factorises the Type II sums. The L2L^2L2-normalised cutoff

η1(t):=(1−10 dist(t,[0.2,0.8]))+\eta_1(t) := \big(1 - 10\,\mathrm{dist}(t,[0.2,0.8])\big)_+η1​(t):=(1−10dist(t,[0.2,0.8]))+​

is supported on [0.1,0.9][0.1,0.9][0.1,0.9] and symmetric, η1(1−t)=η1(t)\eta_1(1-t) = \eta_1(t)η1​(1−t)=η1​(t).

Throughout, O∗(Y)O^*(Y)O∗(Y) denotes a quantity of magnitude at most YYY — an explicit bound, not an asymptotic one. Two numerical constants are fixed once and for all: T0:=3.29×109T_0 := 3.29\times 10^9T0​:=3.29×109 and N0:=4×1014N_0 := 4\times 10^{14}N0​:=4×1014.

Formalization targets

Goal (Theorem 1.4)

∀n odd, n>1  ⟹  ∃ p1,…,pk prime, k≤5, n=p1+⋯+pk.\forall n \text{ odd},\ n > 1 \;\Longrightarrow\; \exists\, p_1,\dots,p_k \text{ prime},\ k \le 5,\ n = p_1 + \cdots + p_k.∀n odd, n>1⟹∃p1​,…,pk​ prime, k≤5, n=p1​+⋯+pk​.

The goal fixes no constants and no thresholds, so no later improvement can invalidate it.

The milestone list is the paper's own attack path, in its numbering: the two numerical verifications (Theorems 1.5, 1.6) and the short-interval prime bound (Theorem 8.1) that together settle n≤8.7×1036n \le 8.7\times10^{36}n≤8.7×1036; the L2L^2L2 apparatus (Lemma 4.4, Proposition 4.10) and Vaughan-type identity (Lemma 4.11) feeding the minor-arc bound (Theorem 5.1) and hence the main exponential sum estimate (Theorem 1.3); the major-arc analysis (Proposition 7.2); and the circle-method core (Theorem 8.2).

Significance

The result itself. Theorem 1.4 lowers Shnirelman's constant from 777 to 666 and removes the Riemann hypothesis from Kaniecki's conditional "five primes". Its durable content, however, is not the headline but the explicit exponential sum estimate of Theorem 1.3: a bound on ∣Sη0,q0(x,α)∣|S_{\eta_0,q_0}(x,\alpha)|∣Sη0​,q0​​(x,α)∣ with constants small enough to be useful for xxx between 103010^{30}1030 and 10130010^{1300}101300, a range where the asymptotically superior estimates of Vinogradov, Chen–Daboussi and Ramaré carry constants too large or too ineffective to apply. That estimate is the reusable object; it has been improved since (Helfgott–Platt) but not superseded in method.

Formalizing it. Status honesty matters here. Theorem 1.4 is closed mathematics, and as a statement it was superseded within a year by Helfgott's ternary Goldbach theorem, which gives three primes for every odd n>5n > 5n>5 and hence five a fortiori. Neither Tao's theorem nor Helfgott's is formalized anywhere, and this mission does not claim to be attacking an open problem: the work is formalizing a known, fully explicit proof. That proof happens to be an unusually good formalization target, because every constant in it is written down.

The platform already hosts the surrounding infrastructure. The CircleMethod namespace carries a large verified development of Hardy–Littlewood apparatus following Vaughan, and the ThreePrimes namespace carries a machine-checked proof of Vinogradov's three primes theorem conditional on Siegel–Walfisz. This mission sits directly downstream of both and should import from them rather than rebuild.

Difficulty

The obvious route — deduce five primes from three primes — fails on the range where it is needed. Vinogradov's theorem is asymptotic, and the best effective threshold is exp⁡(3100)\exp(3100)exp(3100); below it the theorem says nothing, and exp⁡(3100)\exp(3100)exp(3100) is far beyond any possible exhaustive check. So the entire difficulty lives in the window 8.7×1036≤x≤exp⁡(3100)8.7\times10^{36} \le x \le \exp(3100)8.7×1036≤x≤exp(3100), which must be handled by a circle-method argument carrying explicit constants at every step.

Within that window the specific obstruction is the minor arc T0/x≪∥α∥R/Z≪1/N0T_0/x \ll \|\alpha\|_{\mathbb{R}/\mathbb{Z}} \ll 1/N_0T0​/x≪∥α∥R/Z​≪1/N0​. A direct Plancherel bound on the L2L^2L2 side costs a factor of log⁡x\log xlogx, which is more than the argument can afford; Montgomery's uncertainty principle cuts the loss to roughly 2log⁡x/log⁡N02\log x/\log N_02logx/logN0​, and only a large-sieve estimate on prime pairs brings it down to a bounded factor of 888. On the L∞L^\inftyL∞ side, Theorem 1.3 must be non-trivial across the whole window, which is why the refinements (1.10)–(1.12) for qqq near 111 and near xxx exist at all. Neither bound alone suffices; the proof closes only because both are pushed to explicit constants simultaneously.

Formalization scope

The goal is stated over N\mathbb{N}N as a Multiset ℕ of cardinality at most 555 whose members are all Nat.Prime and whose sum is nnn. A multiset, not a list or a finset: repetition is essential (9=3+3+39 = 3+3+39=3+3+3) and order is not. "At most five" is not "exactly five" — 333 is a sum of one prime and cannot be a sum of five, since the least sum of five primes is 101010. A formalization asserting exactly five primes is false, not merely weaker.

The goal admits no trivializing reading: the empty multiset has sum 0≠n0 \ne n0=n, and the cardinality bound is on the multiset itself, so no prime can be counted with multiplicity zero to evade it.

Everything else in the mission is stated with explicit constants and O∗(⋅)O^*(\cdot)O∗(⋅) bounds rather than asymptotic notation, matching the paper: X=O∗(Y)X = O^*(Y)X=O∗(Y) becomes ∥X∥≤Y\|X\| \le Y∥X∥≤Y outright. Sums over nnn are unrestricted sums against a compactly supported cutoff, not sums over Finset.range. Real powers are Real.rpow. The two cutoffs η0,η1\eta_0,\eta_1η0​,η1​ and the sum Sη,q0S_{\eta,q_0}Sη,q0​​ are published as mission definitions; solvers should use them verbatim rather than re-deriving equivalent forms.

Three of the milestones are honest dead weight for a solver to attempt directly, and are listed so the dependency graph is truthful rather than because they are tractable. Theorem 1.5 (all zeroes of ζ\zetaζ up to height 3.29×1093.29\times10^93.29×109 lie on the critical line) and Theorem 1.6 (every even number up to 4×10144\times10^{14}4×1014 is a sum of two primes) are finite, decidable statements that Lean can express and that are true, but each represents a verified computation of a scale no current proof assistant can replay — Theorem 1.6 alone is 2×10142\times10^{14}2×1014 cases. Theorem 8.1 is quoted from Ramaré–Saouter and itself depends on Theorem 1.5. They are leaves that will stay open; a solver's effort is far better spent on the analytic milestones, and the circle-method core (Theorem 8.2) can be closed independently of them.

A complete development additionally needs the smoothed Vaughan identity bookkeeping, the large sieve in Siebert's form, the von Mangoldt explicit formula with a zero sum (Proposition 7.1), and Bourgain's trick of taking one of the three summands of size x/Kx/Kx/K. The exponential sum machinery is reusable well beyond this mission — it is the standard input to every explicit Goldbach-type result. Contributions to any milestone are welcome independently, and a formalization of Helfgott's theorem that closes the goal by a different route would be an entirely acceptable solution.

Selected references

  • T. Tao, Every odd number greater than 1 is the sum of at most five primes, Mathematics of Computation 83 (2014), 997–1038. arXiv:1201.6656
  • H. A. Helfgott, The ternary Goldbach conjecture is true, 2013. arXiv:1312.7748
  • H. A. Helfgott and D. Platt, Numerical verification of the ternary Goldbach conjecture up to 8.875⋅10308.875\cdot10^{30}8.875⋅1030, 2013. arXiv:1305.3062
  • O. Ramaré, On Shnirel'man's constant, Ann. Scuola Norm. Sup. Pisa 22 (1995), 645–706. numdam
  • L. Kaniecki, On Shnirelman's constant under the Riemann hypothesis, Acta Arithmetica 72 (1995), 361–374. doi:10.4064/aa-72-4-361-374
  • J. Richstein, Verifying the Goldbach conjecture up to 4⋅10144\cdot10^{14}4⋅1014, Mathematics of Computation 70 (2001), 1745–1749. doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-00-01290-4
  • O. Ramaré and Y. Saouter, Short effective intervals containing primes, Journal of Number Theory 98 (2003), 10–33. doi:10.1016/S0022-314X(02)00029-X
  • M. C. Liu and T. Z. Wang, On the Vinogradov bound in the three primes Goldbach conjecture, Acta Arithmetica 105 (2002), 133–175. doi:10.4064/aa105-2-3
  • H. L. Montgomery, The analytic principle of the large sieve, Bulletin of the AMS 84 (1978), 547–567. doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-1978-14497-8
  • R. C. Vaughan, The Hardy–Littlewood Method, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, 1997. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511470929
658 thms35 active usersReviewed
Number Theory·Captain: marwahaha

Weak Goldbach ConjectureResearch Paper

Motivation

This mission seeks a Lean proof that every odd natural number greater than 1 is the sum of at most three primes. It follows from Helfgott's ternary Goldbach theorem for odd numbers greater than 5, together with the small cases 3 and 5, each of which is itself prime.

Setting and goal

For every natural number n with Odd n and 1 < n, construct a multiset of at most three prime natural numbers whose sum is n. Repetition is allowed and order is irrelevant. Examples include 3 = 3, 5 = 5, 7 = 2 + 2 + 3, and 9 = 3 + 3 + 3. The primes need not all be odd.

Relationship to the five-primes mission

The goal uses the same Multiset ℕ representation and the same hypothesis 1 < n as Every Odd Number Greater Than 1 is the Sum of at Most Five Primes. The cardinality bound changes from s.card ≤ 5 to s.card ≤ 3. No custom definitions are needed.

Formalization scope

The target is unconditional and covers every odd natural number greater than 1. At most three is essential: 3 and 5 cannot be sums of exactly three primes. All summands must satisfy Nat.Prime, and multiplicities count toward the cardinality bound. The initial proposal contains the goal with an open proof, ready for formalization.

Proof approach

A proof may combine a formalization of Helfgott's theorem, which supplies exactly three primes for odd n > 5, with singleton multisets for n = 3 and n = 5. Establishing Helfgott's result requires verified proofs of the analytic and computational ingredients of the chosen argument.

Reference

H. A. Helfgott, The ternary Goldbach conjecture is true, 2013, revised 2014. The mission's at-most-three formulation also includes the elementary cases n = 3 and n = 5.

226 thms15 active usersReviewed
Functional Analysis·Captain: wenxinzhang

Positive definite matrix integral inequalityOpen Problem

Motivation

The source defines a two-variable integral on strictly positive-definite real matrices. Its numerator is the absolute bilinear form of A minus B on two unit vectors, while the denominator uses the quadratic forms of A and B. The desired inequality says that componentwise matrix addition is nonexpansive for this quantity, with the larger of the two input distances controlling the output. The surface measure normalization is immaterial because the same constant multiplies every distance.

This mission turns CUHK-Shenzhen AI Math Problem 1, Positive definite matrix integral inequality, into an auditable Lean campaign. The objective is not merely to transcribe notation: it is to expose the mathematical model, the capstone, and a smaller attack surface as separate artifacts that other formalizers can inspect and reuse.

Setting

For every positive dimension and every four positive-definite matrices A, B, C, and D, prove d(A+B,C+D) is at most max(d(A,C),d(B,D)). The first milestone fixes dimension one, where the sphere and every matrix entry can be analyzed explicitly.

Significance

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

Difficulty

The absolute value prevents a direct cancellation argument, and the denominators couple each integration variable to a different matrix. Positive definiteness gives pointwise positivity but does not immediately compare the ratios after addition. A successful proof must find a convexity, change-of-measure, or projective-metric mechanism that survives the double integral.

Suggested attack route

Promising routes include reducing by congruence to normalized matrices, studying the scalar inequality on each pair of directions, and interpreting the denominator as a density change on the sphere. The dimension-one case should reveal the sharp scalar inequality. Numerical experiments in dimensions two and three may identify equality cases, but the Lean proof must ultimately derive every bound from positivity and measurable integration.

Formalization scope

The Lean model uses finite matrices, Mathlib positive definiteness, the canonical sphere measure obtained from polar decomposition, and an explicit iterated integral. It does not assume symmetry through an unchecked flag: positive definiteness is the Mathlib predicate. Integrability obligations and zero-denominator issues must be proved from positive definiteness.

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

Milestones

Establish the dimension-one specialization, including any exact evaluation of the two-point sphere integral needed by the proof.

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

Timeline and literature status

The CUHK-Shenzhen AI Math Problems page added this problem on May 28, 2026. At the drafting date, August 31, 2026, the status and target corrections described above were checked against the source page and the cited primary material.

Acceptance criteria

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

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

Formal verification policy

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

Selected references

  • Original CUHK-Shenzhen problem
38 thms13 active usersReviewed
Calculus of Variations·Captain: ShouqiaoWang

Orders of Harmonic Maps into Euclidean BuildingsResearch Paper

Motivation

Harmonic maps into singular nonpositively curved spaces arise in geometric analysis, rigidity theory, and the study of group actions on buildings. Near a point in the domain, their infinitesimal growth is measured by an order, obtained from an Almgren-type frequency quotient. For smooth targets that order is tied to familiar Taylor expansion data. Euclidean buildings are instead assembled from Euclidean apartments along reflection walls, so a map can branch through a singular link and a priori might exhibit a much less controlled spectrum of homogeneities. Breiner and Dees prove that, for maps from surfaces, this spectrum is discrete and is governed by the finite rotational Weyl group of the building. The mission formalizes their headline classification theorem, Theorem 1.1 of Breiner--Dees.

The discreteness matters because frequency information is a basic input to stratification and regularity arguments for singular harmonic maps. A finite list of possible denominators prevents homogeneities from accumulating arbitrarily and isolates rank-one behavior. The formal target makes explicit the nonconstant condition used by the source paper's tangent-map reduction. Without it, the usual numerator and denominator of the frequency quotient both vanish for a constant map, so its order is not defined.

Setting

A Euclidean Coxeter complex consists of Euclidean space together with an affine reflection group. Taking the linear parts of its affine isometries produces a finite rotational reflection group WWW. A Euclidean building of type WWW is a complete metric space covered by isometric Euclidean apartments whose overlaps are related by elements of the affine Weyl group; the atlas is required to contain the relevant geodesic segments, rays, and lines and to be maximal with these compatibility properties.

The domain is a connected open subset DDD of a complex one-dimensional manifold, hence a Riemann surface domain. The formalization uses a concrete Korevaar--Schoen-style metric Sobolev energy built from normalized local difference quotients and Lebesgue area in charts. A map u:D→Xu:D\to Xu:D→X is harmonic when it has finite local energy and minimizes that energy against competitors with the same trace. For x0∈Dx_0\in Dx0​∈D and small radii rrr, the energy and boundary moment determine a frequency quotient. When its limit exists with positive denominator, that limit is the order Ord⁡u(x0)\operatorname{Ord}_u(x_0)Ordu​(x0​).

Formalization targets

Main classification

For a nonconstant energy-minimizing harmonic map u:D→Xu:D\to Xu:D→X and any x0∈Dx_0\in Dx0​∈D, prove that the order is defined and that there are positive integers m,km,km,k such that

Ord⁡u(x0)=mk,k∣∣W∣.\operatorname{Ord}_u(x_0)=\frac{m}{k}, \qquad k\mid |W|.Ordu​(x0​)=km​,k∣∣W∣.

If the building has rank one, prove the sharper form

Ord⁡u(x0)=m2for some integer m≥2.\operatorname{Ord}_u(x_0)=\frac{m}{2} \qquad\text{for some integer }m\ge 2.Ordu​(x0​)=2m​for some integer m≥2.

The same theorem also records the small-scale energy and positive-boundary-moment facts needed for the order to be meaningful; these are conclusions, not assumptions supplied by a solver.

Significance

The result identifies a purely algebraic constraint on an analytic singularity invariant: every denominator divides the order of the finite rotational Weyl group. In rank one, where the target is a tree or an R\mathbb RR-tree, it recovers the half-integer spectrum and its lower bound. This converts an apparently continuous local invariant into a discrete one determined by the building type.

Formalizing the theorem requires reusable infrastructure that is largely absent from current Mathlib: concrete Euclidean-building atlases, metric-valued Sobolev energy, trace and boundary-moment constructions, harmonic energy minimization, frequency quotients, and homogeneous tangent-map interfaces. The paper theorem is proved in ordinary mathematics; the open task is to replace the single sorry in the target with a machine-checked Lean proof. A completed development would provide components useful for other singular-target harmonic-map and CAT(0) formalizations.

Difficulty

The target is not a direct consequence of treating the building as a Euclidean vector space. A harmonic map can cross apartment walls, and a single chart need not contain the image of a punctured neighborhood. The local problem must respect both metric energy and Weyl-group compatibility. Moreover, the frequency quotient is defined through limiting analytic quantities, while the conclusion is an exact rational arithmetic classification. Bridging those levels requires controlling tangent maps and the geometry of directions in the building rather than merely proving monotonicity of the frequency.

The rank-one clause is not obtained by substituting ∣W∣=2|W|=2∣W∣=2 into the general statement alone: it also asserts m≥2m\ge2m≥2. The formal proof therefore must preserve the nonconstant hypothesis and the positivity information that rules out the degenerate zero-order case.

Formalization scope

The Lean bundle fixes a complex one-dimensional manifold model for the source, a genuine complete metric target, a finite affine reflection group acting by Euclidean isometries, and an explicit building atlas. The rotational group WWW is the image of the affine group under taking linear parts, so ∣W∣|W|∣W∣ is not an arbitrary external number. The domain carries a point x0x_0x0​ and is nonempty by construction. The map is required to be nonconstant on the domain; this is the necessary explicit repair of the printed headline, whose later reduction theorem uses the same condition.

Energy, trace, boundary moment, frequency, and order are transparent definitions tied to the supplied geometry. In particular, the caller cannot choose a zero measure or an unrelated predicate to make the target vacuous. The theorem must establish finite small-scale energy, positivity of the boundary moment, existence of the frequency limit, and its classification. Solvers may contribute supporting files for metric Sobolev estimates, tangent-map compactness, homogeneous harmonic-map classification, or finite-reflection-group lemmas, provided they preserve the exact conventions in the definition bundle.

Selected references

  • Christine Breiner and Ben K. Dees, On the Possible Orders of Harmonic Maps into Euclidean Buildings, Calculus of Variations and Partial Differential Equations, 2026, Theorem 1.1 and Sections 2--4. DOI
  • Mikhail Gromov and Richard Schoen, Harmonic Maps into Singular Spaces and p-adic Superrigidity for Lattices in Groups of Rank One, Publications Mathématiques de l'IHÉS 76 (1992), 165--246. EuDML
72 thms7 active users
🏆Completed
Number Theory·Captain: alya

Multiplicative Number Theory I: Siegel–Walfisz and the Three Primes TheoremTextbook

Primes in progressions, uniformly in the modulus

Applying the circle method to an additive problem about primes requires counting primes in arithmetic progressions with an error term uniform in the modulus: the modulus is not fixed in advance, it grows with the size of the numbers being represented. The Siegel–Walfisz theorem is the classical statement of that uniformity, valid for every modulus up to a fixed power of log⁡x\log xlogx, and it is the one analytic ingredient the standard proof of Vinogradov's three primes theorem cannot do without.

The history is a sequence of partial uniformities:

  • 1837. Dirichlet proves that every progression a mod qa \bmod qamodq with (a,q)=1(a,q)=1(a,q)=1 contains infinitely many primes, for each fixed qqq, with no rate (Dirichlet's theorem).
  • 1896–1899. De la Vallée Poussin proves the prime number theorem with the error term O(xe−clog⁡x)O(x e^{-c\sqrt{\log x}})O(xe−clogx​), and extends the zero-free region from ζ\zetaζ to L(s,χ)L(s,\chi)L(s,χ), obtaining the prime number theorem in progressions for each fixed qqq (PNT).
  • 1918–1935. Landau and Page isolate the obstruction to uniformity: a single real zero near s=1s=1s=1, attached to a quadratic character. Landau shows at most one of two distinct real primitive characters can have such a zero; Page shows at most one modulus below a given bound can, yielding unconditional uniformity for qqq up to a bounded power of log⁡x\log xlogx (Page's theorem).
  • 1935. Siegel proves L(1,χ)≫εq−εL(1,\chi) \gg_\varepsilon q^{-\varepsilon}L(1,χ)≫ε​q−ε for real primitive χ\chiχ, at the price of an ineffective constant (Siegel).
  • 1936. Walfisz combines Siegel's bound with the de la Vallée Poussin machinery and obtains uniformity for every fixed power q≤(log⁡x)Aq \le (\log x)^Aq≤(logx)A (Walfisz).
  • 1937. Vinogradov proves that every sufficiently large odd integer is a sum of three primes (Vinogradov's theorem).
  • 2013. Helfgott removes the "sufficiently large", settling ternary Goldbach for all odd n>5n > 5n>5 (arXiv:1312.7748).

Setting

The von Mangoldt function Λ(n)\Lambda(n)Λ(n) equals log⁡p\log plogp if n=pmn = p^mn=pm is a prime power and 000 otherwise. The Chebyshev function ψ(x)=∑n≤xΛ(n)\psi(x) = \sum_{n \le x} \Lambda(n)ψ(x)=∑n≤x​Λ(n) counts primes with weights; the prime number theorem is the assertion ψ(x)∼x\psi(x) \sim xψ(x)∼x.

A Dirichlet character modulo qqq is a multiplicative function χ:Z/qZ→C\chi : \mathbb{Z}/q\mathbb{Z} \to \mathbb{C}χ:Z/qZ→C, supported on the units and taking root-of-unity values there. The principal character χ=1\chi = 1χ=1 is the indicator of the units; a character is quadratic (real) if χ2=1\chi^2 = 1χ2=1 and χ≠1\chi \neq 1χ=1, and primitive if it is not induced by a character of a proper divisor of qqq. The Dirichlet LLL-function L(s,χ)=∑n≥1χ(n)n−sL(s,\chi) = \sum_{n\ge 1}\chi(n)n^{-s}L(s,χ)=∑n≥1​χ(n)n−s, defined for Re⁡s>1\operatorname{Re} s > 1Res>1, extends meromorphically to C\mathbb{C}C, entire except for a simple pole at s=1s = 1s=1 when χ\chiχ is principal.

The two counting functions of the mission are the twisted von Mangoldt sum and the progression sum

ψ(N,χ)=∑n<NΛ(n)χ(n),ψ(N;q,a)=∑n<Nn≡a (q)Λ(n),\psi(N,\chi) = \sum_{n < N} \Lambda(n)\chi(n), \qquad \psi(N;q,a) = \sum_{\substack{n < N \\ n \equiv a\ (q)}} \Lambda(n),ψ(N,χ)=n<N∑​Λ(n)χ(n),ψ(N;q,a)=n<Nn≡a (q)​∑​Λ(n),

related by finite character orthogonality. Write δχ=1\delta_\chi = 1δχ​=1 for χ\chiχ principal and δχ=0\delta_\chi = 0δχ​=0 otherwise. A zero β∈(0,1)\beta \in (0,1)β∈(0,1) of L(s,χ)L(s,\chi)L(s,χ) lying inside the classical zero-free region is an exceptional zero (a Siegel zero); the set of such zeros for a given χ\chiχ is the exceptional set EEE, which the results below constrain to have at most one element.

Formalization targets

The attack path follows Davenport, Multiplicative Number Theory, 3rd ed., §§14, 18, 20, 21, 22.

(1) zero_free_region (§14, pp. 88–96). There is an absolute c>0c>0c>0 such that for every q≥1q \ge 1q≥1 and every χ mod q\chi \bmod qχmodq,

L(s,χ)≠0for s≠1, Re⁡s ≥ 1−clog⁡(q(∣Im⁡s∣+2)),L(s,\chi) \neq 0 \quad\text{for } s \neq 1,\ \operatorname{Re} s \ \ge\ 1 - \frac{c}{\log\big(q(|\operatorname{Im} s| + 2)\big)},L(s,χ)=0for s=1, Res ≥ 1−log(q(∣Ims∣+2))c​,

with at most one exception, which is real, lies in (0,1)(0,1)(0,1), is a simple zero, and can occur only for quadratic non-principal χ\chiχ.

(2) pnt_dlvp (§18, pp. 111–114). For some c>0c > 0c>0 and all x≥2x \ge 2x≥2,

ψ(x)=x+O ⁣(x e−clog⁡x).\psi(x) = x + O\!\left(x\,e^{-c\sqrt{\log x}}\right).ψ(x)=x+O(xe−clogx​).

(3) psi_char_of_region (§20, pp. 121–125). For a region constant c>0c>0c>0 there are c1,c2>0c_1, c_2 > 0c1​,c2​>0 such that, whenever EEE is an exceptional set for χ mod q\chi \bmod qχmodq with respect to ccc and q≤exp⁡(c2log⁡N)q \le \exp(c_2\sqrt{\log N})q≤exp(c2​logN​),

ψ(N,χ)=δχN−∑β∈ENββ+O ⁣(Ne−c1log⁡N).\psi(N,\chi) = \delta_\chi N - \sum_{\beta \in E} \frac{N^\beta}{\beta} + O\!\left(N e^{-c_1\sqrt{\log N}}\right).ψ(N,χ)=δχ​N−β∈E∑​βNβ​+O(Ne−c1​logN​).

(4) siegel (§21, pp. 126–131). For every ε>0\varepsilon > 0ε>0 there is C(ε)>0C(\varepsilon) > 0C(ε)>0 such that for every real primitive non-principal χ mod q\chi \bmod qχmodq,

L(1,χ)>C(ε) q−ε.L(1,\chi) > C(\varepsilon)\, q^{-\varepsilon}.L(1,χ)>C(ε)q−ε.

(5) siegel_zero (§21, second form). For every ε>0\varepsilon > 0ε>0 there is C(ε)>0C(\varepsilon) > 0C(ε)>0 such that for every real primitive non-principal χ mod q\chi \bmod qχmodq,

L(σ,χ)≠0for all real σ>1−C(ε)q−ε.L(\sigma,\chi) \neq 0 \quad \text{for all real } \sigma > 1 - C(\varepsilon)q^{-\varepsilon}.L(σ,χ)=0for all real σ>1−C(ε)q−ε.

(6) siegelWalfisz (§22, pp. 132–134). For every A>0A > 0A>0 there are C,c>0C, c > 0C,c>0 such that for all q≥1q \ge 1q≥1, all χ mod q\chi \bmod qχmodq, and all N≥2N \ge 2N≥2 with q≤(log⁡N)Aq \le (\log N)^Aq≤(logN)A,

∥ψ(N,χ)−δχN∥≤CNe−clog⁡N.\big\lVert \psi(N,\chi) - \delta_\chi N \big\rVert \le C N e^{-c\sqrt{\log N}}.​ψ(N,χ)−δχ​N​≤CNe−clogN​.

This is literally the platform proposition ThreePrimes.SiegelWalfisz.

A corollary, not a milestone, records the progression form siegel_walfisz_ap: for (a,q)=1(a,q)=1(a,q)=1 and q≤(log⁡N)Aq \le (\log N)^Aq≤(logN)A,

ψ(N;q,a)=Nφ(q)+OA ⁣(Ne−clog⁡N).\psi(N;q,a) = \frac{N}{\varphi(q)} + O_A\!\left(N e^{-c\sqrt{\log N}}\right).ψ(N;q,a)=φ(q)N​+OA​(Ne−clogN​).

Goal (three_primes, §26). There is N0N_0N0​ such that every odd n≥N0n \ge N_0n≥N0​ is a sum of three primes. It follows from milestone (6) by the existing platform theorem deducing ThreePrimes.ThreePrimesExistence from ThreePrimes.SiegelWalfisz. The goal leaves N0N_0N0​ unspecified rather than hard-coding a numeric threshold, so it is not invalidated by later improvements to that threshold.

What the result gives, and what remains to be formalized

Siegel–Walfisz is the standard uniform input downstream of which sit the circle method for ternary Goldbach, the Bombieri–Vinogradov theorem, and much of sieve theory. Without it, the three primes theorem's major-arc analysis has no main term.

Platform status is the reason this mission exists. A complete, machine-checked formalization of the three primes theorem already exists in the namespace ThreePrimes (by user tabbott), following Vaughan, The Hardy–Littlewood Method, Ch. 3, and Davenport §26. It is conditional: it takes Siegel–Walfisz as an explicit hypothesis ThreePrimes.SiegelWalfisz. Discharging that hypothesis makes the three primes theorem unconditional, and is the whole content of this mission.

Mathlib contains the analytic continuation of L(s,χ)L(s,\chi)L(s,χ) (DirichletCharacter.LFunction), its functional equation, the non-vanishing of L(s,χ)L(s,\chi)L(s,χ) on Re⁡s≥1\operatorname{Re} s \ge 1Res≥1, Dirichlet's theorem, and the Chebyshev function. It does not contain the zero-free region for L(s,χ)L(s,\chi)L(s,χ), the explicit formula for ψ(x,χ)\psi(x,\chi)ψ(x,χ), Siegel's theorem, or Siegel–Walfisz. The platform additionally hosts the PNT+ project contour machinery for ζ\zetaζ — Borel–Carathéodory, the 3+4cos⁡θ+cos⁡2θ3 + 4\cos\theta + \cos 2\theta3+4cosθ+cos2θ inequality, a zero-free rectangle, and MediumPNT, ψ(x)=x+O(xexp⁡(−c(log⁡x)1/10))\psi(x) = x + O(x\exp(-c(\log x)^{1/10}))ψ(x)=x+O(xexp(−c(logx)1/10)). That is a template for the L(s,χ)L(s,\chi)L(s,χ) analogues, not a proof of them, and its error term is weaker than the de la Vallée Poussin form milestone (2) asks for.

Where the obvious argument fails

The first idea is to run the ζ\zetaζ argument character by character. It works for complex χ\chiχ and breaks for real ones. The positivity device that pushes zeros off Re⁡s=1\operatorname{Re} s = 1Res=1 compares χ\chiχ, χ2\chi^2χ2 and the trivial character at nearby points; when χ\chiχ is quadratic, χ2\chi^2χ2 is principal and contributes the pole of L(s,χ0)L(s,\chi_0)L(s,χ0​) at s=1s = 1s=1 at exactly the height where the putative zero sits, so the inequality degrades from "no zeros" to "at most one zero" and stops there. Every later step inherits that unexcluded zero: milestone (3) can only be stated with the Nβ/βN^\beta/\betaNβ/β term present, and milestone (6) is exactly the assertion that for q≤(log⁡N)Aq \le (\log N)^Aq≤(logN)A this term is small — which Siegel's ineffective bound supplies and nothing effective is known to.

A second shortcut, deducing uniformity from Mathlib's non-vanishing of L(s,χ)L(s,\chi)L(s,χ) on Re⁡s≥1\operatorname{Re} s \ge 1Res≥1 together with Dirichlet's theorem, also fails: those results are qualitative, carry no rate, and are not uniform in qqq.

Formalization scope

Sums run over n<Nn < Nn<N with N∈NN \in \mathbb{N}N∈N, matching Vino.vmSumChar and ThreePrimes.SiegelWalfisz; Davenport sums over n≤xn \le xn≤x. The two differ by the single term Λ(N)≤log⁡N\Lambda(N) \le \log NΛ(N)≤logN, negligible against every error term above. Milestone (2) alone uses a real argument, via Mathlib's Chebyshev.psi. L(s,χ)L(s,\chi)L(s,χ) is Mathlib's DirichletCharacter.LFunction, so no continuation is reconstructed.

The zero-free region is Davenport.InRegion c q s, namely Re⁡s≥1−c/log⁡(q(∣Im⁡s∣+2))\operatorname{Re} s \ge 1 - c/\log(q(|\operatorname{Im} s| + 2))Res≥1−c/log(q(∣Ims∣+2)); the exceptional zero is packaged as IsExceptionalSet c χ E: EEE is a subsingleton, every element is a real zero of L(⋅,χ)L(\cdot,\chi)L(⋅,χ) in (0,1)(0,1)(0,1) and can exist only for quadratic non-principal χ\chiχ, and L(s,χ)≠0L(s,\chi) \neq 0L(s,χ)=0 at every s≠1s \neq 1s=1 of the region outside EEE. Milestone (1) adds simplicity as L′(β,χ)≠0L'(\beta,\chi) \neq 0L′(β,χ)=0 for β∈E\beta \in Eβ∈E.

Milestone (3) takes the region constant c>0c > 0c>0 as a parameter rather than importing it from milestone (1), so the milestones can be attempted in any order. For large ccc the hypothesis IsExceptionalSet c χ E may be unsatisfiable for some χ\chiχ, making the statement vacuous there — a harmless weakening, not a falsehood, and not a trivializing reading: milestone (1) produces a definite small c>0c > 0c>0 with a witness EEE for every χ\chiχ, so instantiating milestone (3) at that ccc discharges the hypothesis rather than voiding it.

Siegel's theorem is stated for χ.IsQuadratic, χ ≠ 1, χ.IsPrimitive characters, with the conclusion a lower bound on Re⁡L(1,χ)\operatorname{Re} L(1,\chi)ReL(1,χ); since L(1,χ)L(1,\chi)L(1,χ) is real for real χ\chiχ, this is the value itself, not a weakening. The constants in milestones (4), (5) and (6) are ineffective; the statements are plain existentials, so ineffectivity is invisible to Lean, but no numeric constant can be extracted from anything downstream of them.

The principal character is included in the character-form statements, with main term NNN (if χ = 1 then (N : ℂ) else 0); milestones (3) and (6) therefore contain the prime number theorem itself and cannot be proved by restricting to non-principal χ\chiχ. Milestone (6) requires c>0c > 0c>0 strictly, which is what makes Ne−clog⁡NNe^{-c\sqrt{\log N}}Ne−clogN​ a genuine saving over the trivial ψ(N,χ)≪N\psi(N,\chi) \ll Nψ(N,χ)≪N; with c=0c = 0c=0 allowed it would be empty.

Beyond the six milestones, a complete development needs Hadamard factorization for L(s,χ)L(s,\chi)L(s,χ) as an entire function of order 111, the zero-counting estimate N(T,χ)N(T,\chi)N(T,χ) (§16, pp. 101–103), the truncated explicit formula for ψ(x,χ)\psi(x,\chi)ψ(x,χ) (§19, pp. 115–120), Perron-type contour truncation, and the imprimitive-to-primitive reduction ∣ψ(N,χ)−ψ(N,χ∗)∣≪(log⁡q)(log⁡N)|\psi(N,\chi) - \psi(N,\chi^{*})| \ll (\log q)(\log N)∣ψ(N,χ)−ψ(N,χ∗)∣≪(logq)(logN). All of it is reusable well beyond this mission, being the standard prerequisite for Bombieri–Vinogradov, Linnik's theorem, and effective Chebotarev. Contributions of these supporting results, of alternative routes to milestone (3) following Montgomery–Vaughan Ch. 11, of the π(x;q,a)\pi(x;q,a)π(x;q,a) versions, and of sharper constants are welcome.

Selected references

  • H. Davenport, Multiplicative Number Theory, 3rd ed., revised by H. L. Montgomery, GTM 74, Springer, 2000. §§14, 18, 20, 21, 22, 26. doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-5927-3
  • H. L. Montgomery and R. C. Vaughan, Multiplicative Number Theory I: Classical Theory, Cambridge University Press, 2007. Ch. 11–12 (Theorems 11.3, 11.14, 11.16, 12.10; Corollaries 11.10, 11.12, 11.17, 11.19). doi:10.1017/CBO9780511618314
  • R. C. Vaughan, The Hardy–Littlewood Method, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, 1997. Ch. 3. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511470929
  • C. L. Siegel, Über die Classenzahl quadratischer Zahlkörper, Acta Arithmetica 1 (1935), 83–86. eudml:205054
  • A. Walfisz, Zur additiven Zahlentheorie II, Mathematische Zeitschrift 40 (1936), 592–607. doi:10.1007/BF01218882
  • I. M. Vinogradov, Representation of an odd number as a sum of three primes, Doklady Akad. Nauk SSSR 15 (1937), 291–294. Vinogradov's theorem
  • H. A. Helfgott, The ternary Goldbach conjecture is true, 2013. arXiv:1312.7748
  • Siegel–Walfisz theorem, Wikipedia. link
  • Page theorem, Encyclopedia of Mathematics. link
  • A. Kontorovich et al., PrimeNumberTheoremAnd (PNT+), Lean formalization project. github
  • Mathlib, Mathlib.NumberTheory.LSeries.DirichletContinuation. docs
75 thms6 active usersReviewed
🏆Completed
Algebra·Captain: ShouqiaoWang

Symplectic Modules Free over an Abelian NilradicalResearch Paper

Motivation

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

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

Setting

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

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

Formalization targets

Common polynomial-module family

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

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

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

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

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

Significance

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

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

Difficulty

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

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

Formalization scope

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

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

Selected references

  • Yang Chen and Haijun Tan, Simple sp2ℓ(C)\mathfrak{sp}_{2\ell}(\mathbb C)sp2ℓ​(C)-modules which are free over an abelian nilradical, Journal of Algebra 697 (2026), 341--372, Theorems 1.1--1.3 (formal Theorems 3.7, 3.8, 4.7, 4.9, and 5.2). DOI
  • G. Shen, foundational work on mixed-product constructions for modules over Lie algebras of Cartan type, cited in the source paper for the Shen--Larsson functor.
28 thms6 active usersReviewed
Algebra·Captain: ShouqiaoWang

Arbitrary Torsion in Moment-Angle Homology and Loop HomologyResearch Paper

Motivation

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

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

Setting

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

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

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

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

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

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

Formalization targets

Arbitrary torsion in one moment-angle manifold

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

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

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

Significance

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

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

Difficulty

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

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

Formalization scope

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

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

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

Selected references

  • Yang Han and Keke Li, Moment Angle Manifolds Corresponding to S4S^4S4 Whose Homology and Loop Homology May Have Arbitrary Torsion, International Mathematics Research Notices 2026(4), 1--7, 2026. DOI
  • A. Bahri, M. Bendersky, F. R. Cohen, and S. Gitler, The polyhedral product functor: a method of decomposition for moment-angle complexes, arrangements and related spaces, Advances in Mathematics 225(3), 2010, 1634--1668. DOI
17 thms6 active usersReviewed
Arithmetic GeometryNumber Theory·Captain: korbonits

Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer ConjectureOpen Problem

Motivation

An elliptic curve over Q\mathbb{Q}Q is a smooth cubic curve with a rational point. Its rational points form a finitely generated abelian group E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q) (Mordell, 1922), so E(Q)≃Zr⊕E(Q)torsE(\mathbb{Q}) \simeq \mathbb{Z}^r \oplus E(\mathbb{Q})_{\mathrm{tors}}E(Q)≃Zr⊕E(Q)tors​ for an integer r≥0r \ge 0r≥0, the rank. No algorithm is known that decides, for a given curve, whether r>0r > 0r>0, i.e. whether there are infinitely many rational points. The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture predicts rrr from an analytic object, the Hasse–Weil LLL-function L(E,s)L(E,s)L(E,s): it asserts that rrr equals the order of vanishing of L(E,s)L(E,s)L(E,s) at s=1s = 1s=1. It is one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems of the Clay Mathematics Institute; the official formulation is Andrew Wiles' problem description, The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture (2000). This mission formalizes that statement, its weak form, and the results Wiles lists as known.

Timeline.

  • 1922: L. Mordell (Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc. 21) proves that E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q) is finitely generated, answering a question of Poincaré (1901).
  • 1936: H. Hasse proves ∣p+1−#E(Fp)∣≤2p|p + 1 - \#E(\mathbb{F}_p)| \le 2\sqrt p∣p+1−#E(Fp​)∣≤2p​ at primes of good reduction, so the Euler product for L(E,s)L(E,s)L(E,s) converges for Re⁡s>3/2\operatorname{Re} s > 3/2Res>3/2; he conjectures that L(E,s)L(E,s)L(E,s) continues to an entire function.
  • 1965: B. Birch and H. P. F. Swinnerton-Dyer, Notes on elliptic curves II, state the conjecture, found experimentally on the EDSAC computer.
  • 1977: J. Coates and A. Wiles, On the conjecture of Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer: for curves with complex multiplication, L(E,1)≠0L(E,1) \ne 0L(E,1)=0 implies E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q) finite.
  • 1986: B. Gross and D. Zagier, Heegner points and derivatives of L-series: for modular EEE with L(E,1)=0≠L′(E,1)L(E,1) = 0 \ne L'(E,1)L(E,1)=0=L′(E,1), a Heegner point has infinite order.
  • 1989–1990: V. Kolyvagin, Finiteness of E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q) and Ш(E,Q)(E,\mathbb{Q})(E,Q) for a subclass of Weil curves: for modular EEE with L(E,s)L(E,s)L(E,s) vanishing to order at most 111 at s=1s=1s=1, the rank equals that order (with a non-vanishing theorem of Bump–Friedberg–Hoffstein and Murty–Murty).
  • 1995–2001: A. Wiles (Ann. Math. 141), R. Taylor and A. Wiles (Ann. Math. 141), and C. Breuil, B. Conrad, F. Diamond and R. Taylor (J. Amer. Math. Soc. 14): every elliptic curve over Q\mathbb{Q}Q is modular, so L(E,s)L(E,s)L(E,s) is entire and Kolyvagin's theorem applies to all E/QE/\mathbb{Q}E/Q.
  • 2000: the Clay Mathematics Institute adopts Wiles' formulation as a Millennium Prize Problem.
  • 2014: M. Bhargava, C. Skinner and W. Zhang, A majority of elliptic curves over Q\mathbb{Q}Q satisfy the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture: the rank conjecture holds for more than 66%66\%66% of curves ordered by height. The general case is open.

Setting

A Weierstrass equation over Q\mathbb{Q}Q is

E: y2+a1xy+a3y=x3+a2x2+a4x+a6,ai∈Q,E :\ y^2 + a_1 xy + a_3 y = x^3 + a_2 x^2 + a_4 x + a_6, \qquad a_i \in \mathbb{Q},E: y2+a1​xy+a3​y=x3+a2​x2+a4​x+a6​,ai​∈Q,

with discriminant Δ\DeltaΔ; in Lean, WeierstrassCurve ℚ. It is an elliptic curve when Δ≠0\Delta \ne 0Δ=0 (Mathlib's typeclass IsElliptic). Its rational points E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q) are the rational solutions (x,y)(x,y)(x,y) together with the point at infinity OOO, an abelian group under the chord-and-tangent law (W.toAffine.Point). The rank is the rank of this group as a Z\mathbb{Z}Z-module, r=rank⁡ZE(Q)(‘BSD.rank W‘),r = \operatorname{rank}_{\mathbb{Z}} E(\mathbb{Q}) \qquad \text{(`BSD.rank W`)},r=rankZ​E(Q)(‘BSD.rank W‘), the rrr in E(Q)≃Zr⊕E(Q)torsE(\mathbb{Q}) \simeq \mathbb{Z}^r \oplus E(\mathbb{Q})_{\mathrm{tors}}E(Q)≃Zr⊕E(Q)tors​.

The Hasse–Weil LLL-series is built prime by prime. For each prime ppp take a Weierstrass equation for EEE that is minimal at ppp (integral coefficients, with the ppp-adic valuation of Δ\DeltaΔ as small as possible) and reduce it modulo ppp; put ap=p+1−#E~(Fp)a_p = p + 1 - \#\tilde E(\mathbb{F}_p)ap​=p+1−#E~(Fp​) when the reduction is smooth (good reduction). The local factor is

Lp(E,s)={(1−app−s+p1−2s)−1good reduction,(1−p−s)−1split multiplicative reduction,(1+p−s)−1non-split multiplicative reduction,1additive reduction,L_p(E,s) = \begin{cases} (1 - a_p p^{-s} + p^{1-2s})^{-1} & \text{good reduction,}\\ (1 - p^{-s})^{-1} & \text{split multiplicative reduction,}\\ (1 + p^{-s})^{-1} & \text{non-split multiplicative reduction,}\\ 1 & \text{additive reduction,}\end{cases}Lp​(E,s)=⎩⎨⎧​(1−ap​p−s+p1−2s)−1(1−p−s)−1(1+p−s)−11​good reduction,split multiplicative reduction,non-split multiplicative reduction,additive reduction,​

and L(E,s)=∏pLp(E,s)=∑n≥1ann−sL(E,s) = \prod_p L_p(E,s) = \sum_{n \ge 1} a_n n^{-s}L(E,s)=∏p​Lp​(E,s)=∑n≥1​an​n−s, convergent for Re⁡s>3/2\operatorname{Re} s > 3/2Res>3/2 by Hasse's bound. In Lean this is Mathlib's WeierstrassCurve.LSeries W s, defined by exactly this recipe (WeierstrassCurve.LFunction is the arithmetic function n↦ann \mapsto a_nn↦an​, an Euler product of local factors computed on a model minimal at each prime); where the Dirichlet series does not converge, Mathlib's LSeries takes the junk value 000. This is the complete LLL-series L∗(C,s)L^*(C,s)L∗(C,s) of Wiles' Remark 1; it differs from the incomplete product over p∤2Δp \nmid 2\Deltap∤2Δ in Wiles' display by finitely many factors holomorphic and non-zero at s=1s = 1s=1, so both have the same order of vanishing there.

An LLL-function of EEE is an entire function Λ:C→C\Lambda : \mathbb{C} \to \mathbb{C}Λ:C→C with Λ(s)=L(E,s)\Lambda(s) = L(E,s)Λ(s)=L(E,s) for Re⁡s>3/2\operatorname{Re} s > 3/2Res>3/2 (BSD.IsLFunction W Λ). By the identity theorem there is at most one; by modularity there is exactly one. The order of vanishing of Λ\LambdaΛ at s=1s = 1s=1 is the mmm with Λ(s)=c(s−1)m+…\Lambda(s) = c(s-1)^m + \dotsΛ(s)=c(s−1)m+…, c≠0c \ne 0c=0; in Lean, analyticOrderAt Λ 1, valued in N∪{∞}\mathbb{N} \cup \{\infty\}N∪{∞}, with value ∞\infty∞ exactly when Λ\LambdaΛ vanishes identically near 111.

Formalization targets

Goal: the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture (BSD.birch_swinnerton_dyer)

For every elliptic curve EEE over Q\mathbb{Q}Q there is an entire Λ\LambdaΛ agreeing with L(E,s)L(E,s)L(E,s) on Re⁡s>3/2\operatorname{Re} s > 3/2Res>3/2 such that

ord⁡s=1Λ=rank⁡ZE(Q).\operatorname{ord}_{s=1} \Lambda = \operatorname{rank}_{\mathbb{Z}} E(\mathbb{Q}).ords=1​Λ=rankZ​E(Q).

This is Wiles' Conjecture (Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer): L(C,s)=c(s−1)r+higher order termsL(C,s) = c(s-1)^r + \text{higher order terms}L(C,s)=c(s−1)r+higher order terms with c≠0c \ne 0c=0 and r=rank⁡C(Q)r = \operatorname{rank} C(\mathbb{Q})r=rankC(Q). Open.

Weaker target: the weak conjecture (BSD.weak_birch_swinnerton_dyer)

There is an LLL-function Λ\LambdaΛ of EEE with Λ(1)=0\Lambda(1) = 0Λ(1)=0 if and only if E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q) is infinite. Wiles: "In particular this conjecture asserts that L(C,1)=0⇔C(Q)L(C,1) = 0 \Leftrightarrow C(\mathbb{Q})L(C,1)=0⇔C(Q) is infinite." Open.

Milestones: what Wiles lists as known

  1. Mordell's theorem (BSD.mordell): E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q) is a finitely generated abelian group.
  2. Convergence of the LLL-series (BSD.lSeriesSummable): ∑ann−s\sum a_n n^{-s}∑an​n−s converges for Re⁡s>3/2\operatorname{Re} s > 3/2Res>3/2. Wiles: "this Euler product is then known to converge for Re⁡(s)>3/2\operatorname{Re}(s) > 3/2Re(s)>3/2."
  3. Analytic continuation (BSD.exists_isLFunction): EEE has an LLL-function. Wiles: Hasse's conjecture, "now been proved" by Wiles, Taylor–Wiles and Breuil–Conrad–Diamond–Taylor.
  4. Gross–Zagier–Kolyvagin (BSD.birch_swinnerton_dyer_of_analyticOrderAt_le_one): if an LLL-function of EEE vanishes to order at most 111 at s=1s = 1s=1, its order equals the rank. Wiles: "If L(C,s)∼c(s−1)mL(C,s) \sim c(s-1)^mL(C,s)∼c(s−1)m with c≠0c \ne 0c=0 and m=0m = 0m=0 or 111, then the conjecture holds."

A bridging lemma, BSD.isLFunction_unique, records that an LLL-function of EEE is unique when it exists.

Significance

The result itself. The conjecture makes the finiteness of E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q) decidable from L(E,1)L(E,1)L(E,1) and, in its refined form, gives an effective procedure for finding generators (Manin, 1971). Conditionally on it, Tunnell (1983) characterises the congruent numbers, the areas of right triangles with rational sides, a problem open since the tenth century. It is the prototype of the conjectures of Tate, Deligne, Beilinson and Bloch–Kato relating ranks of arithmetic groups to orders of vanishing of LLL-functions.

Formalizing it. None of the statements in this mission has a machine-checked proof. Mathlib provides the objects: the group law on E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q), minimal models and reduction types over discrete valuation rings, and the Hasse–Weil LLL-series as a Dirichlet series (2025–2026). It does not contain Mordell's theorem (no theory of heights), Hasse's bound, modularity, or the continuation of L(E,s)L(E,s)L(E,s). On this platform, earlier library entries named birch_swinnerton_dyer are retired placeholders whose formal statements reduce to trivialities such as 0=00 = 00=0; they carry a notice saying so and are not formalizations of the conjecture. This mission gives the first faithful statement against Mathlib's own LLL-series. Two published platform results bear directly on the milestones: the descent step WeierstrassCurve.Affine.Point.addGroup_fg_of_finiteIndex (finite index of 2E(Q)2E(\mathbb{Q})2E(Q) implies finite generation) reduces milestone 1 to the weak Mordell–Weil theorem, and WeierstrassCurve.modularity_of_semistableModel from the platform's Fermat's Last Theorem development proves modularity of semistable curves for a notion of modularity defined through eigenform coefficients; relating that notion to WeierstrassCurve.LSeries would give milestone 3 for semistable curves.

Difficulty

Neither side of the equation is computable in general. On the algebraic side, descent bounds the rank from above by the rank of a Selmer group, but the gap is the Tate–Shafarevich group Ш(E)(E)(E), which is not known to be finite; the obvious plan, compute the Selmer group and show it has the rank of E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q), founders on Ш. On the analytic side one can certify Λ(1)≠0\Lambda(1) \ne 0Λ(1)=0 or Λ′(1)≠0\Lambda'(1) \ne 0Λ′(1)=0 numerically but cannot certify an exact zero, and the only known bridge from LLL-values to rational points, the Heegner point construction, produces at most one independent point. This is why milestone 4 stops at order ≤1\le 1≤1 and the conjecture is not known for a single curve of rank ≥2\ge 2≥2. Iwasawa theory (Kato, Skinner–Urban) relates ppp-adic LLL-functions to Selmer groups but yields ppp-adic, not Archimedean, orders of vanishing.

The formalization adds its own obstacles: milestone 1 needs heights and the weak Mordell–Weil theorem (Kummer theory over number fields, finiteness of class groups and units); milestone 2 needs Hasse's bound, i.e. the degree of the Frobenius endomorphism; milestones 3 and 4 rest on modularity, Galois representations, modular curves and Euler systems.

Formalization scope

  • EEE is any WeierstrassCurve ℚ with IsElliptic (Δ≠0\Delta \ne 0Δ=0); no minimality or integrality of the model is assumed. Mathlib's LLL-series passes to a minimal model at each prime internally, and the point group depends only on the curve, so every statement is invariant under change of Weierstrass equation.
  • The rank is Module.finrank ℤ W.toAffine.Point: for a finitely generated abelian group, the rrr in Zr⊕T\mathbb{Z}^r \oplus TZr⊕T; for a group of infinite rank Mathlib's finrank is 000, a case milestone 1 excludes.
  • The LLL-series is Mathlib's WeierstrassCurve.LSeries, with all Euler factors including the bad primes, and junk value 000 where the Dirichlet series diverges. BSD.IsLFunction constrains Λ\LambdaΛ only on Re⁡s>3/2\operatorname{Re} s > 3/2Res>3/2; milestone 2 shows the series is genuine there, and the bridging lemma shows Λ\LambdaΛ is then unique.
  • The order of vanishing is analyticOrderAt Λ 1 : ℕ∞; equating it with a natural number asserts in particular that Λ≢0\Lambda \not\equiv 0Λ≡0 near 111.

No trivializing formalization. The existential Λ\LambdaΛ cannot be chosen freely: it must agree with the honest, non-zero Dirichlet series on a half-plane, so it is unique, and Λ≡0\Lambda \equiv 0Λ≡0 is excluded by the finite value of the rank. Without IsElliptic the statements would concern singular cubics, whose point group is Q\mathbb{Q}Q or Q×\mathbb{Q}^\timesQ×; the hypothesis is required, not decorative.

Out of scope. The refined conjecture (the leading coefficient in terms of Ш(E)(E)(E), the regulator, the real period and the Tamagawa numbers), the finiteness of Ш(E)(E)(E), number fields and abelian varieties, and the functional equation of L(E,s)L(E,s)L(E,s).

Infrastructure needed and welcome contributions. Heights on E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q) and the weak Mordell–Weil theorem; Hasse's bound and the multiplicativity of ana_nan​; a bridge from Mathlib's WeierstrassCurve.LSeries to the LLL-series of a weight-two newform, so that existing modularity results yield milestone 3; Heegner points and Kolyvagin's Euler system for milestone 4; and the bridging lemma, provable now from the identity theorem. Decompositions of every milestone and lemmas about WeierstrassCurve.LFunction (its values at primes, multiplicativity, independence of the model) are welcome.

Selected references

  • A. Wiles, The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture, Clay Mathematics Institute Millennium Prize Problem description, 2000. https://www.claymath.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/birchswin.pdf
  • B. J. Birch, H. P. F. Swinnerton-Dyer, Notes on elliptic curves II, Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik 218 (1965), 79–108. https://doi.org/10.1515/crll.1965.218.79
  • L. J. Mordell, On the rational solutions of the indeterminate equations of the third and fourth degrees, Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 21 (1922), 179–192.
  • J. Coates, A. Wiles, On the conjecture of Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer, Inventiones Mathematicae 39 (1977), 223–251. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01402975
  • B. H. Gross, D. B. Zagier, Heegner points and derivatives of L-series, Inventiones Mathematicae 84 (1986), 225–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01388809
  • V. A. Kolyvagin, Finiteness of E(Q)E(\mathbb{Q})E(Q) and Ш(E,Q)(E,\mathbb{Q})(E,Q) for a subclass of Weil curves, Mathematics of the USSR-Izvestiya 32 (1989), 523–541. https://doi.org/10.1070/IM1989v032n03ABEH000779
  • A. Wiles, Modular elliptic curves and Fermat's Last Theorem, Annals of Mathematics 141 (1995), 443–551. https://doi.org/10.2307/2118559
  • R. Taylor, A. Wiles, Ring-theoretic properties of certain Hecke algebras, Annals of Mathematics 141 (1995), 553–572. https://doi.org/10.2307/2118560
  • C. Breuil, B. Conrad, F. Diamond, R. Taylor, On the modularity of elliptic curves over Q\mathbb{Q}Q: wild 3-adic exercises, Journal of the American Mathematical Society 14 (2001), 843–939. https://doi.org/10.1090/S0894-0347-01-00370-8
  • J. B. Tunnell, A classical Diophantine problem and modular forms of weight 3/2, Inventiones Mathematicae 72 (1983), 323–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01389327
  • M. Bhargava, C. Skinner, W. Zhang, A majority of elliptic curves over Q\mathbb{Q}Q satisfy the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, 2014. https://arxiv.org/abs/1407.1826
  • J. H. Silverman, The Arithmetic of Elliptic Curves, 2nd ed., Graduate Texts in Mathematics 106, Springer, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09494-6
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Optimal Transport·Captain: ykanoria

Excursion Coupling for the Monge Problem on the Line (Juillet 2019)Research Paper

The Monge optimal transport problem on the real line with the classical distance cost ∣x−y∣|x-y|∣x−y∣ famously fails to have a unique solution. Juillet (2019) restored uniqueness by considering the strictly concave power costs ∣x−y∣p|x-y|^p∣x−y∣p with p<1p<1p<1 and letting p→1−p\to 1^-p→1−: the limit selects a distinguished optimal plan, the excursion coupling, built from the level sets of the difference Fσ=Fμ−FνF_\sigma=F_\mu-F_\nuFσ​=Fμ​−Fν​ of the cumulative distribution functions. This mission formalizes the completed-graph construction, the generalized Banach indicatrix identities of Bertoin-Yor, the alternating crossing structure of almost every level, and the marginal identities for the crossing counting measures. It culminates in Propositions 3.5-3.6: every monotone transport plan is concentrated on the paired routes, and the marginals uniquely determine the coupling carried by those routes, including in the presence of atoms.

This mission formalizes the key implication 3=>4 in Juillet's Main Theorem.

37 thms5 active usersReviewed
Partial Differential Equations·Captain: korbonits

Formalize Navier-StokesOpen Problem

Motivation

The incompressible Navier–Stokes equations are the standard model for the motion of a viscous fluid such as water or air, used daily in engineering, meteorology and oceanography. Yet the most basic mathematical question about them is open: starting from smooth initial data in three dimensions, does a smooth solution exist for all time? This is one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems of the Clay Mathematics Institute. Its official formulation is Charles Fefferman's problem description, Existence and smoothness of the Navier–Stokes equation (2000), which offers a prize for a proof of any one of four statements: global existence and smoothness on R3\mathbb{R}^3R3 (statement (A)) or on the torus R3/Z3\mathbb{R}^3/\mathbb{Z}^3R3/Z3 (statement (B)), or a counterexample to either (statements (C) and (D)). This mission formalizes statement (A), together with the classical partial results that Fefferman lists as known.

Timeline.

  • 1822–1845: Navier and Stokes write down the equations of a viscous incompressible fluid.
  • 1934: Jean Leray, Sur le mouvement d'un liquide visqueux emplissant l'espace (Acta Math. 63), proves on R3\mathbb{R}^3R3 that smooth solutions exist for a positive time depending on the data, that they exist for all time when the data is small compared with the viscosity, and that global weak solutions with finite energy always exist. Their smoothness and uniqueness are left open.
  • 1933–1969: the two-dimensional problem is settled (Leray for the plane; Olga Ladyzhenskaya's monograph The Mathematical Theory of Viscous Incompressible Flow, 2nd ed. 1969, for bounded domains): smooth solutions exist for all time and are unique.
  • 1984: Tosio Kato, Strong LpL^pLp-solutions of the Navier–Stokes equation in Rm\mathbb{R}^mRm (Math. Z. 187), gives global solutions for initial data small in L3(R3)L^3(\mathbb{R}^3)L3(R3).
  • 1976–1998: partial regularity. Scheffer, then Caffarelli, Kohn and Nirenberg (Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 35, 1982), show that the singular set of a suitable weak solution has one-dimensional parabolic Hausdorff measure zero.
  • 2000: the Clay Mathematics Institute adopts Fefferman's formulation as a Millennium Prize Problem. It remains open.

Setting

Fix a dimension n≥1n \ge 1n≥1 and write Rn\mathbb{R}^nRn for Euclidean nnn-space with its Euclidean norm ∣x∣|x|∣x∣; in Lean this is NavierStokes.Vec n. A velocity field assigns to each time t∈Rt \in \mathbb{R}t∈R and point x∈Rnx \in \mathbb{R}^nx∈Rn a vector u(x,t)∈Rnu(x,t) \in \mathbb{R}^nu(x,t)∈Rn; in Lean u tu\,tut is the field at time ttt and u t xu\,t\,xutx is Fefferman's u(x,t)u(x,t)u(x,t). A pressure is a real function p(x,t)p(x,t)p(x,t). The viscosity ν\nuν is a positive constant. The external force of Fefferman's equation (1) is identically zero throughout, as in statement (A).

For a vector field v:Rn→Rnv : \mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R}^nv:Rn→Rn the divergence is

div⁡v=∑i=1n∂vi∂xi,\operatorname{div} v = \sum_{i=1}^n \frac{\partial v_i}{\partial x_i},divv=i=1∑n​∂xi​∂vi​​,

in Lean NavierStokes.div, computed from the Fréchet derivative Dv(x)Dv(x)Dv(x) as ∑i(Dv(x) ei)i\sum_i (Dv(x)\,e_i)_i∑i​(Dv(x)ei​)i​. The Laplacian Δv=∑i∂2v/∂xi2\Delta v = \sum_i \partial^2 v/\partial x_i^2Δv=∑i​∂2v/∂xi2​ acts componentwise (Mathlib's Laplacian on inner product spaces). The gradient ∇p\nabla p∇p is Mathlib's gradient. The convective term ∑juj ∂u/∂xj\sum_j u_j\,\partial u/\partial x_j∑j​uj​∂u/∂xj​ is the derivative of u(⋅,t)u(\cdot,t)u(⋅,t) at xxx in the direction u(x,t)u(x,t)u(x,t). Finally ∣∇v∣2=∑i,j(∂vi/∂xj)2|\nabla v|^2 = \sum_{i,j} (\partial v_i/\partial x_j)^2∣∇v∣2=∑i,j​(∂vi​/∂xj​)2 is NavierStokes.gradNormSq.

Admissible initial data (Fefferman's condition (4), NavierStokes.IsInitialData): a C∞C^\inftyC∞, divergence-free vector field u0u^0u0 that decays together with all its derivatives faster than any power,

∣∂xαu0(x)∣≤CαK (1+∣x∣)−Kon Rn, for every α and K.|\partial_x^\alpha u^0(x)| \le C_{\alpha K}\,(1+|x|)^{-K} \quad \text{on } \mathbb{R}^n, \text{ for every } \alpha \text{ and } K.∣∂xα​u0(x)∣≤CαK​(1+∣x∣)−Kon Rn, for every α and K.

In Lean the bound is (1+∣x∣)K ∥Dku0(x)∥≤CkK(1+|x|)^K\,\|D^k u^0(x)\| \le C_{kK}(1+∣x∣)K∥Dku0(x)∥≤CkK​ on the kkk-th Fréchet derivative, an equivalent family of conditions. These are exactly the divergence-free Schwartz functions.

A physically reasonable solution on a set SSS of times (NavierStokes.IsSolutionOn; S=[0,∞)S = [0,\infty)S=[0,∞) for NavierStokes.IsSolution) is a pair (u,p)(u,p)(u,p) such that

  1. (Fefferman (6)) uuu and ppp are C∞C^\inftyC∞ on S×RnS \times \mathbb{R}^nS×Rn, up to the boundary of SSS;
  2. (Fefferman (1), f≡0f \equiv 0f≡0) for every t∈St \in St∈S with t>0t > 0t>0 and every xxx,
∂u∂t+∑j=1nuj∂u∂xj=ν Δu−∇p;\frac{\partial u}{\partial t} + \sum_{j=1}^n u_j \frac{\partial u}{\partial x_j} = \nu\,\Delta u - \nabla p;∂t∂u​+j=1∑n​uj​∂xj​∂u​=νΔu−∇p;
  1. (Fefferman (2)) div⁡u(⋅,t)=0\operatorname{div} u(\cdot,t) = 0divu(⋅,t)=0 for every t∈St \in St∈S;
  2. (Fefferman (3)) u(x,0)=u0(x)u(x,0) = u^0(x)u(x,0)=u0(x);
  3. (Fefferman (7), bounded energy) ∫Rn∣u(x,t)∣2 dx<C\int_{\mathbb{R}^n} |u(x,t)|^2\,dx < C∫Rn​∣u(x,t)∣2dx<C for all t∈St \in St∈S, for some constant CCC.

Formalization targets

Goal: Fefferman's statement (A)

Take ν>0\nu > 0ν>0 and n=3n = 3n=3. For every admissible initial datum u0u^0u0 there exist a velocity field uuu and a pressure ppp forming a physically reasonable solution on R3×[0,∞)\mathbb{R}^3 \times [0,\infty)R3×[0,∞):

∀ ν>0, ∀ u0 satisfying (4), ∃ (u,p) satisfying (1), (2), (3), (6), (7) on R3×[0,∞).\forall\, \nu > 0,\ \forall\, u^0 \text{ satisfying (4)},\ \exists\, (u,p) \text{ satisfying (1), (2), (3), (6), (7) on } \mathbb{R}^3 \times [0,\infty).∀ν>0, ∀u0 satisfying (4), ∃(u,p) satisfying (1), (2), (3), (6), (7) on R3×[0,∞).

This is NavierStokes.existence_and_smoothness_R3. It is open; a proof would settle the Millennium Prize Problem in the affirmative.

Milestones: what Fefferman lists as known

  1. Local existence (NavierStokes.local_existence_R3): for n=3n = 3n=3 and every admissible u0u^0u0 there are T>0T > 0T>0 and a physically reasonable solution on R3×[0,T)\mathbb{R}^3 \times [0,T)R3×[0,T). Fefferman: "(A) and (B) hold ... if the time interval [0,∞)[0,\infty)[0,∞) is replaced by a small time interval [0,T)[0,T)[0,T), with TTT depending on the initial data."
  2. Global existence for small data (NavierStokes.small_data_global_existence_R3): there is an absolute constant c>0c > 0c>0 such that, for n=3n = 3n=3, (A) holds for every admissible u0u^0u0 with
∥u0∥L22 ∥∇u0∥L22≤c ν4.\|u^0\|_{L^2}^2\,\|\nabla u^0\|_{L^2}^2 \le c\,\nu^4.∥u0∥L22​∥∇u0∥L22​≤cν4.

Fefferman: "(A) and (B) hold provided the initial velocity u0u^0u0 satisfies a smallness condition." The scale-invariant product is Leray's form of the condition; it implies smallness of ∥u0∥L3/ν\|u^0\|_{L^3}/\nu∥u0∥L3​/ν, so Kato's theorem also applies. 3. The two-dimensional case (NavierStokes.existence_and_smoothness_R2): statement (A) with n=2n = 2n=2. Fefferman: "In two dimensions, the analogues of assertions (A) and (B) have been known for a long time (Ladyzhenskaya)."

A bridging lemma, NavierStokes.isInitialData_iff_schwartz, identifies the admissible data with the divergence-free elements of Mathlib's Schwartz space.

Significance

The result itself. Statement (A) asks whether the basic model of viscous flow is well posed in the classical sense, i.e. whether smooth finite-energy flows can develop singularities in finite time. A positive answer shows the equations never leave the classical regime; a negative one shows the model predicts its own breakdown. Fefferman: "since we don't even know whether these solutions exist, our understanding is at a very primitive level."

Formalizing it. None of the results in this mission has a machine-checked proof, and Mathlib contains no theory of the Navier–Stokes or Euler equations. The milestones are all proved in the literature; formalizing them requires building, on Mathlib's calculus, measure theory and Schwartz space, the heat semigroup on Rn\mathbb{R}^nRn, the pressure equation Δp=−∑i,j∂i∂j(uiuj)\Delta p = -\sum_{i,j} \partial_i\partial_j(u_i u_j)Δp=−∑i,j​∂i​∂j​(ui​uj​) or the Leray projection, energy estimates, and a fixed-point construction of solutions, most of which is reusable for other evolution equations. The goal is open and expected to remain so; its role is to fix in Lean the exact statement the prize asks for, so partial results are formalized against it.

Difficulty

The energy identity ddt∫∣u∣2=−2ν∫∣∇u∣2\frac{d}{dt}\int|u|^2 = -2\nu\int|\nabla u|^2dtd​∫∣u∣2=−2ν∫∣∇u∣2 controls uuu in L2L^2L2 and ∇u\nabla u∇u in Lt,x2L^2_{t,x}Lt,x2​, but in three dimensions this control is supercritical: under the scaling uλ(x,t)=λu(λx,λ2t)u_\lambda(x,t) = \lambda u(\lambda x, \lambda^2 t)uλ​(x,t)=λu(λx,λ2t) that preserves the equations, the energy of uλu_\lambdauλ​ shrinks as λ→∞\lambda \to \inftyλ→∞, so bounded energy does not prevent concentration at small scales. Every known continuation criterion (Leray, Prodi–Serrin, Beale–Kato–Majda, Escauriaza–Seregin–Šverák) needs a quantity at or above critical scaling, none of which the energy controls. The obvious first idea, an ordinary differential inequality for ∥∇u(t)∥L2\|\nabla u(t)\|_{L^2}∥∇u(t)∥L2​, gives ddt∥∇u∥L22≤Cν−3∥∇u∥L26\frac{d}{dt}\|\nabla u\|_{L^2}^2 \le C\nu^{-3}\|\nabla u\|_{L^2}^6dtd​∥∇u∥L22​≤Cν−3∥∇u∥L26​, which closes only for small data or short time. That is exactly why milestones 1 and 2 are theorems and the goal is not.

The formalization adds a second difficulty: the solutions of the literature live in Sobolev or Besov spaces, with pointwise smoothness of uuu and ppp recovered afterwards by regularity theory, and Mathlib has neither Sobolev spaces on Rn\mathbb{R}^nRn nor the heat semigroup in usable form.

Formalization scope

  • Rn\mathbb{R}^nRn is EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin n) with Lebesgue measure; the dimension is a parameter, the goal fixes n=3n = 3n=3 and the 2D milestone n=2n = 2n=2.
  • A velocity field is a function of all real times, but every condition is imposed only on the time set SSS; values at negative times are unconstrained.
  • Smoothness on Rn×[0,∞)\mathbb{R}^n \times [0,\infty)Rn×[0,∞) is Mathlib's ContDiffOn of the uncurried map on the closed half-space, i.e. all derivatives extend continuously to t=0t = 0t=0. The momentum equation is imposed at interior times t>0t > 0t>0 with two-sided derivatives; by continuity of the derivatives this is equivalent to Fefferman's "t≥0t \ge 0t≥0".
  • Derivatives are Mathlib's total functions (fderiv, deriv, iteratedFDeriv, gradient, Laplacian) with junk value 000 at non-differentiable points; the smoothness hypotheses make every derivative in the statements honest.
  • The energy is a Lebesgue integral in [0,∞][0,\infty][0,∞], equal to ∞\infty∞ when u(⋅,t)∉L2u(\cdot,t) \notin L^2u(⋅,t)∈/L2, so bounded energy cannot hold vacuously. The L2L^2L2 norms in the small-data hypothesis are Bochner integrals, genuine for Schwartz data.
  • No normalization is imposed on the pressure, as in Fefferman's text.

No trivializing formalization. The zero field solves the equations only for u0=0u^0 = 0u0=0; for any other admissible u0u^0u0 the initial condition, smoothness, the equation on t>0t > 0t>0 and bounded energy must all hold.

Infrastructure needed and welcome contributions. The heat kernel on Rn\mathbb{R}^nRn with Schwartz bounds; the Riesz-transform representation of the pressure or the Leray projection; energy identities for smooth decaying solutions; local existence by Picard iteration; the two-dimensional vorticity equation and its maximum principle. Theorems in the NavierStokes namespace, decompositions of the milestones, and Mathlib lemmas about ContDiffOn on half-spaces are all welcome. Statements (B), (C), (D) and the Euler equations (ν=0\nu = 0ν=0) are out of scope.

Selected references

  • C. L. Fefferman, Existence and smoothness of the Navier–Stokes equation, Clay Mathematics Institute Millennium Prize Problem description, 2000. https://www.claymath.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/navierstokes.pdf
  • J. Leray, Sur le mouvement d'un liquide visqueux emplissant l'espace, Acta Mathematica 63 (1934), 193–248. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02547354
  • O. A. Ladyzhenskaya, The Mathematical Theory of Viscous Incompressible Flow, 2nd ed., Gordon and Breach, 1969. https://archive.org/details/mathematicaltheo0000lady
  • T. Kato, Strong LpL^pLp-solutions of the Navier–Stokes equation in Rm\mathbb{R}^mRm, with applications to weak solutions, Mathematische Zeitschrift 187 (1984), 471–480. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01174182
  • L. Caffarelli, R. Kohn, L. Nirenberg, Partial regularity of suitable weak solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations, Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics 35 (1982), 771–831. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpa.3160350604
  • A. J. Majda, A. L. Bertozzi, Vorticity and Incompressible Flow, Cambridge University Press, 2002. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511613203
  • J. C. Robinson, J. L. Rodrigo, W. Sadowski, The Three-Dimensional Navier–Stokes Equations: Classical Theory, Cambridge University Press, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139095143
20 thms4 active usersReviewed
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Algebraic Topology·Captain: korbonits

Hatcher Algebraic Topology I: The Fundamental Group of the CircleTextbook

Motivation

The fundamental group π1(X,x0)\pi_1(X, x_0)π1​(X,x0​) is the first algebraic invariant a student of topology meets, and π1(S1)≅Z\pi_1(S^1)\cong\mathbb{Z}π1​(S1)≅Z is the first computation of it that carries real content. Allen Hatcher's Algebraic Topology (Cambridge University Press, 2002; freely available at pi.math.cornell.edu/~hatcher/AT/AT.pdf) is the standard text on the subject. Its Chapter 1 opens with exactly this computation (Theorem 1.7, p. 29) and immediately draws three classical consequences from it: the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra (Theorem 1.8), the Brouwer fixed point theorem for the disk (Theorem 1.9), and the Borsuk–Ulam theorem for the sphere (Theorem 1.10).

This mission is the opening entry in a series that formalizes Hatcher's book capstone by capstone. It covers the subsection "The Fundamental Group of the Circle" of Section 1.1 (pp. 29–33): the covering-space lifting properties that drive the proof, the theorem itself, and its three applications. Later entries in the series (van Kampen's theorem, the classification of covering spaces, simplicial and singular homology) will build on the declarations introduced here, which all live in the shared Lean namespace Hatcher.

Setting

A path in a topological space XXX is a continuous map f:I→Xf : I \to Xf:I→X, where I=[0,1]I = [0,1]I=[0,1]. A homotopy of paths is a family ft:I→Xf_t : I \to Xft​:I→X, 0≤t≤10 \le t \le 10≤t≤1, such that the endpoints ft(0)=x0f_t(0) = x_0ft​(0)=x0​ and ft(1)=x1f_t(1) = x_1ft​(1)=x1​ are independent of ttt and the associated map F:I×I→XF : I \times I \to XF:I×I→X, F(s,t)=ft(s)F(s,t) = f_t(s)F(s,t)=ft​(s), is continuous. A loop at a basepoint x0x_0x0​ is a path with f(0)=f(1)=x0f(0) = f(1) = x_0f(0)=f(1)=x0​. The set of homotopy classes [f][f][f] of loops at x0x_0x0​ is the fundamental group π1(X,x0)\pi_1(X, x_0)π1​(X,x0​); its product is [f][g]=[f⋅g][f][g] = [f\cdot g][f][g]=[f⋅g], where f⋅gf\cdot gf⋅g traverses fff and then ggg, each at double speed (Hatcher, Proposition 1.3).

The circle S1⊂R2S^1 \subset \mathbb{R}^2S1⊂R2 is realised as the unit circle of C\mathbb{C}C, so the point (cos⁡θ,sin⁡θ)(\cos\theta, \sin\theta)(cosθ,sinθ) is eiθe^{i\theta}eiθ and the basepoint (1,0)(1,0)(1,0) is 111. Hatcher's map

p:R→S1,p(s)=(cos⁡2πs,sin⁡2πs)=e2πisp : \mathbb{R} \to S^1, \qquad p(s) = (\cos 2\pi s, \sin 2\pi s) = e^{2\pi i s}p:R→S1,p(s)=(cos2πs,sin2πs)=e2πis

is Hatcher.circleCover. The loops

ωn(s)=(cos⁡2πns,sin⁡2πns)=p(ns),n∈Z,\omega_n(s) = (\cos 2\pi n s, \sin 2\pi n s) = p(ns), \qquad n \in \mathbb{Z},ωn​(s)=(cos2πns,sin2πns)=p(ns),n∈Z,

based at (1,0)(1,0)(1,0) are Hatcher.omegaLoopN n, and ω=ω1\omega = \omega_1ω=ω1​ is Hatcher.omegaLoop; its class [ω]∈π1(S1,1)[\omega] \in \pi_1(S^1, 1)[ω]∈π1​(S1,1) is Hatcher.omegaClass.

A covering space of XXX is a space X~\tilde XX~ together with a map p:X~→Xp : \tilde X \to Xp:X~→X such that every x∈Xx \in Xx∈X has an open neighbourhood UUU for which p−1(U)p^{-1}(U)p−1(U) is a disjoint union of open sets each mapped homeomorphically onto UUU by ppp (Hatcher's condition (∗)(\ast)(∗), p. 29; such a UUU is evenly covered). A lift of a map f:Y→Xf : Y \to Xf:Y→X is a map f~:Y→X~\tilde f : Y \to \tilde Xf~​:Y→X~ with p∘f~=fp \circ \tilde f = fp∘f~​=f.

Formalization targets

Goal (Theorem 1.7)

π1(S1,1)\pi_1(S^1, 1)π1​(S1,1) is an infinite cyclic group generated by [ω][\omega][ω]. In the form stated in Lean:

∀ g∈π1(S1,1)∃! n∈Z:[ω]n=g.\forall\, g \in \pi_1(S^1, 1)\quad \exists!\, n \in \mathbb{Z}:\quad [\omega]^n = g.∀g∈π1​(S1,1)∃!n∈Z:[ω]n=g.

Surjectivity of n↦[ω]nn \mapsto [\omega]^nn↦[ω]n says [ω][\omega][ω] generates; uniqueness of nnn says the group is infinite cyclic rather than finite.

Milestones on the road to the goal

  1. p(s)=e2πisp(s) = e^{2\pi i s}p(s)=e2πis is a covering space of S1S^1S1 (Hatcher, p. 29).
  2. Homotopy lifting property (c): for a covering space p:X~→Xp : \tilde X \to Xp:X~→X, a map F:Y×I→XF : Y \times I \to XF:Y×I→X and a lift of F∣Y×{0}F|_{Y \times \{0\}}F∣Y×{0}​ extend uniquely to a lift of FFF (p. 30).
  3. Path lifting property (a): a path fff starting at x0x_0x0​ and a point x~0∈p−1(x0)\tilde x_0 \in p^{-1}(x_0)x~0​∈p−1(x0​) determine a unique lift f~\tilde ff~​ starting at x~0\tilde x_0x~0​ (p. 29).
  4. Lifting homotopies of paths (b): a homotopy of paths ftf_tft​ starting at x0x_0x0​ lifts uniquely to a homotopy of paths f~t\tilde f_tf~​t​ starting at x~0\tilde x_0x~0​ (p. 29).
  5. Every loop in S1S^1S1 at (1,0)(1,0)(1,0) is homotopic to ωn\omega_nωn​ for a unique n∈Zn \in \mathbb{Z}n∈Z (the reformulation of Theorem 1.7 that Hatcher actually proves, p. 29).
  6. [ω]n=[ωn][\omega]^n = [\omega_n][ω]n=[ωn​] for every n∈Zn \in \mathbb{Z}n∈Z (Hatcher's remark after Theorem 1.7, p. 29).

Applications (Theorems 1.8–1.10)

Every nonconstant f∈C[z] has a root in C.\text{Every nonconstant } f \in \mathbb{C}[z] \text{ has a root in } \mathbb{C}.Every nonconstant f∈C[z] has a root in C. Every continuous h:D2→D2 has a fixed point.\text{Every continuous } h : D^2 \to D^2 \text{ has a fixed point.}Every continuous h:D2→D2 has a fixed point. Every continuous f:S2→R2 satisfies f(x)=f(−x) for some x∈S2.\text{Every continuous } f : S^2 \to \mathbb{R}^2 \text{ satisfies } f(x) = f(-x) \text{ for some } x \in S^2.Every continuous f:S2→R2 satisfies f(x)=f(−x) for some x∈S2.

Significance

The result itself. The computation π1(S1)≅Z\pi_1(S^1) \cong \mathbb{Z}π1​(S1)≅Z assigns to every loop in the circle an integer, its winding number, and shows that this integer is the only homotopy invariant of the loop. It is the seed of degree theory, and in Hatcher's text it is the starting point for every later computation of fundamental groups (products, van Kampen, covering spaces). The three applications are the standard demonstration that a single algebraic invariant can settle purely geometric or algebraic existence questions.

Formalizing it. Mathlib (revision 0df444a) already contains the covering-space infrastructure: IsCoveringMap, path lifting (IsCoveringMap.liftPath, eq_liftPath_iff'), homotopy lifting (IsCoveringMap.liftHomotopy, eq_liftHomotopy_iff'), monodromy, and the fact that Circle.exp is a covering map (Circle.isCoveringMap_exp). It also has FundamentalGroup X x as the endomorphism group of the fundamental groupoid. It does not contain the computation π1(S1)≅Z\pi_1(S^1) \cong \mathbb{Z}π1​(S1)≅Z, nor the two-dimensional Brouwer and Borsuk–Ulam theorems. The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra is in Mathlib as Complex.exists_root (proved by Liouville's theorem rather than by Hatcher's argument); it is kept as a milestone because it is one of the section's stated theorems, and a solver may close it directly from Mathlib. Milestones 2–4 are also within reach of the existing lifting API, but they are the lemmas Hatcher states and uses, and a faithful record of them in the mission's own namespace is what later entries in the series will import.

Difficulty

The obvious first idea for the goal is to define the winding number of a loop through the complex argument. That fails because arg⁡\argarg is discontinuous on S1S^1S1; the integer has to be produced by lifting the loop through ppp and reading off the endpoint of the lift, which is only well defined because of the uniqueness in the path lifting property. The second difficulty is uniqueness of nnn: this needs lifting of homotopies (milestone 4), not just of paths, together with the observation that a lifted homotopy of paths has constant endpoints.

Connecting the concrete loops to Mathlib's abstract π1\pi_1π1​ is its own obstacle. FundamentalGroup Circle 1 multiplies by composing morphisms of the fundamental groupoid, so identifying [ω]n[\omega]^n[ω]n with the class of the explicit loop ωn\omega_nωn​ (milestone 6) requires reparametrization arguments for concatenated paths, for negative nnn as well as positive.

For Theorem 1.9 the difficulty is the construction and continuity of the retraction r:D2→S1r : D^2 \to S^1r:D2→S1 from a fixed-point-free map, and then the non-existence of a retraction, which uses that π1(S1)≠0\pi_1(S^1) \neq 0π1​(S1)=0. For Theorem 1.10 Hatcher's proof lifts a loop g(s)=f(cos⁡2πs,sin⁡2πs)/∣⋯∣g(s) = f(\cos 2\pi s, \sin 2\pi s)/\lvert \cdots \rvertg(s)=f(cos2πs,sin2πs)/∣⋯∣ through ppp and shows the lift changes by an odd integer over half a turn; making that parity argument rigorous in Lean is the substance of the milestone.

Formalization scope

  • S1S^1S1 is Circle (the unit circle in C\mathbb{C}C) with basepoint 1; D2D^2D2 is Metric.closedBall (0 : EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin 2)) 1; S2S^2S2 is Metric.sphere (0 : EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin 3)) 1, with −x-x−x the antipodal point.
  • A covering space is Mathlib's IsCoveringMap p. This agrees with Hatcher's condition (∗)(\ast)(∗); neither requires ppp to be surjective.
  • Paths are continuous maps C(I, X) or Mathlib Paths; for homotopies of paths, the square is written I × I with Hatcher's coordinate order F(s,t)=ft(s)F(s,t) = f_t(s)F(s,t)=ft​(s): the first coordinate is the path parameter, the second the homotopy parameter. In the general homotopy lifting property the domain is Y × I with YYY an arbitrary topological space, as in Hatcher.
  • π1(S1,1)\pi_1(S^1, 1)π1​(S1,1) is Mathlib's FundamentalGroup Circle 1, and [ω][\omega][ω] is FundamentalGroup.fromPath ⟦omegaLoop⟧. Because the goal quantifies over integer powers of a single element, the order of multiplication in FundamentalGroup is immaterial to its truth.
  • The goal is stated as ∀g ∃!n, [ω]n=g\forall g\, \exists! n,\ [\omega]^n = g∀g∃!n, [ω]n=g rather than as an abstract isomorphism with Z\mathbb{Z}Z, so that the generator is pinned to Hatcher's explicit loop; an isomorphism FundamentalGroup Circle 1 ≃* Multiplicative ℤ sending [ω][\omega][ω] to 111 is an immediate corollary and a welcome contribution.
  • "Nonconstant polynomial" is 0 < f.degree, which excludes both the zero polynomial and nonzero constants.

Contributions welcome: proofs of the milestones from Mathlib's lifting API, a degree homomorphism π1(S1,1)→Z\pi_1(S^1,1) \to \mathbb{Z}π1​(S1,1)→Z packaged for reuse, and any lemma about concatenation and reparametrization of loops in Circle that later chapters of the series can import.

Selected references

  • A. Hatcher, Algebraic Topology, Cambridge University Press, 2002. Section 1.1, "The Fundamental Group of the Circle", pp. 29–33. https://pi.math.cornell.edu/~hatcher/AT/AT.pdf
  • L. E. J. Brouwer, Über Abbildung von Mannigfaltigkeiten, Mathematische Annalen 71 (1911), 97–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01456931
  • K. Borsuk, Drei Sätze über die n-dimensionale euklidische Sphäre, Fundamenta Mathematicae 20 (1933), 177–190. https://doi.org/10.4064/fm-20-1-177-190
  • Mathlib, Mathlib/Topology/Homotopy/Lifting.lean (path and homotopy lifting for covering maps). https://github.com/leanprover-community/mathlib4/blob/0df444a360eaa60ab8c11dca51a86af692955474/Mathlib/Topology/Homotopy/Lifting.lean
  • Mathlib, Mathlib/AlgebraicTopology/FundamentalGroupoid/FundamentalGroup.lean (the fundamental group). https://github.com/leanprover-community/mathlib4/blob/0df444a360eaa60ab8c11dca51a86af692955474/Mathlib/AlgebraicTopology/FundamentalGroupoid/FundamentalGroup.lean
11 thms4 active usersReviewed
Analysis·Captain: mikedeng1

Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables I: Holomorphic Functions and Power Series on PolydiscsTextbook

Why holomorphic functions of several variables

Several complex variables studies functions of z=(z1,…,zn)∈Cnz = (z_1, \dots, z_n) \in \mathbb{C}^nz=(z1​,…,zn​)∈Cn that are holomorphic in every coordinate. It underlies complex geometry, the theory of analytic spaces, and parts of mathematical physics and harmonic analysis. Every later topic of the subject (domains of holomorphy, pseudoconvexity, the ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-problem, the Bergman kernel, analytic varieties) starts from the same foundation: a function that is holomorphic in each variable separately and locally bounded is jointly smooth and is locally the sum of a convergent power series. This mission formalizes that foundation as it appears in the first chapter of Jiří Lebl's textbook Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables (jirka.org/scv).

Historically, the step from separate to joint regularity is due to Osgood (1899), who showed that a continuous (later: locally bounded) function that is holomorphic in each variable separately is holomorphic; Hartogs (1906) later removed the boundedness assumption altogether, a much harder theorem not covered here.

Setting

Points of Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn are z=(z1,…,zn)z = (z_1, \dots, z_n)z=(z1​,…,zn​). For a center a∈Cna \in \mathbb{C}^na∈Cn and a polyradius ρ=(ρ1,…,ρn)\rho = (\rho_1, \dots, \rho_n)ρ=(ρ1​,…,ρn​) with every ρk>0\rho_k > 0ρk​>0, the polydisc is

Δρ(a)={z∈Cn:∣zk−ak∣<ρk, k=1,…,n},\Delta_\rho(a) = \{ z \in \mathbb{C}^n : |z_k - a_k| < \rho_k,\ k = 1, \dots, n \},Δρ​(a)={z∈Cn:∣zk​−ak​∣<ρk​, k=1,…,n},

a product of open discs Δ1×⋯×Δn\Delta_1 \times \cdots \times \Delta_nΔ1​×⋯×Δn​. Its distinguished boundary is the torus Γ=∂Δ1×⋯×∂Δn={∣ζk−ak∣=ρk for all k}\Gamma = \partial\Delta_1 \times \cdots \times \partial\Delta_n = \{ |\zeta_k - a_k| = \rho_k \text{ for all } k \}Γ=∂Δ1​×⋯×∂Δn​={∣ζk​−ak​∣=ρk​ for all k}, and Δ‾\overline{\Delta}Δ denotes the closed polydisc.

A function fff on an open set U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn is holomorphic (the book's Definition 1.1.2) if it is locally bounded (every point of UUU has a neighborhood on which fff is bounded) and complex-differentiable in each variable separately: for every z∈Uz \in Uz∈U and every kkk, the one-variable limit

lim⁡ξ→0f(z1,…,zk+ξ,…,zn)−f(z)ξ\lim_{\xi \to 0} \frac{f(z_1, \dots, z_k + \xi, \dots, z_n) - f(z)}{\xi}ξ→0lim​ξf(z1​,…,zk​+ξ,…,zn​)−f(z)​

exists. A map f=(f1,…,fm):U→Cmf = (f_1, \dots, f_m) : U \to \mathbb{C}^mf=(f1​,…,fm​):U→Cm is holomorphic if every component is.

A multi-index is α=(α1,…,αn)∈N0n\alpha = (\alpha_1, \dots, \alpha_n) \in \mathbb{N}_0^nα=(α1​,…,αn​)∈N0n​, with α!=α1!⋯αn!\alpha! = \alpha_1! \cdots \alpha_n!α!=α1​!⋯αn​!, (z−a)α=∏k(zk−ak)αk(z-a)^\alpha = \prod_k (z_k - a_k)^{\alpha_k}(z−a)α=∏k​(zk​−ak​)αk​ and ρα=∏kρkαk\rho^\alpha = \prod_k \rho_k^{\alpha_k}ρα=∏k​ρkαk​​. A power series ∑αcα(z−a)α\sum_\alpha c_\alpha (z-a)^\alpha∑α​cα​(z−a)α is summed over all multi-indices; since N0n\mathbb{N}_0^nN0n​ has no natural order, convergence means absolute convergence, and the series converges uniformly absolutely on a set XXX when ∑α∣cα(z−a)α∣\sum_\alpha |c_\alpha (z-a)^\alpha|∑α​∣cα​(z−a)α∣ converges uniformly for z∈Xz \in Xz∈X. The Wirtinger derivative is ∂/∂zk=12(∂/∂xk−i ∂/∂yk)\partial/\partial z_k = \tfrac12(\partial/\partial x_k - i\,\partial/\partial y_k)∂/∂zk​=21​(∂/∂xk​−i∂/∂yk​) for zk=xk+iykz_k = x_k + i y_kzk​=xk​+iyk​, and ∂∣α∣/∂zα\partial^{|\alpha|}/\partial z^\alpha∂∣α∣/∂zα applies ∂/∂zk\partial/\partial z_k∂/∂zk​ exactly αk\alpha_kαk​ times for each kkk.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 1.2.1 (power series on a polydisc)

Let Δ=Δρ(a)\Delta = \Delta_\rho(a)Δ=Δρ​(a) be a polydisc. If f:Δ‾→Cf : \overline{\Delta} \to \mathbb{C}f:Δ→C is continuous and holomorphic in Δ\DeltaΔ, then there are coefficients cαc_\alphacα​ with

f(z)=∑αcα(z−a)α(z∈Δ),f(z) = \sum_\alpha c_\alpha (z-a)^\alpha \qquad (z \in \Delta),f(z)=α∑​cα​(z−a)α(z∈Δ),

the series converging uniformly absolutely on every compact subset of Δ\DeltaΔ. Conversely, a function defined on Δ\DeltaΔ by such a series is holomorphic on Δ\DeltaΔ. Both directions are part of the goal.

Milestones

In attack order:

  1. Proposition 1.1.3. A holomorphic function on an open UUU is C∞C^\inftyC∞, and every ∂f/∂zk\partial f/\partial z_k∂f/∂zk​ is again holomorphic.
  2. Theorem 1.1.4 (Cauchy integral formula). For fff continuous on Δ‾\overline{\Delta}Δ and holomorphic in Δ\DeltaΔ, and z∈Δz \in \Deltaz∈Δ,
f(z)=1(2πi)n∫Γf(ζ)(ζ1−z1)⋯(ζn−zn) dζ1∧⋯∧dζn.f(z) = \frac{1}{(2\pi i)^n} \int_\Gamma \frac{f(\zeta)}{(\zeta_1 - z_1)\cdots(\zeta_n - z_n)}\, d\zeta_1 \wedge \cdots \wedge d\zeta_n.f(z)=(2πi)n1​∫Γ​(ζ1​−z1​)⋯(ζn​−zn​)f(ζ)​dζ1​∧⋯∧dζn​.
  1. Proposition 1.2.2. The derivative formula ∂∣α∣f∂zα(z)=1(2πi)n∫Γα! f(ζ)(ζ−z)α+1 dζ\frac{\partial^{|\alpha|} f}{\partial z^\alpha}(z) = \frac{1}{(2\pi i)^n}\int_\Gamma \frac{\alpha!\, f(\zeta)}{(\zeta - z)^{\alpha+1}}\,d\zeta∂zα∂∣α∣f​(z)=(2πi)n1​∫Γ​(ζ−z)α+1α!f(ζ)​dζ, the coefficient formula cα=1α!∂∣α∣f∂zα(a)c_\alpha = \frac{1}{\alpha!}\frac{\partial^{|\alpha|} f}{\partial z^\alpha}(a)cα​=α!1​∂zα∂∣α∣f​(a), and the Cauchy estimates ∣cα∣≤∥f∥Γ/ρα|c_\alpha| \le \|f\|_\Gamma / \rho^\alpha∣cα​∣≤∥f∥Γ​/ρα.
  2. Proposition 1.2.3. A limit, uniform on compact subsets, of holomorphic functions is holomorphic, and all derivatives ∂∣α∣/∂zα\partial^{|\alpha|}/\partial z^\alpha∂∣α∣/∂zα converge uniformly on compact subsets.
  3. Theorem 1.2.7 (identity theorem). On a domain, a holomorphic function vanishing on a nonempty open subset vanishes identically.
  4. Theorem 1.2.8 (maximum principle). On a domain, if ∣f∣|f|∣f∣ has a local maximum at aaa, then f≡f(a)f \equiv f(a)f≡f(a).
  5. Theorem 1.3.5. Compositions of holomorphic mappings are holomorphic.
  6. Proposition 1.3.7. For holomorphic f:U→Cnf : U \to \mathbb{C}^nf:U→Cn, ∣det⁡Df(p)∣2=det⁡DRf(p)|\det Df(p)|^2 = \det D_{\mathbb{R}} f(p)∣detDf(p)∣2=detDR​f(p).

Significance

Theorem 1.2.1 is the statement that makes the theory of several complex variables possible: it identifies the book's elementary, one-variable-at-a-time definition of holomorphy with local representability by power series. Uniqueness of the coefficients, the Cauchy estimates, the identity theorem, the maximum principle, and holomorphy of compositions and of implicit functions all follow from it, and every later chapter of the book (Hartogs figures, pseudoconvexity, the Bergman kernel, Weierstrass preparation) uses it without comment.

Mathlib already develops complex analysis in several variables for Fréchet-differentiable maps: analyticity of DifferentiableOn ℂ functions, torusIntegral, Cauchy integrals over circles, and Osgood-type regularity for maps on Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn are available or published on the platform. What this mission adds is the bridge from the weaker separate notion of holomorphy, with local boundedness, to these results, stated with multi-index power series and uniform absolute convergence on compact sets exactly as in the textbook. The results are classical and fully proved in the book; none has a machine-checked proof in this form.

Difficulty

The hypothesis controls fff only along complex lines parallel to the coordinate axes, plus a bound. Nothing in the definition says that fff is continuous, let alone jointly differentiable, so no joint limit, Fréchet derivative, or change of the order of integration is available at the start. Every tool that the one-variable theory and Mathlib's multivariable library supply presupposes joint regularity; the obstacle is to obtain it from separate information.

A second difficulty is bookkeeping: power series over N0n\mathbb{N}_0^nN0n​ have no natural order, so convergence must be handled as unconditional summation with a uniformity statement over compact sets, and iterated Wirtinger derivatives must be related to derivatives of the series term by term.

Formalization scope

  • Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is Fin n → ℂ; multi-indices are Fin n → ℕ. A polyradius is ρ : Fin n → ℝ with the hypothesis ∀ k, 0 < ρ k; the polydisc is defined coordinatewise (not Metric.ball, which only gives equal radii).
  • Holomorphy is the book's Definition 1.1.2, IsHolomorphicOn f U: local boundedness plus complex differentiability at ξ=0\xi = 0ξ=0 of ξ↦f(z1,…,zk+ξ,…,zn)\xi \mapsto f(z_1, \dots, z_k + \xi, \dots, z_n)ξ↦f(z1​,…,zk​+ξ,…,zn​) (via Function.update). Openness of UUU is a hypothesis wherever the book says "open". Maps into Cm\mathbb{C}^mCm are holomorphic componentwise.
  • Ruled out: defining holomorphy as Mathlib's DifferentiableOn ℂ. That makes Proposition 1.1.3 and the first half of the goal off-target (they would follow from existing library results) and is not the book's definition.
  • The closed polydisc is closure (polydisc a ρ); "continuous on Δ‾\overline{\Delta}Δ, holomorphic in Δ\DeltaΔ" keeps both hypotheses.
  • Power series: HasSum (unconditional summation) of the terms cα(z−a)αc_\alpha (z-a)^\alphacα​(z−a)α to f(z)f(z)f(z), and uniform absolute convergence on a set XXX means the finite partial sums of ∣cα(z−a)α∣|c_\alpha (z-a)^\alpha|∣cα​(z−a)α∣, directed by inclusion, converge uniformly on XXX. Mathlib's HasFPowerSeriesOnBall is not used: its balls for the sup norm are equiradial polydiscs only.
  • The integral over Γ\GammaΓ is torusIntegral, whose parametrization ζk=ak+ρkeiθk\zeta_k = a_k + \rho_k e^{i\theta_k}ζk​=ak​+ρk​eiθk​ includes the Jacobian ∏kiρkeiθk\prod_k i\rho_k e^{i\theta_k}∏k​iρk​eiθk​ and orients each circle positively. The integrands are continuous on the compact torus, so no integrability hypothesis is needed.
  • ∂/∂zk\partial/\partial z_k∂/∂zk​ is defined from real partial derivatives (deriv along t↦zk+tt \mapsto z_k + tt↦zk​+t and t↦zk+itt \mapsto z_k + itt↦zk​+it); ∂∣α∣/∂zα\partial^{|\alpha|}/\partial z^\alpha∂∣α∣/∂zα iterates it. det⁡DRf(p)\det D_{\mathbb{R}} f(p)detDR​f(p) is LinearMap.det of the real Fréchet derivative, which is basis independent.
  • The Cauchy estimate is stated for every bound MMM of ∣f∣|f|∣f∣ on Γ\GammaΓ, which is equivalent to the book's ∥f∥Γ\|f\|_\Gamma∥f∥Γ​ form.

A complete development needs the one-variable Cauchy integral formula (in Mathlib), iterated circle integrals and torusIntegral, and summation over Fin n → ℕ. The regularity bridge from separate to joint holomorphy and the multi-index power-series API are reusable across the whole series of missions on this book; contributions of either as standalone lemmas are welcome.

Selected references

  • J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables, version 4.4, 2026, Chapter 1, §§1.1–1.3. https://www.jirka.org/scv/scv.pdf
  • W. F. Osgood, "Note über analytische Functionen mehrerer Veränderlichen", Mathematische Annalen 52 (1899), 462–464.
  • L. Hörmander, An Introduction to Complex Analysis in Several Variables, 3rd ed., North-Holland, 1990, Chapter II.
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Mathematical Physics·Captain: Lucas

The Gribov Region: Geometry of the Landau-Gauge Faddeev--Popov OperatorResearch Paper

Motivation

Quantizing a Yang–Mills theory by the Faddeev–Popov procedure requires a gauge condition that picks one representative from each gauge orbit. In the Landau gauge the condition is ∂μAμa=0\partial_\mu A_\mu^a = 0∂μ​Aμa​=0. Gribov showed in 1978 that this condition is not ideal: a gauge orbit can meet the surface ∂μAμ=0\partial_\mu A_\mu = 0∂μ​Aμ​=0 more than once, so gauge-equivalent configurations — Gribov copies — are still being integrated over (V. N. Gribov, Quantization of non-Abelian gauge theories, Nucl. Phys. B139 (1978) 1). Infinitesimally, a copy of a transverse field AAA corresponds to a zero mode of the Faddeev–Popov operator Mab(A)=−∂μDμab(A)M^{ab}(A) = -\partial_\mu D_\mu^{ab}(A)Mab(A)=−∂μ​Dμab​(A), which is Hermitian on transverse configurations.

Gribov's proposed remedy is to restrict the functional integral to the Gribov region Ω\OmegaΩ, the set of transverse configurations at which M(A)M(A)M(A) is positive definite. The interest of Ω\OmegaΩ is not only that it removes infinitesimal copies: the fact that it is a bounded region of field space is the geometric input of Gribov's confinement scenario, because restricting the integration to a bounded region deforms the gluon propagator in the infrared and produces a mass scale. Whether the restriction to Ω\OmegaΩ is the physically correct prescription is still debated; the geometric properties of Ω\OmegaΩ themselves are not — they are consequences of the algebraic structure of M(A)M(A)M(A), and they are what this mission formalizes.

Timeline of the properties at issue, as recorded in §2.2.1 (pp. 188–189) of the review by N. Vandersickel and D. Zwanziger, The Gribov problem and QCD dynamics, Phys. Rep. 520 (2012) 175–251 (doi:10.1016/j.physrep.2012.07.003):

  • 1978, Gribov: existence of copies infinitesimally across the horizon ∂Ω\partial\Omega∂Ω (Nucl. Phys. B139 (1978) 1).
  • 1982, D. Zwanziger: Ω\OmegaΩ is convex and bounded in every direction (Nucl. Phys. B209 (1982) 336).
  • 1982, M. Semenov-Tyan-Shanskii and V. Franke: the variational characterization of Ω\OmegaΩ by relative minima of ∥AU∥2\|A^U\|^2∥AU∥2, and the fact that Ω\OmegaΩ still contains copies.
  • 1989, G. Dell'Antonio and D. Zwanziger: Ω\OmegaΩ is contained in an ellipsoid (Nucl. Phys. B326 (1989) 333).
  • 1991, G. Dell'Antonio and D. Zwanziger: every gauge orbit passes inside Ω\OmegaΩ (Comm. Math. Phys. 138 (1991) 291–299).

Setting

Fix a real vector space VVV of gauge-field configurations (in the physical situation, the transverse fields AμaA_\mu^aAμa​) and a finite index set {1,…,n}\{1,\dots,n\}{1,…,n} on which the Faddeev–Popov operator acts (colour index times a finite basis of fluctuation modes ω\omegaω). The formalization works with the algebraic structure that the Faddeev–Popov operator has, and nothing else:

M(A)  =  M0  +  M2(A),M(A) \;=\; M_0 \;+\; M_2(A),M(A)=M0​+M2​(A),

where

  • M0M_0M0​ is the field-independent part, M0=−∂2M_0 = -\partial^2M0​=−∂2 in the physical setting, taken here to be a fixed symmetric positive definite n×nn \times nn×n real matrix;
  • A↦M2(A)A \mapsto M_2(A)A↦M2​(A) is linear in AAA, and each M2(A)M_2(A)M2​(A) is a symmetric traceless real n×nn \times nn×n matrix. In the physical setting M2(A)ab=∂μfabcAμcM_2(A)^{ab} = \partial_\mu f^{abc} A_\mu^cM2​(A)ab=∂μ​fabcAμc​, which is traceless already in the colour indices.

The Gribov region is

Ω  =  { A∈V  :  M(A) is positive definite },M(A) positive definite  ⟺  ∀ w≠0, wTM(A) w>0.\Omega \;=\; \{\, A \in V \;:\; M(A) \text{ is positive definite} \,\}, \qquad M(A) \text{ positive definite} \iff \forall\, w \neq 0,\ w^{\mathsf T} M(A)\, w > 0 .Ω={A∈V:M(A) is positive definite},M(A) positive definite⟺∀w=0, wTM(A)w>0.

This is Eq. (2.52) of the review, with positivity as in Eq. (2.54). The boundary ∂Ω\partial\Omega∂Ω is the first Gribov horizon, where the lowest non-trivial eigenvalue of M(A)M(A)M(A) vanishes.

Formalization targets

Goal — Ω\OmegaΩ is a bounded convex set containing the origin

0∈Ω,Ω convex,∀A≠0 ∃λ0>0 ∀λ≥λ0: λA∉Ω,Ω bounded.0 \in \Omega, \qquad \Omega \text{ convex}, \qquad \forall A \neq 0\ \exists \lambda_0 > 0\ \forall \lambda \ge \lambda_0:\ \lambda A \notin \Omega, \qquad \Omega \text{ bounded}.0∈Ω,Ω convex,∀A=0 ∃λ0​>0 ∀λ≥λ0​: λA∈/Ω,Ω bounded.

The last two clauses are stated under the assumption that A↦M2(A)A \mapsto M_2(A)A↦M2​(A) is injective, i.e. that distinct configurations give distinct field-dependent parts; without it Ω\OmegaΩ contains the whole kernel of M2M_2M2​ as a linear subspace and no boundedness statement can hold.

Supporting statements

M(αA1+βA2)=αM(A1)+βM(A2)(α+β=1),M(\alpha A_1 + \beta A_2) = \alpha M(A_1) + \beta M(A_2) \quad (\alpha + \beta = 1),M(αA1​+βA2​)=αM(A1​)+βM(A2​)(α+β=1), M symmetric, tr⁡M=0, M≠0  ⟹  ∃w: wTMw<0.M \text{ symmetric},\ \operatorname{tr} M = 0,\ M \neq 0 \;\Longrightarrow\; \exists w:\ w^{\mathsf T} M w < 0 .M symmetric, trM=0, M=0⟹∃w: wTMw<0.

These are Eq. (2.53) and Eq. (2.58) of the review; they are the two ingredients from which convexity and directional boundedness follow.

Significance

What the result gives: Ω\OmegaΩ is the region to which Gribov's improved gauge fixing restricts the functional integral, and every subsequent construction in this line of work — the no-pole condition, the horizon function and the local Gribov–Zwanziger action — presupposes that the restriction is to a bounded convex region containing the perturbative point A=0A = 0A=0. Convexity is what makes the horizon condition a single well-posed constraint; boundedness in every direction is the property from which the infrared suppression of the gluon propagator, and hence Gribov's mass scale, is read off. Without boundedness there is no geometric mechanism for a mass gap in this scenario.

Status honesty: these statements are proved mathematics, not open problems; the arguments in §2.2.1 of the review are short. What is missing is a machine-checked account. No formalization of the Gribov region in Lean is known to the drafter of this proposal; the platform's existing Gribov material concerns Singer's topological obstruction to continuous gauge fixing, which is a different theorem about a different object.

Difficulty

The statements are elementary once the correct hypotheses are isolated, and the mission is calibrated accordingly: it is a faithfulness exercise rather than a depth exercise. The two places where a naive attempt fails are worth naming. First, directional boundedness does not follow from positivity alone: it needs the tracelessness of M2(A)M_2(A)M2​(A), which is what forces a direction www with wTM2(A)w<0w^{\mathsf T} M_2(A) w < 0wTM2​(A)w<0; a positive semidefinite perturbation would give a region unbounded along that ray. Second, "bounded in every direction" does not imply "bounded" for a general set, and the implication used here rests on convexity together with injectivity of M2M_2M2​ — the argument goes through a limit of rescaled configurations and a closure of the positivity condition, not through a uniform bound extracted directly from the ray statement.

Formalization scope

The mission commits to a finite-dimensional linear-algebra model of the Faddeev–Popov operator, packaged as a structure carrying: the matrix M0M_0M0​ together with a proof that it is positive definite; the linear map A↦M2(A)A \mapsto M_2(A)A↦M2​(A) together with proofs that each M2(A)M_2(A)M2​(A) is symmetric and traceless. Configurations live in an arbitrary real vector space VVV, which carries a norm and finite-dimensionality only in the two statements where boundedness is asserted. Positive definiteness is Mathlib's notion for real matrices, which includes symmetry; the region is the set of configurations where it holds strictly, so Ω\OmegaΩ is the open region and the horizon is not part of it.

This is a model, not the field-theoretic object: it replaces the operator −∂μDμ-\partial_\mu D_\mu−∂μ​Dμ​ acting on transverse fields by its finite-dimensional algebraic shadow, and the reviewer should audit it as such. The properties targeted here are exactly those whose proofs in §2.2.1 use only linearity in AAA, symmetry, tracelessness, and positivity of −∂2-\partial^2−∂2; results that genuinely need the infinite-dimensional setting — that every gauge orbit passes inside Ω\OmegaΩ, and that Ω\OmegaΩ still contains copies on its boundary — are deliberately out of scope, since they cannot be stated in this model.

The model is not vacuous: an instance exists already for V=RV = \mathbb{R}V=R, n=2n = 2n=2, M0=IM_0 = IM0​=I and M2(t)=t diag(1,−1)M_2(t) = t\,\mathrm{diag}(1,-1)M2​(t)=tdiag(1,−1), with M2M_2M2​ injective, so none of the statements is satisfied vacuously. Nor is any target trivially true: Ω\OmegaΩ is a proper nonempty subset of VVV in that instance.

Infrastructure needed: Mathlib's positive-definiteness API for matrices, the spectral theorem for real symmetric matrices (for the traceless lemma), and basic convexity and boundedness in finite-dimensional normed spaces. The traceless lemma — a nonzero symmetric traceless matrix has a direction of negative quadratic form — is reusable well beyond this mission. Contributions extending the model towards the infinite-dimensional setting, or supplying the explicit ellipsoidal bound of Dell'Antonio–Zwanziger in place of plain boundedness, are welcome.

Selected references

  • N. Vandersickel, D. Zwanziger, The Gribov problem and QCD dynamics, Physics Reports 520 (2012) 175–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2012.07.003
  • V. N. Gribov, Quantization of non-Abelian gauge theories, Nuclear Physics B139 (1978) 1.
  • D. Zwanziger, Nonperturbative modification of the Faddeev–Popov formula and banishment of the naive vacuum, Nuclear Physics B209 (1982) 336.
  • M. Semenov-Tyan-Shanskii, V. Franke, A variational principle for the Lorentz condition and restriction of the domain of path integration in non-abelian gauge theory, 1982.
  • G. Dell'Antonio, D. Zwanziger, Ellipsoidal bound on the Gribov horizon contradicts the perturbative renormalization group, Nuclear Physics B326 (1989) 333.
  • G. Dell'Antonio, D. Zwanziger, Every gauge orbit passes inside the Gribov horizon, Communications in Mathematical Physics 138 (1991) 291–299.
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Functional Analysis·Captain: wenxinzhang

Equality case for compressed convex functional calculusOpen Problem

Motivation and history

Compressing an operator to a closed subspace keeps the information visible within that subspace but can discard interactions with its orthogonal complement. The compression-rigidity question asks whether a particular equality detects that no such interactions were present. Its inputs are two commuting positive contractions and an ordinary strictly convex function of two real variables. The issue is the equality case, not the existence of a general operator inequality for every convex function.

The question was contributed by Boris Bilich to the CUHK-Shenzhen AI Math Problems collection and added on June 1, 2026. The original problem asks about operators on a Hilbert space without imposing finite dimension. The first formal target in this mission treated matrices with supplied joint spectral data. That finite-dimensional declaration has a verified proof on Prove2Me, but it does not settle the unrestricted Hilbert-space question. The September 2026 correction restores arbitrary complex Hilbert spaces as the main target and preserves the earlier result as a supporting artifact.

Setting

Let HHH be a complete complex Hilbert space, and let B(H)\mathcal B(H)B(H) be its algebra of bounded complex-linear operators. The multiplication ABABAB means composition, with BBB acting first, and A∗A^*A∗ denotes the adjoint. A positive contraction AAA is self-adjoint, satisfies Re⁡⟨v,Av⟩≥0\operatorname{Re}\langle v,Av\rangle\geq0Re⟨v,Av⟩≥0 for every v∈Hv\in Hv∈H, and has operator norm at most one. Both zero and the identity are permitted.

Write S=[0,1]2S=[0,1]^2S=[0,1]2. Let X,Y∈B(H)X,Y\in\mathcal B(H)X,Y∈B(H) be positive contractions satisfying XY=YXXY=YXXY=YX. Their joint continuous functional calculus assigns an operator g(X,Y)g(X,Y)g(X,Y) to each continuous real function ggg on SSS. It is characterized as a continuous unital real star-algebra homomorphism from C(S,R)C(S,\mathbb R)C(S,R) to B(H)\mathcal B(H)B(H) that maps the two coordinate functions to XXX and YYY. The domain has the uniform norm and the codomain the operator norm. The existence and uniqueness of this calculus follow from the standard joint spectral theorem; the relevant source is Dereziński, Lemma 6.6, printed page 43.

An orthogonal projection is an operator PPP satisfying P∗=PP^*=PP∗=P and P2=PP^2=PP2=P. The compressed operators PXPPXPPXP and PYPPYPPYP are still viewed as operators on the original space HHH, not as operators on a separately chosen finite-dimensional range. The question includes the additional hypothesis that these compressed operators commute. The original commutation of XXX and YYY does not remove the need to state this hypothesis.

Formalization targets

The main target is the entire compression implication from the source. Let f:S→Rf:S\to\mathbb Rf:S→R be continuous and strictly convex: for distinct x,y∈Sx,y\in Sx,y∈S and 0<t<10<t<10<t<1, its value at tx+(1−t)ytx+(1-t)ytx+(1−t)y is strictly less than tf(x)+(1−t)f(y)t f(x)+(1-t)f(y)tf(x)+(1−t)f(y). For X,Y,PX,Y,PX,Y,P as above, the question is whether

Pf(X,Y)P=Pf(PXP,PYP)P⟹PX=XP and PY=YP.P f(X,Y)P=P f(PXP,PYP)P \quad\Longrightarrow\quad PX=XP\ \text{and}\ PY=YP.Pf(X,Y)P=Pf(PXP,PYP)P⟹PX=XP and PY=YP.

Both outer projections on the right are part of the original assertion. There is no hypothesis that f(0,0)=0f(0,0)=0f(0,0)=0. Commutation of PPP with each coordinate operator is exactly the reducing-subspace conclusion asked for in the source.

The accompanying standard infrastructure target asserts that, for every commuting pair of positive contractions on HHH,

∃! Φ:C(S,R)⟶B(H),Φ(x↦x0)=X,Φ(x↦x1)=Y,\exists!\,\Phi:C(S,\mathbb R)\longrightarrow\mathcal B(H),\qquad \Phi(x\mapsto x_0)=X,\quad\Phi(x\mapsto x_1)=Y,∃!Φ:C(S,R)⟶B(H),Φ(x↦x0​)=X,Φ(x↦x1​)=Y,

where Φ\PhiΦ is continuous, unital, real-linear, multiplicative and star-preserving. This is the unit-square, real-valued-function specialization of Lemma 6.6, not a claim that this known theorem is a new research conjecture. Its Lean proof is a separate supporting obligation. The earlier two-dimensional milestone and the proved finite-dimensional capstone remain available; neither replaces the new main target.

Significance

A positive resolution would show that exact preservation of one strictly convex functional-calculus value, under the specified commuting-compression hypothesis, forces both operators to preserve the projection's range and its orthogonal complement. A negative resolution would require an actual Hilbert space, operators and strictly convex function satisfying every hypothesis while at least one of the two reducing identities fails.

The formal development separates this research question from the standard spectral infrastructure needed to express it. The new main declaration is an open proof obligation. The joint-calculus existence-and-uniqueness declaration is also unproved in this contribution, although mathematically standard. Local compilation and server publication check the declarations' well-formedness; they are not proofs of either statement. Only the earlier finite-dimensional result is being reported here as already proved.

Difficulty

Arbitrary bounded commuting self-adjoint operators need not have a joint eigenbasis. Consequently a matrix formulation that records finitely many joint spectral atoms cannot serve as the general operator model. The compressed pair may also have different spectral data from the original pair. The equality involves these two different functional calculi, with a projection on either side of each value.

Strict convexity in this question is ordinary scalar strict convexity on the square. Operator convexity, finite rank of the projection, compactness of the coordinate operators, and a multivariable operator Jensen inequality are not additional assumptions. Introducing any of them would change the requested question. The general formulation must also retain boundary cases rather than exclude them to simplify an argument.

Formalization scope

The Lean model uses actual bounded complex-linear maps on an arbitrary complete inner-product space. It imposes no finite-dimensionality, separability, common-eigenbasis or nonzero-space assumption. It includes P=0P=0P=0, P=IHP=I_HP=IH​ and the zero Hilbert space. The scalar field convention is complex; a real-Hilbert-space transfer is not separately formalized here.

The function is stored on the ambient real plane, but continuity, strict convexity and evaluation use only its restriction to SSS. Values outside SSS are irrelevant, and continuity outside the square is not required. Thus storing an ambient function does not exclude any continuous function originally defined only on the square.

Joint evaluation is a total definition. If a representing continuous unital real star-algebra homomorphism exists, it chooses one for the operator pair and then evaluates the supplied function. Otherwise it returns zero. The separate existence-and-uniqueness target establishes that this fallback is inapplicable to commuting positive contractions and that the choice is immaterial. No field in the model assumes the compression-rigidity conclusion. The supporting standard theorem must also apply to the compressed pair using the original projection and positivity hypotheses, without adding representation existence as a new restriction on the main question.

The replacement definition and both statements were built at Lean 4.30.0 with supported Mathlib revision c5ea00351c28e24afc9f0f84379aa41082b1188f, and their final versions received independent blind readbacks. Published older declarations and their proof identities are preserved. They should be cited with their finite-dimensional scope, not described as a solution of the arbitrary-Hilbert-space target.

Selected references

  • Boris Bilich, Equality case for compressed convex functional calculus, CUHK-Shenzhen AI Math Problems, Problem 2, added June 1, 2026. Original statement.
  • Jan Dereziński, Bounded operators, Warsaw University lecture notes, January 2007, Lemma 6.6, printed page 43. Joint continuous functional calculus.
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AnalysisDifferential GeometryPartial Differential Equations·Captain: mikedeng1

Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables V: CR Functions and Severi's Extension TheoremTextbook

Motivation

A holomorphic function on an open set of Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn restricts to a real hypersurface MMM as a function that satisfies the tangential Cauchy–Riemann equations: it is annihilated by every antiholomorphic vector tangent to MMM. Functions on MMM with this property are called CR functions, and they are the boundary values that several complex variables studies whenever a domain is approached through its boundary. The basic question is the converse: when is a CR function locally the restriction of a holomorphic function? For smooth data the answer is "not always" (the book's Example 3.2.7 gives a smooth CR function on the hyperplane Im⁡z2=0\operatorname{Im} z_2 = 0Imz2​=0 that is no such restriction). For real-analytic data the answer is "always", and that is Severi's theorem, the goal of this mission.

The mission follows Chapter 3 of Jiří Lebl's open textbook Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables (version 4.4, 2026), where Severi's theorem is proved by complexification: a real-analytic function of zzz and zˉ\bar zzˉ is treated as a holomorphic function of two independent variables (z,ζ)(z, \zeta)(z,ζ) restricted to the diagonal ζ=zˉ\zeta = \bar zζ=zˉ. The milestones are the steps of that route: uniqueness on totally real slices, the two complexification propositions, the fact that restrictions of holomorphic functions are CR, and the normal form wˉ=Φ(z,zˉ,w)\bar w = \Phi(z, \bar z, w)wˉ=Φ(z,zˉ,w) of a real-analytic hypersurface.

Setting

Write Cn≅R2n\mathbb{C}^n \cong \mathbb{R}^{2n}Cn≅R2n with zk=xk+iykz_k = x_k + i y_kzk​=xk​+iyk​. A function on an open subset of RN\mathbb{R}^NRN is real-analytic if near each point it equals a convergent power series in the real coordinates. A set M⊂CnM \subset \mathbb{C}^nM⊂Cn is a real-analytic hypersurface if near each of its points, after choosing one real coordinate yyy among the 2n2n2n and collecting the other 2n−12n-12n−1 as xxx, it is the graph y=φ(x)y = \varphi(x)y=φ(x) of a real-analytic function φ\varphiφ.

A function fff on an arbitrary set X⊂CnX \subset \mathbb{C}^nX⊂Cn is smooth (respectively real-analytic) if near each point of XXX it agrees on XXX with a smooth (respectively real-analytic) function FFF defined on an open neighbourhood. A defining function of MMM at ppp is a smooth real function rrr on an open V∋pV \ni pV∋p with nonvanishing derivative and M∩V={r=0}M \cap V = \{r = 0\}M∩V={r=0}; MMM is a smooth real hypersurface if it has one at every point.

With the Wirtinger derivative ∂/∂zˉk=12(∂/∂xk+i ∂/∂yk)\partial/\partial\bar z_k = \tfrac12(\partial/\partial x_k + i\,\partial/\partial y_k)∂/∂zˉk​=21​(∂/∂xk​+i∂/∂yk​), the space of antiholomorphic tangent vectors of MMM at ppp is

Tp(0,1)M={∑kak∂∂zˉk∣p:∑kak∂r∂zˉk(p)=0}.T^{(0,1)}_p M = \Big\{ \textstyle\sum_{k} a_k \frac{\partial}{\partial \bar z_k}\big|_p : \sum_k a_k \frac{\partial r}{\partial \bar z_k}(p) = 0 \Big\}.Tp(0,1)​M={∑k​ak​∂zˉk​∂​​p​:∑k​ak​∂zˉk​∂r​(p)=0}.

A smooth f:M→Cf : M \to \mathbb{C}f:M→C is a CR function if Xpf=0X_p f = 0Xp​f=0 for all p∈Mp \in Mp∈M and Xp∈Tp(0,1)MX_p \in T^{(0,1)}_pMXp​∈Tp(0,1)​M, where XpfX_p fXp​f is computed on any smooth local extension of fff. A real-analytic CR function is a CR function that is real-analytic on MMM.

In Lean, Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is Fin n → ℂ, and these notions are the definitions IsRealAnalyticOn, IsRealAnalyticHypersurface, IsSmoothHypersurface, IsSmoothOnSet / IsRealAnalyticOnSet, antiholTangent and IsSmoothCRFunction / IsRealAnalyticCRFunction of the namespace LeblSCV.CR.

Formalization targets

Goal: Severi's theorem (Theorem 3.2.9)

Let M⊂CnM \subset \mathbb{C}^nM⊂Cn be a real-analytic hypersurface, p∈Mp \in Mp∈M, and f:M→Cf : M \to \mathbb{C}f:M→C a real-analytic CR function. Then there are an open neighbourhood UUU of ppp and F∈O(U)F \in \mathcal{O}(U)F∈O(U) with

F(q)=f(q)for all q∈M∩U.F(q) = f(q) \qquad \text{for all } q \in M \cap U.F(q)=f(q)for all q∈M∩U.

Milestones

  1. Lemma 3.1.2. Holomorphic functions on a domain V⊂CnV \subset \mathbb{C}^nV⊂Cn that agree on V∩Rn≠∅V \cap \mathbb{R}^n \neq \emptysetV∩Rn=∅ agree on VVV.
  2. Proposition 3.1.3. A real-analytic function on a domain U⊂RnU \subset \mathbb{R}^nU⊂Rn extends to a unique holomorphic function on some domain V⊃UV \supset UV⊃U of Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn.
  3. Lemma 3.1.4. Holomorphic functions on a domain V⊂Cn×CnV \subset \mathbb{C}^n \times \mathbb{C}^nV⊂Cn×Cn that agree on V∩{ζ=zˉ}≠∅V \cap \{\zeta = \bar z\} \neq \emptysetV∩{ζ=zˉ}=∅ agree on VVV.
  4. Proposition 3.1.5. A real-analytic fff on a domain U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn has a unique holomorphic FFF on a domain V⊃{(z,zˉ):z∈U}V \supset \{(z, \bar z) : z \in U\}V⊃{(z,zˉ):z∈U} with F(z,zˉ)=f(z)F(z, \bar z) = f(z)F(z,zˉ)=f(z).
  5. Proposition 3.2.6. The restriction of a holomorphic function to a smooth (respectively real-analytic) hypersurface is a smooth (respectively real-analytic) CR function.
  6. Proposition 3.2.8. After a translation and a unitary rotation taking ppp to 000, a real-analytic hypersurface is locally wˉ=Φ(z,zˉ,w)\bar w = \Phi(z, \bar z, w)wˉ=Φ(z,zˉ,w) with Φ\PhiΦ holomorphic, Φ\PhiΦ, ∂Φ/∂zk\partial\Phi/\partial z_k∂Φ/∂zk​, ∂Φ/∂ζk\partial\Phi/\partial\zeta_k∂Φ/∂ζk​ vanishing at 000, and w=Φˉ(ζ,z,Φ(z,ζ,w))w = \bar\Phi(\zeta, z, \Phi(z, \zeta, w))w=Φˉ(ζ,z,Φ(z,ζ,w)).

Significance

Severi's theorem identifies the real-analytic CR functions on a real-analytic hypersurface with the local traces of holomorphic functions. Together with Proposition 3.2.6 it shows that, in the real-analytic category, the tangential Cauchy–Riemann equations are exactly the obstruction to holomorphic extension. It is the model for the later extension theorems of the chapter: the Baouendi–Trèves approximation theorem (Theorem 3.3.1) and the Lewy extension theorem (Theorem 3.4.1), which replace real-analyticity with smoothness and pay for it with one-sided extension or approximation. Complexification (Propositions 3.1.3 and 3.1.5) is also a tool in its own right, used for the composition of real-analytic maps (Proposition 3.1.10) and for pluriharmonic functions.

All results here are classical and proved in the book; none of them is formalized in Lean or Mathlib as far as a search of the Prove2Me corpus and Mathlib shows. Mathlib has real and complex analyticity (AnalyticOnNhd), the one-variable and several-variable identity theorems for analytic functions, and the holomorphic implicit function theorem is within reach, but it has no notion of real hypersurface, CR vector or CR function. The mission produces that layer and a checked proof of the first extension theorem for CR functions.

Difficulty

The obvious idea is to take a real-analytic extension of fff, complexify it to a holomorphic function f(z,w,ζ,ω)f(z, w, \zeta, \omega)f(z,w,ζ,ω) of 2n2n2n variables, and substitute ω=Φ(z,ζ,w)\omega = \Phi(z, \zeta, w)ω=Φ(z,ζ,w) to remove wˉ\bar wwˉ. That produces a holomorphic function of (z,w,ζ)(z, w, \zeta)(z,w,ζ), not of (z,w)(z, w)(z,w); showing that it does not depend on ζ\zetaζ requires transporting the CR equations, which hold only on MMM, to the whole complexified hypersurface. That transport is a uniqueness statement for the complexification, and it rests on the normal form of Proposition 3.2.8, itself an application of the holomorphic implicit function theorem to the complexified defining function together with its reality symmetry. On the Lean side, the diagonal {ζ=zˉ}\{\zeta = \bar z\}{ζ=zˉ} is not a complex submanifold, so identity theorems along it (Lemmas 3.1.2 and 3.1.4) do not follow from the standard identity theorem for open sets.

Formalization scope

  • Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is Fin n → ℂ, with 0-based indices; Cn×Cn\mathbb{C}^n \times \mathbb{C}^nCn×Cn is the product type. The sup norm of Fin n → ℂ never enters a statement: no ball, norm or distance occurs.
  • Holomorphic on an open set is DifferentiableOn ℂ, which is equivalent to the book's Definition 1.1.2 there. A domain is an open connected (hence nonempty) set.
  • Real-analytic is Mathlib's AnalyticOnNhd ℝ on an open set, applied to Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn as a real vector space, which is the book's power series in x,yx, yx,y (equivalently in z,zˉz, \bar zz,zˉ).
  • A real-analytic hypersurface is a local graph over one of the 2n2n2n real coordinates (Definition 3.1.9), not the zero set of a real-analytic function.
  • Functions on MMM are functions on Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn of which only the values on MMM are read. "Smooth on MMM" means locally the restriction of a C∞C^\inftyC∞ function (Definition 3.2.1). The CR condition is imposed for every defining function and every smooth local extension, which is equivalent to one choice because both are independent of the choice.
  • Proposition 3.2.8 is stated for n=m+1n = m + 1n=m+1, with the unitary change of coordinates q↦U(q−p)q \mapsto U(q - p)q↦U(q−p) and every "near the origin" made an explicit open set. Only its displayed statement is a target; the remarks that follow it on the page are not.
  • The goal cannot be satisfied by an empty hypothesis: real-analytic hypersurfaces exist (a sorry-free check shows {Im⁡z1=0}\{\operatorname{Im} z_1 = 0\}{Imz1​=0} qualifies), and by Proposition 3.2.6 every restriction of a holomorphic function is a real-analytic CR function. The CR condition is the intrinsic one on Tp(0,1)MT^{(0,1)}_pMTp(0,1)​M; replacing it with "restriction of a holomorphic function" would make the goal a tautology and is ruled out.
  • Needed infrastructure: the several-variable identity theorem, holomorphic implicit functions, power series in 2n2n2n variables, and the chain rule for Wirtinger derivatives. The definitions of real-analytic hypersurface and CR function are reusable by the later extension theorems of Chapter 3. Contributions of any milestone, of a proof that Tp(0,1)MT^{(0,1)}_pMTp(0,1)​M is independent of the defining function, or of Exercise 3.2.3 (independence of the extension) are welcome.

Selected references

  • J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables, version 4.4, 2026, Chapter 3. https://www.jirka.org/scv/
  • Mathlib documentation, Mathlib.Analysis.Analytic.Basic (analytic functions, AnalyticOnNhd). https://leanprover-community.github.io/mathlib4_docs/Mathlib/Analysis/Analytic/Basic.html
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AnalysisHarmonic Analysis·Captain: mikedeng1

Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables IV: Plurisubharmonic Functions and Hartogs PseudoconvexityTextbook

Motivation

In one complex variable every open set is the natural domain of some holomorphic function. In several variables this fails: by the Hartogs phenomenon, every function holomorphic on some domains extends to a strictly larger one. The domains that are "natural", the domains of holomorphy, are characterised by a convexity condition on the domain. Since the work of Levi (1910), Hartogs, Oka and Cartan–Thullen (1932), the way to state that condition intrinsically has been pseudoconvexity. The tool that makes it work is the plurisubharmonic function, the complex analogue of a convex function.

This mission formalizes the part of that theory that needs no partial differential equations: harmonic, subharmonic and plurisubharmonic functions; smoothing of plurisubharmonic functions; the characterizations of Hartogs pseudoconvexity; and the Cartan–Thullen theorem. The source is §2.4–2.6 of Jiří Lebl's open textbook Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables (version 4.4, 2026), pp. 78–103.

Timeline, as the book presents it:

  • Hartogs (1906) found the extension phenomenon.
  • Levi (1910) found the boundary condition now called Levi pseudoconvexity.
  • Cartan and Thullen (1932) proved that domains of holomorphy are exactly the holomorphically convex domains.
  • Oka (1942–1953), Bremermann and Norguet (1954) solved the Levi problem: every pseudoconvex domain is a domain of holomorphy. The book states this result (its Theorem 2.6.2) but does not prove it.

Setting

Throughout, Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn carries the Euclidean norm ∥z∥=(∣z1∣2+⋯+∣zn∣2)1/2\|z\| = (|z_1|^2 + \dots + |z_n|^2)^{1/2}∥z∥=(∣z1​∣2+⋯+∣zn​∣2)1/2. A domain is a nonempty connected open set. For K,U⊂CnK, U \subset \mathbb{C}^nK,U⊂Cn, K⊂⊂UK \subset\subset UK⊂⊂U means that KKK is relatively compact in UUU: its closure is compact and contained in UUU.

Harmonic and subharmonic functions (one variable). A C2C^2C2 function fff on an open U⊂CU \subset \mathbb{C}U⊂C is harmonic if ∇2f=0\nabla^2 f = 0∇2f=0. A function f:U→R∪{−∞}f : U \to \mathbb{R} \cup \{-\infty\}f:U→R∪{−∞} is subharmonic if it is upper-semicontinuous and, for every disc Br(a)B_r(a)Br​(a) with Br(a)‾⊂U\overline{B_r(a)} \subset UBr​(a)​⊂U and every ggg continuous on Br(a)‾\overline{B_r(a)}Br​(a)​ and harmonic inside it, f≤gf \le gf≤g on ∂Br(a)\partial B_r(a)∂Br​(a) implies f≤gf \le gf≤g on Br(a)B_r(a)Br​(a).

Plurisubharmonic functions. For U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn open, f:U→R∪{−∞}f : U \to \mathbb{R} \cup \{-\infty\}f:U→R∪{−∞} is plurisubharmonic if it is upper-semicontinuous and ξ↦f(a+bξ)\xi \mapsto f(a + b\xi)ξ↦f(a+bξ) is subharmonic on {ξ:a+bξ∈U}\{\xi : a + b\xi \in U\}{ξ:a+bξ∈U} for all a,b∈Cna, b \in \mathbb{C}^na,b∈Cn.

Hulls and convexity. For a class F\mathcal{F}F of extended-real functions on UUU and K⊂UK \subset UK⊂U, the hull is

K^={x∈U:f(x)≤sup⁡y∈Kf(y) for all f∈F}.\widehat{K} = \{x \in U : f(x) \le \sup_{y \in K} f(y) \text{ for all } f \in \mathcal{F}\}.K={x∈U:f(x)≤y∈Ksup​f(y) for all f∈F}.

UUU is convex with respect to F\mathcal{F}F if K⊂⊂UK \subset\subset UK⊂⊂U implies K^⊂⊂U\widehat{K} \subset\subset UK⊂⊂U. For F={∣f∣:f∈O(U)}\mathcal{F} = \{|f| : f \in \mathcal{O}(U)\}F={∣f∣:f∈O(U)} this is holomorphic convexity, with hull K^U\widehat{K}_UKU​.

Hartogs pseudoconvexity. f:U→Rf : U \to \mathbb{R}f:U→R is an exhaustion function if {z∈U:f(z)<r}⊂⊂U\{z \in U : f(z) < r\} \subset\subset U{z∈U:f(z)<r}⊂⊂U for every rrr. A domain is Hartogs pseudoconvex if it admits a continuous plurisubharmonic exhaustion function.

Analytic discs. A closed analytic disc is a nonconstant holomorphic φ:D→Cn\varphi : \mathbb{D} \to \mathbb{C}^nφ:D→Cn that extends continuously to D‾\overline{\mathbb{D}}D. Its image is Δ=φ(D)\Delta = \varphi(\mathbb{D})Δ=φ(D) and its boundary is ∂Δ=φ(∂D)\partial\Delta = \varphi(\partial\mathbb{D})∂Δ=φ(∂D).

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 2.5.6

For a domain U⊊CnU \subsetneq \mathbb{C}^nU⊊Cn with ρ(z)=dist⁡(z,∂U)\rho(z) = \operatorname{dist}(z, \partial U)ρ(z)=dist(z,∂U), the following are equivalent:

(i) −log⁡ρ is plurisubharmonic;(ii) U is Hartogs pseudoconvex;\text{(i) } -\log\rho \text{ is plurisubharmonic};\quad \text{(ii) } U \text{ is Hartogs pseudoconvex};(i) −logρ is plurisubharmonic;(ii) U is Hartogs pseudoconvex; (iii) U is convex w.r.t. plurisubharmonic functions on U;(iv) ⋃α∂Δα⊂⊂U⇒⋃αΔα⊂⊂U\text{(iii) } U \text{ is convex w.r.t. plurisubharmonic functions on } U;\quad \text{(iv) } \textstyle\bigcup_\alpha \partial\Delta_\alpha \subset\subset U \Rightarrow \bigcup_\alpha \Delta_\alpha \subset\subset U(iii) U is convex w.r.t. plurisubharmonic functions on U;(iv) ⋃α​∂Δα​⊂⊂U⇒⋃α​Δα​⊂⊂U

for every collection of closed analytic discs Δα⊂U\Delta_\alpha \subset UΔα​⊂U.

Milestones

  • Proposition 2.4.3. A continuous fff is harmonic iff it has the mean-value property. An upper-semicontinuous fff is subharmonic iff f(a)≤12π∫02πf(a+reiθ) dθf(a) \le \frac{1}{2\pi}\int_0^{2\pi} f(a + re^{i\theta})\,d\thetaf(a)≤2π1​∫02π​f(a+reiθ)dθ whenever Δr(a)‾⊂U\overline{\Delta_r(a)} \subset UΔr​(a)​⊂U.
  • Proposition 2.4.7. Finite suprema of subharmonic functions are subharmonic, and so are arbitrary suprema that are finite and upper-semicontinuous.
  • Proposition 2.4.9. A C2C^2C2 function is plurisubharmonic iff its complex Hessian [∂2f/∂zˉk∂zℓ][\partial^2 f/\partial\bar z_k \partial z_\ell][∂2f/∂zˉk​∂zℓ​] is positive semidefinite.
  • Theorem 2.4.10. Every plurisubharmonic fff is the pointwise limit of smooth plurisubharmonic fϵ≥ff_\epsilon \ge ffϵ​≥f on Uϵ={z∈U:dist⁡(z,∂U)>ϵ}U_\epsilon = \{z \in U : \operatorname{dist}(z, \partial U) > \epsilon\}Uϵ​={z∈U:dist(z,∂U)>ϵ}.
  • Theorem 2.5.2 (Kontinuitätssatz, second version): (iii) implies (iv).
  • Lemma 2.5.7. Hartogs pseudoconvexity is a local property of the boundary.
  • Theorem 2.4.12 (Radó): a continuous function holomorphic off its zero set is holomorphic.
  • Theorem 2.6.3 (Cartan–Thullen): for a domain U⊊CnU \subsetneq \mathbb{C}^nU⊊Cn, being a domain of holomorphy, dist⁡(K,∂U)=dist⁡(K^U,∂U)\operatorname{dist}(K, \partial U) = \operatorname{dist}(\widehat{K}_U, \partial U)dist(K,∂U)=dist(KU​,∂U) for all K⊂⊂UK \subset\subset UK⊂⊂U, and holomorphic convexity are equivalent.

Significance

The result. Theorem 2.5.6 makes pseudoconvexity checkable. Condition (i) involves one explicitly given function of the domain's geometry. Condition (iv) involves only families of discs. Condition (ii) is the form the Levi problem and Hörmander's L2L^2L2 theory need. From these equivalences one gets, for example, that intersections and increasing unions of pseudoconvex domains are pseudoconvex, that pseudoconvexity is a biholomorphic invariant, and, with Lemma 2.5.7, that it is a local boundary property. In the smooth case that local property is Levi pseudoconvexity (Theorem 2.5.8, chapter III of this series). Cartan–Thullen supplies the other half of the picture for domains of holomorphy.

Formalizing it. All of these results are classical and proved in the book, apart from routine steps left as exercises. As far as is known, none of them is formalized in any proof assistant. Mathlib has harmonic functions (InnerProductSpace.HarmonicOnNhd) and the circle average, but no subharmonic or plurisubharmonic functions, no hulls and no pseudoconvexity. The Prove2Me corpus holds a one-variable subharmonic definition based on the sub-mean-value property and the one-directional mean-value property of harmonic functions; neither is the book's definition or statement. The mission would give Lean a first library of plurisubharmonic functions in Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn, with the definition matching the textbook.

Difficulty

The obvious route to (iv) ⇒ (i) of the goal would show −log⁡ρ-\log\rho−logρ is plurisubharmonic by computing a complex Hessian (Proposition 2.4.9). That fails: ρ\rhoρ is in general not even differentiable, so no Hessian is available. Several other steps also need measure theory with extended-real values. The sub-mean-value property requires Lebesgue integrals of upper-semicontinuous functions that may equal −∞-\infty−∞ on large sets. Smoothing requires convolution of such functions with a mollifier, and pointwise convergence in [−∞,∞)[-\infty, \infty)[−∞,∞). Suprema of families lose upper semicontinuity in general, which is why Proposition 2.4.7 carries that hypothesis. In Cartan–Thullen, holomorphic convexity alone must produce a holomorphic function on UUU that extends across no boundary point. Nothing in the hypothesis supplies such a function directly.

Formalization scope

  • Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is EuclideanSpace ℂ (Fin n), so balls, ρ(z)\rho(z)ρ(z) = Metric.infDist z (frontier U), UϵU_\epsilonUϵ​ and dist⁡(K,∂U)\operatorname{dist}(K, \partial U)dist(K,∂U) are all Euclidean, as in the book. They are not sup-norm polydisc quantities.
  • Functions with values in R∪{−∞}\mathbb{R} \cup \{-\infty\}R∪{−∞} are EReal-valued with +∞+\infty+∞ excluded on UUU. Upper semicontinuity is UpperSemicontinuousOn for the order of EReal.
  • Hulls take suprema in EReal, and holomorphic hulls in [0,∞][0, \infty][0,∞], so no supremum takes a junk value. Set distances are infima in [0,∞][0, \infty][0,∞] (Metric.infEDist).
  • The circle mean in Proposition 2.4.3 (ii) is the Lebesgue integral of the positive part minus that of the negative part.
  • Holomorphic on an open set is DifferentiableOn ℂ, which is equivalent to the book's Definition 1.1.2 there.
  • A domain is IsOpen U ∧ IsConnected U. Relative compactness is compact closure contained in UUU.
  • Harmonic and subharmonic functions are defined only on open subsets of C=R2\mathbb{C} = \mathbb{R}^2C=R2. The book defines them on Rn\mathbb{R}^nRn, but only uses n=2n = 2n=2. This is the one restriction of scope.
  • A collection of analytic discs is a set of parametrizing maps, and Δα=φα(D)\Delta_\alpha = \varphi_\alpha(\mathbb{D})Δα​=φα​(D) as in Definition 1.4.5.
  • Definitions 1.4.5 and 2.1.1 are restated locally in the namespace LeblSCV.Pseudoconvex.

Several trivializing formalizations are ruled out. Plurisubharmonicity is not defined through the Hessian condition, so the mission does not reduce to C2C^2C2 functions. Nor is it defined by the sub-mean-value property, which would make Proposition 2.4.3 (ii) a tautology. ρ\rhoρ is not the sup-norm distance. Suprema, infima and integrals are nowhere allowed to default to 000 on empty, unbounded or non-integrable input.

A complete development needs:

  • mean values of upper-semicontinuous functions and the Poisson integral on discs (Theorem 2.4.2, not a milestone);
  • convolution with a radial mollifier on Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn;
  • Cauchy estimates on polydiscs.

The subharmonic and plurisubharmonic layer is reusable beyond this mission. Chapters on the Levi problem, the ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-problem and Bergman kernels would all build on it. Proofs of the smaller milestones, and alternative arguments for the goal, are welcome.

Selected references

  • J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables: A Whirlwind Tour of the Subject, version 4.4, 2026. https://www.jirka.org/scv/scv.pdf
  • L. Hörmander, An Introduction to Complex Analysis in Several Variables, 3rd ed., North-Holland Mathematical Library 7, 1990 (the book's reference [H] for the Levi problem).
  • H. Cartan and P. Thullen, "Zur Theorie der Singularitäten der Funktionen mehrerer komplexen Veränderlichen: Regularitäts- und Konvergenzbereiche", Mathematische Annalen 106 (1932), 617–647.
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Analysis·Captain: mikedeng1

Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables II: The Ball and the Polydisc Are Not BiholomorphicTextbook

Motivation

In one complex variable the Riemann mapping theorem classifies a whole class of domains by topology alone: every nonempty simply connected proper subdomain of C\mathbb{C}C is biholomorphic to the unit disc. Nothing of the kind holds in several variables. The two most obvious generalizations of the disc to Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn, the unit ball and the unit polydisc, are homeomorphic, yet no biholomorphic map carries one onto the other. This is the first result a student of several complex variables meets that has no one-variable shadow, and it is the standard illustration that the geometry of the boundary, not the topology of the domain, governs holomorphic equivalence.

As recounted in the source, Poincaré (1907) observed the inequivalence by computing the automorphism groups of D2\mathbb{D}^2D2 and B2\mathbb{B}_2B2​, assuming the maps extend past the boundary; H. Cartan gave the first complete proof in 1931; and Rothstein (1935) proved that there is not even a proper holomorphic map from the bidisc to the ball. This mission follows the presentation in §1.4–1.6 of J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables (version 4.4, 2026), where the inequivalence is derived from a general theorem on proper maps out of product domains, followed by Cartan's uniqueness theorem and the basic structure theory of zero sets and injective maps.

Setting

Write Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn for nnn-tuples z=(z1,…,zn)z = (z_1, \dots, z_n)z=(z1​,…,zn​) of complex numbers, D={ζ∈C:∣ζ∣<1}\mathbb{D} = \{\zeta \in \mathbb{C} : |\zeta| < 1\}D={ζ∈C:∣ζ∣<1} for the unit disc, and ∥z∥=(∣z1∣2+⋯+∣zn∣2)1/2\|z\| = (|z_1|^2 + \cdots + |z_n|^2)^{1/2}∥z∥=(∣z1​∣2+⋯+∣zn​∣2)1/2 for the Euclidean norm. The unit ball and unit polydisc are

Bn={z∈Cn:∣z1∣2+⋯+∣zn∣2<1},Dn={z∈Cn:∣zk∣<1 for k=1,…,n},\mathbb{B}_n = \{ z \in \mathbb{C}^n : |z_1|^2 + \cdots + |z_n|^2 < 1 \}, \qquad \mathbb{D}^n = \{ z \in \mathbb{C}^n : |z_k| < 1 \text{ for } k = 1, \dots, n \},Bn​={z∈Cn:∣z1​∣2+⋯+∣zn​∣2<1},Dn={z∈Cn:∣zk​∣<1 for k=1,…,n},

and the unit sphere is S2n−1=∂Bn={z:∣z1∣2+⋯+∣zn∣2=1}S^{2n-1} = \partial\mathbb{B}_n = \{ z : |z_1|^2 + \cdots + |z_n|^2 = 1 \}S2n−1=∂Bn​={z:∣z1​∣2+⋯+∣zn​∣2=1}. A domain is a nonempty connected open set. A map between open subsets of complex spaces is holomorphic if it is complex differentiable at every point.

A continuous map f:U→Vf : U \to Vf:U→V is proper if f−1(K)f^{-1}(K)f−1(K) is compact for every compact K⊂VK \subset VK⊂V. A biholomorphic map f:U→Vf : U \to Vf:U→V is a holomorphic bijection whose inverse is holomorphic; every biholomorphism is proper. An analytic disc is a nonconstant holomorphic map φ:D→Cn\varphi : \mathbb{D} \to \mathbb{C}^nφ:D→Cn, and a set SSS contains no analytic discs if no analytic disc has φ(D)⊂S\varphi(\mathbb{D}) \subset Sφ(D)⊂S. A circular domain is a domain UUU with eiθz∈Ue^{i\theta} z \in Ueiθz∈U whenever z∈Uz \in Uz∈U and θ∈R\theta \in \mathbb{R}θ∈R.

Formalization targets

Goal: Rothstein's theorem (Theorem 1.4.4)

there is no proper holomorphic map f:D2→B2.\text{there is no proper holomorphic map } f : \mathbb{D}^2 \to \mathbb{B}_2 .there is no proper holomorphic map f:D2→B2​.

The path to the goal

  • Proposition 1.4.6. S2n−1S^{2n-1}S2n−1 contains no analytic discs.
  • Lemma 1.4.7. For bounded domains U⊂RnU \subset \mathbb{R}^nU⊂Rn, V⊂RmV \subset \mathbb{R}^mV⊂Rm and continuous f:U→Vf : U \to Vf:U→V: fff is proper if and only if, whenever pk∈Up_k \in Upk​∈U and pk→p∈∂Up_k \to p \in \partial Upk​→p∈∂U, every limit point of {f(pk)}\{f(p_k)\}{f(pk​)} lies in ∂V\partial V∂V.
  • Theorem 1.4.8. If U=U′×U′′⊂Cn×CkU = U' \times U'' \subset \mathbb{C}^n \times \mathbb{C}^kU=U′×U′′⊂Cn×Ck (n,k≥1n, k \ge 1n,k≥1) and V⊂CmV \subset \mathbb{C}^mV⊂Cm are bounded domains and ∂V\partial V∂V contains no analytic discs, there is no proper holomorphic map U→VU \to VU→V.

Further results on the same definitions

  • Theorem 1.5.1 (Cartan). If U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn is a bounded domain, a∈Ua \in Ua∈U, f:U→Uf : U \to Uf:U→U holomorphic, f(a)=af(a) = af(a)=a and Df(a)=IDf(a) = IDf(a)=I, then f(z)=zf(z) = zf(z)=z on UUU.
  • Corollary 1.5.2. A biholomorphism f:U→Vf : U \to Vf:U→V of bounded circular domains with f(0)=0f(0) = 0f(0)=0 is the restriction of a linear map.
  • Theorem 1.6.1 (Riemann extension). If g∈O(U)g \in \mathcal{O}(U)g∈O(U) is not identically zero on a domain UUU and f∈O(U∖g−1(0))f \in \mathcal{O}(U \setminus g^{-1}(0))f∈O(U∖g−1(0)) is locally bounded in UUU, then fff extends uniquely to some F∈O(U)F \in \mathcal{O}(U)F∈O(U).
  • Theorem 1.6.2. The zero set of a holomorphic function that is not identically zero on a domain is, on an open dense subset of itself, locally a graph zn=g(z1,…,zn−1)z_n = g(z_1, \dots, z_{n-1})zn​=g(z1​,…,zn−1​) after reordering the variables.
  • Theorem 1.6.6. An injective holomorphic map U→CnU \to \mathbb{C}^nU→Cn on an open U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn has nowhere vanishing Jacobian determinant; a holomorphic bijection between open sets of Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is biholomorphic.

The goal is chosen as the textbook's headline result of §1.4. Theorem 1.4.8 is strictly more general; it is a milestone, so a solver may prove the goal as its special case.

Significance

Rothstein's theorem implies the biholomorphic inequivalence of B2\mathbb{B}_2B2​ and D2\mathbb{D}^2D2, the basic example that the Riemann mapping theorem has no analogue in several variables. Theorem 1.4.8 isolates the reason: a boundary that contains analytic discs cannot be mapped properly into a boundary that contains none. Cartan's uniqueness theorem and its corollary are the standard tools for computing automorphism groups of the ball and the polydisc. The Riemann extension theorem, the local graph structure of zero sets and the Jacobian criterion for injective maps are used throughout the theory of analytic varieties and of holomorphic mappings.

All of these results are classical and proved in the source. None of them is formalized in Mathlib or on the platform for Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn with n≥2n \ge 2n≥2: Mathlib has one-variable Riemann removable singularities and the maximum modulus principle, and the platform has one-variable results on injective holomorphic maps. This mission produces machine-checked statements of the several-variable versions, and infrastructure (proper maps between subsets, analytic discs, holomorphic families) that later chapters of the series reuse.

Difficulty

The goal cannot be reached through topology: D2\mathbb{D}^2D2 and B2\mathbb{B}_2B2​ are homeomorphic, so any argument must use holomorphy essentially and must see the boundary. The step that needs genuine analysis is passing from properness, a statement about compact sets, to a statement about boundary values of holomorphic functions of one variable along slices of the product domain; this requires normal families (Montel's theorem) in several variables, which Mathlib does not provide in the needed form. Cartan's theorem rests on power-series expansions in homogeneous parts and vector-valued Cauchy estimates on polydiscs. Theorem 1.6.2 needs the holomorphic implicit function theorem and Rouché's theorem, and Theorem 1.6.6 an induction on dimension that runs through Theorem 1.6.2. The Riemann extension theorem needs holomorphy of parameter-dependent Cauchy integrals.

Formalization scope

Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is Fin n → ℂ. Mathlib's norm on this type is the sup norm, so Metric.ball 0 1 is the polydisc, not the ball. The ball and the sphere are therefore defined with the explicit Euclidean condition, unitBall n = {z | ∑ k, ‖z k‖ ^ 2 < 1} and unitSphere n = {z | ∑ k, ‖z k‖ ^ 2 = 1}. The polydisc is written coordinatewise as unitPolydisc n. Reading the ball as the sup-norm ball would trivialize the goal (the identity of the bidisc is a proper holomorphic self-map); the definitions exclude that reading. Boundedness is Bornology.IsBounded, and boundaries are Mathlib's frontier; neither depends on the norm. A domain is IsOpen U ∧ IsConnected U, so it is nonempty.

Holomorphic means DifferentiableOn ℂ on an open set. On open sets this is equivalent to the book's Definition 1.1.2 (Proposition 1.1.3 and Theorem 1.2.1). Maps into Cm\mathbb{C}^mCm are Fin m → ℂ-valued. Df(a)Df(a)Df(a) is fderiv ℂ f a, and the Jacobian determinant is LinearMap.det of it. Maps are ambient functions whose values off the relevant set are irrelevant. Consequently:

  • Proper is IsProperMapOn f U V: f maps U into V, is continuous on U, and U ∩ f ⁻¹' K is compact for every compact K ⊆ V. This is Definition 1.4.3 for the restricted map. It is not IsProperMap of the ambient map.
  • Uniqueness in Theorem 1.6.1 is uniqueness on UUU.
  • The inverse of a biholomorphism is a function g holomorphic on VVV with Set.InvOn g f U V.

Lemma 1.4.7 works in Fin n → ℝ and reads "limit point of the sequence {f(pk)}\{f(p_k)\}{f(pk​)}" as a cluster point of the sequence (MapClusterPt). Theorem 1.4.8 uses the product type (Fin n → ℂ) × (Fin k → ℂ) for Cn×Ck\mathbb{C}^n \times \mathbb{C}^kCn×Ck. In Theorem 1.6.2, "after reordering the variables" means choosing the index j of the solved-for coordinate. The remaining coordinates are indexed by {i // i ≠ j}. Only the open-disc part of Definition 1.4.5 (analytic discs) is formalized, because closed analytic discs are not used here.

A complete development needs Montel's theorem for maps into bounded subsets of Cm\mathbb{C}^mCm, homogeneous expansions and Cauchy estimates on polydiscs, the holomorphic implicit function theorem, Rouché's theorem, and holomorphic parameter-dependent Cauchy integrals. All of it is reusable beyond this mission, and contributions of it are welcome.

Selected references

  • J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables: A Whirlwind Tour of the Subject, version 4.4, 2026, §1.4–1.6 (pp. 32–46). https://www.jirka.org/scv/scv.pdf
  • H. Poincaré, Les fonctions analytiques de deux variables et la représentation conforme, Rend. Circ. Mat. Palermo 23 (1907), 185–220. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03013518
  • S. G. Krantz, Function Theory of Several Complex Variables, 2nd ed., AMS Chelsea, 2001 (cited by Lebl as [K]). https://doi.org/10.1090/chel/340
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Number Theory·Captain: Lucas

Schinzel's Hypothesis HOpen Problem

Motivation

Almost every classical question about prime values of polynomials is a special case of one statement. Are there infinitely many twin primes? Infinitely many primes of the form n2+1n^2+1n2+1? Infinitely many Sophie Germain primes ppp with 2p+12p+12p+1 prime? Each asks whether a fixed finite list of integer polynomials takes prime values simultaneously infinitely often. Schinzel's Hypothesis H (A. Schinzel and W. Sierpiński, 1958) is the single conjecture that predicts "yes" in all these cases, subject to the two obvious obstructions: a polynomial that factors cannot be prime infinitely often, and neither can a family whose product is always divisible by some fixed prime.

Timeline.

  • 1837 — Dirichlet proves the degree-one, single-polynomial case: if gcd⁡(a,b)=1\gcd(a,b)=1gcd(a,b)=1 and a>0a>0a>0, then an+ban+ban+b is prime for infinitely many nnn.
  • 1857 — Bunyakovsky states the single-polynomial case for arbitrary degree. It is open for every fixed polynomial of degree ≥2\ge 2≥2; not one instance, not even n2+1n^2+1n2+1, is known.
  • 1904 — Dickson states the case of arbitrarily many linear polynomials.
  • 1958 — Schinzel and Sierpiński state Hypothesis H in the generality used here (Acta Arith. 4 (1958), 185–208).
  • 1962 — Bateman and Horn give the conjectural asymptotic count of such n≤Nn \le Nn≤N, refining Hypothesis H to a quantitative form (Math. Comp. 16 (1962), 363–367).
  • 1978 — Iwaniec proves that n2+1n^2+1n2+1 has at most two prime factors infinitely often; the sieve barrier that blocks "exactly one" has not been broken.
  • 2004 — Green and Tao prove the analogous simultaneous-prime statement for systems of linear forms of finite complexity, which yields arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions of primes but does not cover Dickson's conjecture in full (the pair nnn, n+2n+2n+2 has infinite complexity).
  • 2013 — Zhang, and then Maynard and Tao, establish bounded gaps between primes, i.e. that some admissible pair {n+h1,n+h2}\{n+h_1, n+h_2\}{n+h1​,n+h2​} is simultaneously prime infinitely often — but the method does not identify which pair.

Hypothesis H itself remains open in every case that is not covered by Dirichlet's theorem.

Setting

Work in the ring Z[X]\mathbb{Z}[X]Z[X] of polynomials with integer coefficients. Fix a finite set F⊆Z[X]\mathcal{F} \subseteq \mathbb{Z}[X]F⊆Z[X] of polynomials fff, each subject to the Bunyakovsky condition:

  • deg⁡f≥1\deg f \ge 1degf≥1;
  • the leading coefficient of fff is positive;
  • fff is irreducible in Z[X]\mathbb{Z}[X]Z[X].

Irreducibility in Z[X]\mathbb{Z}[X]Z[X] is strictly stronger than irreducibility in Q[X]\mathbb{Q}[X]Q[X]: it also forces the content of fff to be 111, ruling out 2X2+22X^2+22X2+2.

Even an irreducible family can be blocked by congruences. The polynomial X2+X+2X^2+X+2X2+X+2 is irreducible with positive leading coefficient, yet n2+n+2n^2+n+2n2+n+2 is even for every integer nnn, so it is prime only when it equals 222. The family F\mathcal{F}F therefore also has to satisfy the Schinzel condition: for every prime ppp there exists an integer nnn with

p∤∏f∈Ff(n).p \nmid \prod_{f \in \mathcal{F}} f(n).p∤f∈F∏​f(n).

Equivalently, no prime is a fixed divisor of the product ∏f∈Ff\prod_{f\in\mathcal{F}} f∏f∈F​f. A family satisfying both conditions is called admissible.

Target

For an admissible family F\mathcal{F}F, write

S(F)  =  { n∈N  :  ∣f(n)∣ is prime for every f∈F }.S(\mathcal{F}) \;=\; \{\, n \in \mathbb{N} \;:\; |f(n)| \text{ is prime for every } f \in \mathcal{F} \,\}.S(F)={n∈N:∣f(n)∣ is prime for every f∈F}.

The goal of the mission is Hypothesis H:

F admissible  ⟹  S(F) is infinite.\mathcal{F} \text{ admissible} \;\Longrightarrow\; S(\mathcal{F}) \text{ is infinite.}F admissible⟹S(F) is infinite.

The milestones are, in order: the linear one-polynomial case (Dirichlet); the reduction of the Schinzel condition to the finitely many primes p≤∑f∈Fdeg⁡fp \le \sum_{f\in\mathcal F}\deg fp≤∑f∈F​degf; the necessity of the Schinzel condition; and three specializations of the goal — Bunyakovsky's conjecture, the twin prime conjecture, and Landau's problem on n2+1n^2+1n2+1 — each stated as an implication from the goal statement, so that they can be proved before the goal itself is.

Significance

The result itself. Hypothesis H implies the twin prime conjecture, the Sophie Germain prime conjecture, Landau's conjecture that n2+1n^2+1n2+1 is prime infinitely often, the infinitude of primes in every admissible constellation, and Dickson's conjecture; with Bateman–Horn it also predicts the density of such nnn. Nothing beyond the degree-one case is known, and the conjecture is the standard yardstick against which sieve-theoretic progress on prime values of polynomials is measured.

Formalizing it. The goal is open, so the mission's deliverable is not a proof of it but a formal, audited statement of it together with a supporting environment: the admissibility predicates, the classical reductions, and machine-checked derivations of the famous corollaries from the goal. Dirichlet's theorem on primes in arithmetic progressions is already formalized in Mathlib, so the linear milestone is a matter of connecting that result to this mission's formulation rather than of new mathematics. The three "H implies …" milestones are provable now, unconditionally, because they are implications; they are also the sharpest available check that the goal statement has been formalized faithfully, since a mis-stated goal will usually fail to yield twin primes.

Difficulty

The obvious first idea — sieve the values ∏ff(n)\prod_{f} f(n)∏f​f(n) for n≤Nn \le Nn≤N and count survivors — is exactly the idea that fails. Sieve methods lose a constant factor (the parity problem): they can show that ∏ff(n)\prod_f f(n)∏f​f(n) has few prime factors infinitely often, but they cannot distinguish "one prime factor" from "two", which is why Iwaniec's n2+1n^2+1n2+1 result stops at P2P_2P2​. The analytic input that works for degree one — the nonvanishing of Dirichlet LLL-functions on ℜs=1\Re s = 1ℜs=1 — has no known analogue for a polynomial of degree ≥2\ge 2≥2, because the relevant counting problem is not governed by characters of a finite abelian group. Milestones 1–3 are elementary or already available in Mathlib; the goal itself is not expected to be resolved here.

Formalization scope

Conventions fixed by the Lean development, and deliberately so:

  • The family is a finite set of polynomials, so repeated polynomials collapse, and it is allowed to be empty (the goal is then a statement about all of N\mathbb{N}N, and true).
  • Primality is asserted of the absolute value ∣f(n)∣|f(n)|∣f(n)∣ as a natural number. Since the leading coefficient is positive and deg⁡f≥1\deg f \ge 1degf≥1, the values are eventually positive, so this is equivalent to asking for a positive prime value at all large nnn.
  • The variable nnn ranges over N\mathbb{N}N, not Z\mathbb{Z}Z, and "infinitely often" means that the set of such nnn is infinite.
  • Irreducibility is irreducibility in Z[X]\mathbb{Z}[X]Z[X] (so primitivity is included), and the degree hypothesis is deg⁡f≥1\deg f \ge 1degf≥1 in the sense of the natural-number degree.
  • The Schinzel condition is stated as a condition on the product over the family, quantified over all primes ppp — not over ppp up to a bound; milestone 2 is what reduces it to a finite check.

The statement admits no trivializing reading: the hypotheses are satisfiable (for example {X,X+2}\{X, X+2\}{X,X+2} and {X2+1}\{X^2+1\}{X2+1} are admissible, as milestones 5 and 6 require one to verify), so the goal is not vacuous, and the conclusion asserts infinitude rather than the existence of a single nnn.

A complete development needs the admissibility predicates (supplied as the mission's definition bundle), Mathlib's polynomial and modular-arithmetic APIs for the fixed-divisor arguments, and Mathlib's Dirichlet theorem for milestone 1. The definition bundle and milestones 2–3 are reusable for any future mission on Bateman–Horn, Dickson's conjecture, or prime constellations. Contributions of further conditional consequences of the goal (Sophie Germain primes, prime kkk-tuples, cousin primes) are welcome as additions to the tree.

Selected references

  • A. Schinzel and W. Sierpiński, Sur certaines hypothèses concernant les nombres premiers, Acta Arithmetica 4 (1958), 185–208. DOI
  • P. T. Bateman and R. A. Horn, A heuristic asymptotic formula concerning the distribution of prime numbers, Mathematics of Computation 16 (1962), 363–367. DOI
  • H. Iwaniec, Almost-primes represented by quadratic polynomials, Inventiones Mathematicae 47 (1978), 171–188. DOI
  • B. Green and T. Tao, The primes contain arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions, Annals of Mathematics 167 (2008), 481–547. arXiv:math/0404188
  • J. Maynard, Small gaps between primes, Annals of Mathematics 181 (2015), 383–413. arXiv:1311.4600
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Functional Analysis·Captain: ShouqiaoWang

Zhang–Si–Si: Corrected Resonant Almost-Periodic Poincaré–Treshchev PersistenceResearch Paper

Motivation

The classical persistence problem asks which invariant tori of an integrable Hamiltonian survive a small perturbation. A resonance makes some internal angular frequencies vanish, and an almost-periodic perturbation introduces infinitely many additional forcing frequencies. Zhang, Si, and Si state a Poincaré–Treshchev persistence theorem for this combined regime: most lower-dimensional resonant tori associated with nondegenerate relative equilibria persist as infinite-dimensional invariant tori in Theorem 2.7. The formal mission targets that headline result in corrected form. It retains the paper’s nonresonance, spatial-shell, and averaged-critical-point hypotheses, while making explicit the full frequency twist and reduced-frequency parameter chart used later in the paper but absent from the printed theorem statement.

Setting

Let n,m>0n,m>0n,m>0 and d=n+md=n+md=n+m. The internal variables are x∈Tdx\in\mathbb T^dx∈Td and y∈G⊂Rdy\in G\subset\mathbb R^dy∈G⊂Rd, where GGG is bounded and closed. The external forcing angles and their conjugate actions are θ∈TZ\theta\in\mathbb T^{\mathbb Z}θ∈TZ and J∈ℓ1(Z;R)J\in\ell^1(\mathbb Z;\mathbb R)J∈ℓ1(Z;R). The suspended Hamiltonian is

Hϵ(θ,J,x,y)=∑j∈ZωjJj+N(y)+ϵP(θ,x,y,ϵ).\mathcal H_\epsilon(\theta,J,x,y)= \sum_{j\in\mathbb Z}\omega_jJ_j+N(y)+\epsilon P(\theta,x,y,\epsilon).Hϵ​(θ,J,x,y)=j∈Z∑​ωj​Jj​+N(y)+ϵP(θ,x,y,ϵ).

Here NNN is real analytic near GGG. A primitive rank-mmm resonance lattice is represented by an integer matrix K0=(K1,K2)K_0=(K_1,K_2)K0​=(K1​,K2​) with det⁡K0=1\det K_0=1detK0​=1, where the last mmm columns generate the lattice. The adapted angles are (ψ,ϕ)=K0Tx(\psi,\phi)=K_0^{\mathsf T}x(ψ,ϕ)=K0T​x, with ψ∈Tn\psi\in\mathbb T^nψ∈Tn and ϕ∈Tm\phi\in\mathbb T^mϕ∈Tm. Writing ∇N\nabla N∇N for the actual derivative of NNN, define

O(g,G)={y∈G:K2T∇N(y)=0},Ω(y)=K1T∇N(y).O(g,G)=\{y\in G:K_2^{\mathsf T}\nabla N(y)=0\}, \qquad \Omega(y)=K_1^{\mathsf T}\nabla N(y).O(g,G)={y∈G:K2T​∇N(y)=0},Ω(y)=K1T​∇N(y).

The averaged potential h0(ϕ,y)h_0(\phi,y)h0​(ϕ,y) is the zero external and zero ψ\psiψ Fourier coefficient of PPP at ϵ=0\epsilon=0ϵ=0. A pair (ϕ,y)(\phi,y)(ϕ,y) is associated and nondegenerate when

∇ϕh0(ϕ,y)=0,det⁡Dϕ2h0(ϕ,y)≠0.\nabla_\phi h_0(\phi,y)=0, \qquad \det D_\phi^2h_0(\phi,y)\ne0.∇ϕ​h0​(ϕ,y)=0,detDϕ2​h0​(ϕ,y)=0.

Let O0O_0O0​ be the subset of O(g,G)O(g,G)O(g,G) admitting such a ϕ\phiϕ, let Ω0=Ω(O0)\Omega_0=\Omega(O_0)Ω0​=Ω(O0​), and trim in reduced-frequency coordinates:

Ωξ={η∈Ω0:dist⁡(η,∂Ω0)≥ξ},Oξ=O0∩Ω−1(Ωξ).\Omega_\xi=\{\eta\in\Omega_0:\operatorname{dist}(\eta,\partial\Omega_0)\ge\xi\}, \qquad O_\xi=O_0\cap\Omega^{-1}(\Omega_\xi).Ωξ​={η∈Ω0​:dist(η,∂Ω0​)≥ξ},Oξ​=O0​∩Ω−1(Ωξ​).

The perturbation has the paper’s spatial-shell Fourier expansion over finite shells AAA in a spatial structure S\mathcal SS. With [A]=1+∑j∈Alog⁡ϱ(1+∣j∣)[A]=1+\sum_{j\in A}\log^{\varrho}(1+|j|)[A]=1+∑j∈A​logϱ(1+∣j∣) for ϱ>2\varrho>2ϱ>2, each shell has a uniform analytic Fourier bound BAB_ABA​, and ∑ABAes[A]<∞\sum_AB_Ae^{s[A]}<\infty∑A​BA​es[A]<∞ for some s>0s>0s>0. Every nonzero admissible finite external mode kkk satisfies

∣⟨k,ω⟩∣≥γΔ([[k]])Δ(∣k∣1),|\langle k,\omega\rangle|\ge \frac{\gamma}{\Delta([[k]])\Delta(|k|_1)},∣⟨k,ω⟩∣≥Δ([[k]])Δ(∣k∣1​)γ​,

where γ>0\gamma>0γ>0, [[k]][[k]][[k]] is the minimum shell weight containing its support, and Δ\DeltaΔ is a nondecreasing approximation function with Δ(0)=1\Delta(0)=1Δ(0)=1, log⁡Δ(t)/t↓0\log\Delta(t)/t\downarrow0logΔ(t)/t↓0, and ∫0∞log⁡Δ(t)t−2 dt<∞\int_0^\infty\log\Delta(t)t^{-2}\,dt<\infty∫0∞​logΔ(t)t−2dt<∞.

Target

Assume that O0O_0O0​ is nonempty. On every sufficiently small trim OξO_\xiOξ​, require compactness and positive nnn-dimensional measure in the Ω\OmegaΩ chart, injectivity of D(∇N)(y)D(\nabla N)(y)D(∇N)(y), an analytic lower-Lipschitz diffeomorphism Ω:Oξ→Ωξ\Omega:O_\xi\to\Omega_\xiΩ:Oξ​→Ωξ​, and nondegeneracy of every averaged critical point retained by the conclusion. Then, for every 0<ξ≤ξ∗0<\xi\le\xi_*0<ξ≤ξ∗​, there are 0<ϵ0≤10<\epsilon_0\le10<ϵ0​≤1, a rate c(ϵ)→0c(\epsilon)\to0c(ϵ)→0 as ϵ↓0\epsilon\downarrow0ϵ↓0, and closed measurable nonempty sets Λϵ⊂Oξ\Lambda_\epsilon\subset O_\xiΛϵ​⊂Oξ​ for 0<ϵ≤ϵ00<\epsilon\le\epsilon_00<ϵ≤ϵ0​ such that

vol⁡n(Ω(Oξ∖Λϵ))⟶0(ϵ↓0).\operatorname{vol}_n\bigl(\Omega(O_\xi\setminus\Lambda_\epsilon)\bigr) \longrightarrow0\qquad(\epsilon\downarrow0).voln​(Ω(Oξ​∖Λϵ​))⟶0(ϵ↓0).

For every y∈Λϵy\in\Lambda_\epsilony∈Λϵ​ and every associated nondegenerate ϕ\phiϕ, construct a topological embedding

ιϵ,y,ϕ:TZ×Tn⟶(TZ×ℓ1)×(Td×Rd)\iota_{\epsilon,y,\phi}:\mathbb T^{\mathbb Z}\times\mathbb T^n \longrightarrow (\mathbb T^{\mathbb Z}\times\ell^1)\times (\mathbb T^d\times\mathbb R^d)ιϵ,y,ϕ​:TZ×Tn⟶(TZ×ℓ1)×(Td×Rd)

that is analytic almost periodic with the same shell structure, is the image of the standard resonant torus under a local canonical transformation, is c(ϵ)c(\epsilon)c(ϵ)-close to that torus, and is invariant under Hϵ\mathcal H_\epsilonHϵ​ with rotation vector (ω,Ω(y))(\omega,\Omega(y))(ω,Ω(y)).

Significance

The result combines three features that are usually separated: a positive-rank internal resonance, an infinite external frequency vector, and persistence for an asymptotically full-measure parameter set. It identifies the surviving object in the full suspended phase, including the external actions, rather than only in the finite internal fibre. The paper contains a proof of its printed theorem; the mission’s open work is a Lean proof of the corrected target. The correction exposes the parameter twist and chart assumptions on which the reduction and measure assertion depend, so a completed formalization would distinguish the theorem’s stated content from hypotheses needed to make that content mathematically controlled.

Difficulty

Finite-dimensional Diophantine notation does not control infinitely many external modes: admissibility, support weights, and the decay of Δ\DeltaΔ must interact without leaving an empty mode class. Resonance also removes mmm internal frequencies and replaces the original parameter set by a lower-dimensional surface. Its ambient Euclidean boundary is therefore unsuitable for a positive trim, and ordinary ambient volume is unsuitable for the majority statement. Finally, persistence must be expressed simultaneously as an invariant solution of the actual Hamilton equations, an analytic almost-periodic embedding, and a canonical equivalence in the suspended phase; any one of these conditions alone admits objects that do not express the theorem.

Formalization scope

The Lean representation uses finitely supported integer external modes, a covering spatial structure, the literal shell-indexed norm, complex-neighborhood coefficient analyticity, and a separate absolute-summability guard for every infinite Fourier sum. Unit modes are provably admissible. The averaged potential, its gradient and Hessian, the internal frequency ∇N\nabla N∇N, the resonant set, and the reduced-frequency map are transparent definitions. Nonemptiness of O0O_0O0​, positive volume of every allowed Ωξ\Omega_\xiΩξ​, and nonempty Λϵ\Lambda_\epsilonΛϵ​ rule out empty-set and zero-measure trivializations.

The formal target strengthens the printed assumptions only where the source’s reduction requires missing control: D(∇N)D(\nabla N)D(∇N) is injective on the retained trim, and Ω\OmegaΩ is an analytic diffeomorphism there with a uniform lower Lipschitz bound. The boundary distance and excluded volume are both taken in the nnn-dimensional reduced-frequency chart. The word “Cantor” is represented by closedness, measurability, nonemptiness, and asymptotically full measure; perfectness and total disconnectedness are not additional targets.

The torus lives in a genuine ℓ1\ell^1ℓ1 external-action space. Its action component has one weighted-ℓ1\ell^1ℓ1-valued shell expansion, and the Hamiltonian pairing and external action velocity carry convergence guards. A local conjugacy is a homeomorphism between open neighborhoods, fixes θ\thetaθ, is differentiable along all ℓ1\ell^1ℓ1 action directions and finitely supported external-angle directions, and preserves ∑jdθj∧dJj+∑idxi∧dyi\sum_jd\theta_j\wedge dJ_j+\sum_i dx_i\wedge dy_i∑j​dθj​∧dJj​+∑i​dxi​∧dyi​ on those cylinder directions. Reusable contributions include spatial-shell Fourier classes, approximation functions, reduced-manifold measure interfaces, weighted infinite canonical forms, and coordinatewise Hamiltonian invariance.

Selected references

  • Yuan Zhang, Wen Si, and Jianguo Si, Poincaré–Treshchev Mechanism in Integrable Hamiltonian Systems Under Almost-Periodic Perturbations, Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems 52 (2026), 32–69. DOI: 10.3934/dcds.2026043. Main result: Theorem 2.7, journal p. 39 (PDF p. 8); spatial and nonresonance definitions: Definitions 2.2–2.4 and equations (5)–(7), journal pp. 35–38 (PDF pp. 4–7); reduction exposing the additional twist and parameter-change requirements: Lemma 3.2, journal pp. 41–43 (PDF pp. 10–12).
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AnalysisDifferential GeometryPartial Differential Equations·Captain: mikedeng1

Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables VII: The Dolbeault Lemma on Polydiscs and the Cousin I ProblemTextbook

Motivation

In one complex variable, every smooth function ggg on a disc is ∂ψ/∂zˉ\partial\psi/\partial\bar z∂ψ/∂zˉ of some smooth ψ\psiψ, and this is what makes the Mittag-Leffler theorem work: local principal parts can be glued into a global meromorphic function. In several variables the corresponding equation is the ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-problem: given a differential form η\etaη with ∂ˉη=0\bar\partial\eta = 0∂ˉη=0, find ω\omegaω with ∂ˉω=η\bar\partial\omega = \eta∂ˉω=η. Whether it is solvable on a domain U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn is measured by the Dolbeault cohomology groups H(p,q)(U)H^{(p,q)}(U)H(p,q)(U). Their vanishing characterizes domains of holomorphy, and it drives the solution of the additive Cousin I problem, the several-variable Mittag-Leffler problem.

This mission follows §4.4–4.6 of Jiří Lebl's open textbook Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables (version 4.4, 2026). There the ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-problem is solved on polydiscs, from the one-variable Cauchy transform through the Dolbeault–Grothendieck lemma. The result is then applied to the Cousin I problem and to domains of holomorphy. The Dolbeault lemma goes back to P. Dolbeault (1953) and A. Grothendieck. The global theory on pseudoconvex domains is due to Hörmander (An Introduction to Complex Analysis in Several Variables, 1966) and to Cartan's Theorem B.

Setting

Write zk=xk+iykz_k = x_k + i y_kzk​=xk​+iyk​ for the coordinates of Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn. The Wirtinger derivative of a function fff is ∂f/∂zˉk=12(∂f/∂xk+i ∂f/∂yk)\partial f/\partial\bar z_k = \tfrac12(\partial f/\partial x_k + i\,\partial f/\partial y_k)∂f/∂zˉk​=21​(∂f/∂xk​+i∂f/∂yk​).

For strictly increasing tuples α=(α1<⋯<αp)\alpha = (\alpha_1<\dots<\alpha_p)α=(α1​<⋯<αp​) and β=(β1<⋯<βq)\beta = (\beta_1<\dots<\beta_q)β=(β1​<⋯<βq​) in {1,…,n}\{1,\dots,n\}{1,…,n}, write dzα=dzα1∧⋯∧dzαpdz_\alpha = dz_{\alpha_1}\wedge\cdots\wedge dz_{\alpha_p}dzα​=dzα1​​∧⋯∧dzαp​​ and dzˉβ=dzˉβ1∧⋯∧dzˉβqd\bar z_\beta = d\bar z_{\beta_1}\wedge\cdots\wedge d\bar z_{\beta_q}dzˉβ​=dzˉβ1​​∧⋯∧dzˉβq​​. A smooth (p,q)(p,q)(p,q)-form on an open U⊂CnU\subset\mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn is

η=∑α,βηαβ dzα∧dzˉβ,\eta = \sum_{\alpha,\beta}\eta_{\alpha\beta}\,dz_\alpha\wedge d\bar z_\beta,η=α,β∑​ηαβ​dzα​∧dzˉβ​,

where α\alphaα and β\betaβ run over the increasing ppp- and qqq-tuples and each ηαβ\eta_{\alpha\beta}ηαβ​ is C∞C^\inftyC∞ on UUU. The operator

∂ˉη=∑α,β∑k=1n∂ηαβ∂zˉk dzˉk∧dzα∧dzˉβ\bar\partial\eta = \sum_{\alpha,\beta}\sum_{k=1}^n \frac{\partial\eta_{\alpha\beta}}{\partial\bar z_k}\,d\bar z_k\wedge dz_\alpha\wedge d\bar z_\beta∂ˉη=α,β∑​k=1∑n​∂zˉk​∂ηαβ​​dzˉk​∧dzα​∧dzˉβ​

maps (p,q)(p,q)(p,q)-forms to (p,q+1)(p,q+1)(p,q+1)-forms. A form is ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-closed if ∂ˉη=0\bar\partial\eta = 0∂ˉη=0 and ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-exact if η=∂ˉω\eta = \bar\partial\omegaη=∂ˉω; by convention the only exact (p,0)(p,0)(p,0)-form is 000. The statement H(p,q)(U)=0H^{(p,q)}(U) = 0H(p,q)(U)=0 means that every smooth ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-closed (p,q)(p,q)(p,q)-form on UUU is ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-exact.

A possibly unbounded polydisc is a product Δ=D1×⋯×Dn\Delta = D_1\times\cdots\times D_nΔ=D1​×⋯×Dn​ in which each DkD_kDk​ is either a disc {∣zk−ak∣<ρk}\{|z_k - a_k|<\rho_k\}{∣zk​−ak​∣<ρk​} or all of C\mathbb{C}C; for example Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn itself. The finite polydisc is Δr(w)={z:∣zℓ−wℓ∣<rℓ ∀ℓ}\Delta_r(w) = \{z : |z_\ell - w_\ell| < r_\ell\ \forall\ell\}Δr​(w)={z:∣zℓ​−wℓ​∣<rℓ​ ∀ℓ}.

Cousin I data on an open UUU consist of an open covering {Uι}ι∈I\{U_\iota\}_{\iota\in I}{Uι​}ι∈I​ of UUU and holomorphic hικh_{\iota\kappa}hικ​ on Uι∩UκU_\iota\cap U_\kappaUι​∩Uκ​ with hικ+hκι=0h_{\iota\kappa}+h_{\kappa\iota}=0hικ​+hκι​=0 and hικ+hκλ+hλι=0h_{\iota\kappa}+h_{\kappa\lambda}+h_{\lambda\iota}=0hικ​+hκλ​+hλι​=0 on the respective intersections. A solution is a family of holomorphic fιf_\iotafι​ on UιU_\iotaUι​ with hικ=fι−fκh_{\iota\kappa} = f_\iota - f_\kappahικ​=fι​−fκ​. The problem is solvable on UUU if all Cousin I data on UUU have solutions.

In Lean these are wirtingerBar, FormCoeffs, dbar, IsSmoothForm, DolbeaultVanishes, polydisc, IsPossiblyUnboundedPolydisc, IsCousinISolvable and IsDomainOfHolomorphy in the namespace LeblSCV.Dolbeault.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 4.4.5

Let Δ⊂Cn\Delta\subset\mathbb{C}^nΔ⊂Cn be a possibly unbounded polydisc, p≥0p\ge0p≥0, q≥1q\ge1q≥1, and η\etaη a smooth (p,q)(p,q)(p,q)-form on Δ\DeltaΔ with ∂ˉη=0\bar\partial\eta = 0∂ˉη=0. Then there is a smooth (p,q−1)(p,q-1)(p,q−1)-form ω\omegaω on Δ\DeltaΔ with

∂ˉω=ηon Δ,that is,H(p,q)(Δ)=0  (q≥1).\bar\partial\omega = \eta\quad\text{on }\Delta,\qquad\text{that is,}\qquad H^{(p,q)}(\Delta) = 0 \ \ (q\ge1).∂ˉω=ηon Δ,that is,H(p,q)(Δ)=0  (q≥1).

Milestones

  1. Lemma 4.4.6 (for a disc UUU). If ggg is smooth near U‾\overline UU, then ψ(z)=12πi∫Ug(ζ)ζ−z dζ∧dζˉ\psi(z) = \frac{1}{2\pi i}\int_U \frac{g(\zeta)}{\zeta-z}\,d\zeta\wedge d\bar\zetaψ(z)=2πi1​∫U​ζ−zg(ζ)​dζ∧dζˉ​ is smooth on UUU and ∂ψ/∂zˉ=g\partial\psi/\partial\bar z = g∂ψ/∂zˉ=g.
  2. Lemma 4.4.7 (Dolbeault–Grothendieck). If 0<sℓ<rℓ0<s_\ell<r_\ell0<sℓ​<rℓ​, every smooth ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-closed (p,q)(p,q)(p,q)-form on Δr(w)\Delta_r(w)Δr​(w), q≥1q\ge1q≥1, is ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ of a smooth (p,q−1)(p,q-1)(p,q−1)-form on Δs(w)\Delta_s(w)Δs​(w).
  3. Lemma 4.6.4. Smooth Cousin I data on any open set have smooth solutions.
  4. Theorem 4.6.5. On a domain with H(0,1)(U)=0H^{(0,1)}(U)=0H(0,1)(U)=0 the Cousin I problem is solvable.
  5. Corollary 4.6.6. The Cousin I problem is solvable on every possibly unbounded polydisc.
  6. Theorem 4.5.6. A domain U⊂CnU\subset\mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn with H(0,q)(U)=0H^{(0,q)}(U)=0H(0,q)(U)=0 for 1≤q≤n−11\le q\le n-11≤q≤n−1 is a domain of holomorphy.

Significance

Theorem 4.4.5 is the model case of the vanishing theorem H(p,q)(U)=0H^{(p,q)}(U)=0H(p,q)(U)=0, q≥1q\ge1q≥1, on domains of holomorphy. In particular it solves the ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-problem on all of Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn. Through Theorem 4.6.5 it gives the Cousin I problem on polydiscs, and therefore the existence of meromorphic functions with prescribed local principal parts there. Theorem 4.5.6 is one half of the cohomological characterization of domains of holomorphy (Remark 4.5.8, item (viii)). The other half is Cartan's Theorem B, which the book states without proof as Theorem 4.4.2.

All targets are classical and fully proved in the book. As far as a search of the Prove2Me corpus and of Mathlib shows, none of them is formalized. Mathlib has real Fréchet derivatives, smooth bump functions and partitions of unity, and Lebesgue measure on C\mathbb{C}C. It has no bidegree forms, no ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ operator on forms, no Cauchy transform and no Dolbeault cohomology. This mission builds the (p,q)(p,q)(p,q)-form layer and the first global solvability theorem for ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ.

Difficulty

The one-variable step needs the Cauchy–Pompeiu formula and differentiation under an integral with a weakly singular kernel. Both the smoothness of ψ\psiψ and the identity ∂ψ/∂zˉ=g\partial\psi/\partial\bar z = g∂ψ/∂zˉ=g require care near ζ=z\zeta = zζ=z.

In several variables, the natural idea is to solve ∂ˉω=η\bar\partial\omega=\eta∂ˉω=η on each of an exhausting sequence of polydiscs and take a limit. It fails as stated: solutions on successive polydiscs differ by ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-closed forms and need not converge. For q≥2q\ge2q≥2 the discrepancy has to be corrected exactly, by applying the lemma again with a cutoff. For q=1q=1q=1 the discrepancies are holomorphic functions, and they have to be made small by polynomial approximation, so that the corrected solutions converge. The Dolbeault–Grothendieck lemma loses a little of the polydisc at each step, so the argument has to shrink the polydiscs at each stage.

On the formal side, ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ on forms carries signs from reordering wedge products. A wrong sign changes which forms are closed. So the sign convention is fixed in the definition and checked against ∂ˉ∘∂ˉ=0\bar\partial\circ\bar\partial = 0∂ˉ∘∂ˉ=0.

Formalization scope

  • Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is Fin n → ℂ with 0-based indices. Polydiscs use the modulus in each coordinate, as in the book, so the sup norm of Fin n → ℂ agrees with them. No Euclidean ball occurs.
  • A form is a coefficient family FormCoeffs n = Finset (Fin n) → Finset (Fin n) → (Fin n → ℂ) → ℂ: an increasing tuple is the set of its entries, and η A B z is the coefficient of dzA∧dzˉBdz_A\wedge d\bar z_BdzA​∧dzˉB​. IsSmoothForm U p q η requires every coefficient to be ContDiffOn ℝ ∞ on UUU and the coefficients of the wrong bidegree to vanish on UUU. Only values on UUU matter.
  • dbar is Definition 4.4.1 written in the increasing basis. The coefficient of dzA∧dzˉCdz_A\wedge d\bar z_CdzA​∧dzˉC​ is ∑k∈C(−1)∣A∣+#{j∈C:j<k} ∂ηA,C∖{k}/∂zˉk\sum_{k\in C}(-1)^{|A|+\#\{j\in C:j<k\}}\,\partial\eta_{A,C\setminus\{k\}}/\partial\bar z_k∑k∈C​(−1)∣A∣+#{j∈C:j<k}∂ηA,C∖{k}​/∂zˉk​. A sorry-free check confirms that this sign convention makes the mixed second derivatives cancel in ∂ˉ∂ˉη\bar\partial\bar\partial\eta∂ˉ∂ˉη, and that ∂zˉ1/∂zˉ1=1\partial\bar z_1/\partial\bar z_1 = 1∂zˉ1​/∂zˉ1​=1.
  • H(p,q)(U)=0H^{(p,q)}(U)=0H(p,q)(U)=0 is stated as "every closed smooth (p,q)(p,q)(p,q)-form is exact"; the quotient space is not built. The solution ω\omegaω is required to be smooth.
  • Radii of a possibly unbounded polydisc lie in ℝ≥0∞, with ∞\infty∞ meaning the factor C\mathbb{C}C.
  • Holomorphic on an open set is DifferentiableOn ℂ. A domain is an open connected set. Cousin index types range over Type, which loses nothing.
  • Restriction: Lemma 4.4.6 is stated for UUU an open disc. The book allows any bounded open set with piecewise-C1C^1C1 boundary. The disc is the case that the Dolbeault–Grothendieck lemma uses. The measure dζ∧dζˉd\zeta\wedge d\bar\zetadζ∧dζˉ​ is −2i-2i−2i times Lebesgue measure.
  • The goal cannot be trivialized through the form layer. A definition of ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ with a wrong sign, or one that drops the smoothness of ω\omegaω or the ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-closedness of η\etaη, states a different theorem and is ruled out. Hypotheses are satisfiable: η=0\eta = 0η=0 is closed, and Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is a possibly unbounded polydisc (checked sorry-free).
  • Needed infrastructure: the Cauchy transform and Cauchy–Pompeiu formula, differentiation under the integral with parameters, smooth cutoffs, uniform approximation of holomorphic functions by polynomials on polydiscs, and partitions of unity. The form layer is reusable in later work on the ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-problem (balls, Hartogs triangle, pseudoconvex domains). Proofs of ∂ˉ2=0\bar\partial^2 = 0∂ˉ2=0 for the dbar defined here, or of the one-variable lemma for general piecewise-C1C^1C1 domains, are welcome.

Selected references

  • J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables, version 4.4, 2026, §4.4–4.6. https://www.jirka.org/scv/
  • L. Hörmander, An Introduction to Complex Analysis in Several Variables, North-Holland Mathematical Library 7, 3rd ed., 1990.
  • P. Dolbeault, Sur la cohomologie des variétés analytiques complexes, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 236 (1953), 175–177.
16 thms1 active userReviewed
Algebraic GeometryAnalysis·Captain: mikedeng1

Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables X: Hypervarieties and Their Singular SetsTextbook

Motivation

Zero sets of holomorphic functions are the basic objects of local complex-analytic geometry. In one variable they are discrete, and nothing more needs to be said; in two or more variables the zero set of a single function is a surface, a curve or a higher-dimensional object that can have singular points, such as the cusp {z13=z22}\{z_1^3 = z_2^2\}{z13​=z22​} or the crossing lines {z12=z22}\{z_1^2 = z_2^2\}{z12​=z22​} in C2\mathbb{C}^2C2. The theory of complex-analytic subvarieties describes these sets: where they are manifolds, what their dimension is, how they decompose into irreducible pieces, and how large their singular part can be. It underlies the local theory of singularities, the study of holomorphic maps and their fibres, and complex-analytic geometry more broadly (see Chirka, Complex Analytic Sets, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2366-9, and Gunning–Rossi, Analytic Functions of Several Complex Variables).

This mission formalizes the part of this theory developed in §6.5–6.7 of Jiří Lebl's textbook Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables (version 4.4, 2026, https://www.jirka.org/scv/scv.pdf), culminating in the theorem that the singular set of a hypervariety (a subvariety of pure codimension one) is itself a subvariety, of dimension at most n−2n-2n−2.

Setting

Throughout, Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is the space of nnn-tuples z=(z1,…,zn)z = (z_1, \dots, z_n)z=(z1​,…,zn​), and a function on an open set is holomorphic if it is complex differentiable there.

A subvariety of an open set U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn is a set X⊂UX \subset UX⊂U such that every point p∈Up \in Up∈U has an open neighborhood W⊂UW \subset UW⊂U and a family F\mathcal{F}F of holomorphic functions on WWW, possibly infinite, with

W∩X={z∈W:f(z)=0 for all f∈F}.W \cap X = \{ z \in W : f(z) = 0 \text{ for all } f \in \mathcal{F} \}.W∩X={z∈W:f(z)=0 for all f∈F}.

The condition is imposed near every point of UUU, so a subvariety is closed in UUU.

A point p∈Xp \in Xp∈X is a regular point of dimension kkk if, after a permutation of the coordinates, z=(z′,z′′)∈Ck×Cn−kz = (z', z'') \in \mathbb{C}^k \times \mathbb{C}^{n-k}z=(z′,z′′)∈Ck×Cn−k, there are open sets U′∋p′U' \ni p'U′∋p′, U′′∋p′′U'' \ni p''U′′∋p′′ and a holomorphic map g:U′→Cn−kg : U' \to \mathbb{C}^{n-k}g:U′→Cn−k with

X∩(U′×U′′)={(z′,z′′):z′∈U′, z′′=g(z′)};X \cap (U' \times U'') = \{ (z', z'') : z' \in U',\ z'' = g(z') \};X∩(U′×U′′)={(z′,z′′):z′∈U′, z′′=g(z′)};

one writes dim⁡pX=k\dim_p X = kdimp​X=k. The set of regular points is XregX_{\mathrm{reg}}Xreg​ and the singular set is Xsing=X∖XregX_{\mathrm{sing}} = X \setminus X_{\mathrm{reg}}Xsing​=X∖Xreg​. The subvariety XXX has pure dimension ddd if dim⁡qX=d\dim_q X = ddimq​X=d at every regular point qqq, and pure codimension ccc if it has pure dimension n−cn - cn−c. A subvariety of pure codimension one is a hypervariety. The dimension of XXX is the maximum of dim⁡qX\dim_q Xdimq​X over q∈Xregq \in X_{\mathrm{reg}}q∈Xreg​.

Local statements use germs. Sets AAA, BBB have the same germ at ppp, written (A,p)=(B,p)(A,p) = (B,p)(A,p)=(B,p), if A∩W=B∩WA \cap W = B \cap WA∩W=B∩W for some neighborhood WWW of ppp, and (A,p)⊂(B,p)(A,p) \subset (B,p)(A,p)⊂(B,p) if A∩W⊂B∩WA \cap W \subset B \cap WA∩W⊂B∩W. The ring Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​ consists of germs at ppp of functions holomorphic near ppp, and

Ip(X)={(f,p)∈Op:(X,p)⊂(Zf,p)}I_p(X) = \{ (f,p) \in \mathcal{O}_p : (X, p) \subset (Z_f, p) \}Ip​(X)={(f,p)∈Op​:(X,p)⊂(Zf​,p)}

is the ideal of germs vanishing on XXX near ppp, where Zf=f−1(0)Z_f = f^{-1}(0)Zf​=f−1(0). A germ of a subvariety is reducible if it is the union of two germs of subvarieties neither of which contains the other, and irreducible otherwise.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 6.6.5

For an open set U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn and a subvariety X⊂UX \subset UX⊂U of pure codimension one,

Xsing is a subvariety of Uanddim⁡Xsing≤n−2.X_{\mathrm{sing}} \text{ is a subvariety of } U \quad\text{and}\quad \dim X_{\mathrm{sing}} \le n - 2 .Xsing​ is a subvariety of UanddimXsing​≤n−2.

Milestones

  1. Theorem 6.5.9. For a domain UUU and fff holomorphic on UUU, the zero set ZfZ_fZf​ is empty, all of UUU, or a subvariety of pure codimension one; and (Zf)reg(Z_f)_{\mathrm{reg}}(Zf​)reg​ is open and dense in ZfZ_fZf​.
  2. Lemma 6.5.10. For a nonempty subvariety XXX, Xreg≠∅X_{\mathrm{reg}} \neq \emptysetXreg​=∅; and XregX_{\mathrm{reg}}Xreg​ is open and dense in XXX.
  3. Theorem 6.6.1. A germ (X,p)(X,p)(X,p) of a hypervariety equals (Zf,p)(Z_f, p)(Zf​,p) for one holomorphic fff, and
Ip(X)=(f,p) Op.I_p(X) = (f,p)\,\mathcal{O}_p .Ip​(X)=(f,p)Op​.
  1. Corollary 6.6.3. A hypervariety germ has a representative X=X1∪⋯∪XkX = X_1 \cup \cdots \cup X_kX=X1​∪⋯∪Xk​ with each XℓX_\ellXℓ​ a hypervariety whose regular part is connected.
  2. Proposition 6.7.3. Every germ of a subvariety is a finite union of irreducible germs of subvarieties, none contained in another.

Significance

The result itself. The goal theorem is the codimension-one case of the general statement that the singular locus of any complex-analytic subvariety is a subvariety of strictly smaller dimension (stated without proof in the book as Theorem 6.5.11). It makes induction on dimension possible for hypervarieties: removing the singular set leaves a complex manifold of dimension n−1n-1n−1, and what is removed is again analytic and smaller. In particular, a complex curve in C2\mathbb{C}^2C2 given by one equation has only isolated singular points. Theorem 6.6.1 says that hypervarieties are exactly the sets locally cut out by one function generating the full ideal of vanishing germs, which fails in higher codimension (Example 6.6.2 gives a codimension-two subvariety of C6\mathbb{C}^6C6 not cut out by two functions).

Formalizing it. To our knowledge no proof assistant library currently contains complex-analytic subvarieties of open subsets of Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn, their regular and singular points, or local dimension. Mathlib has schemes and Zariski-closed sets, which are algebraic and do not cover analytic sets such as {z2=e1/z1}\{z_2 = e^{1/z_1}\}{z2​=e1/z1​}, and it has germs of functions and one-variable zero sets of analytic functions. The mission therefore builds the basic vocabulary of local analytic geometry, and proves its first structural theorems, from the book's proofs.

Difficulty

Being a subvariety is a local condition near every point of UUU, and the singular set is defined negatively, as the points where no coordinate projection exhibits XXX as a graph. To show XsingX_{\mathrm{sing}}Xsing​ is a subvariety one has to produce holomorphic functions whose common zeros in XXX are exactly the singular points. There is no natural finite list of them: the discriminants from one generic linear coordinate system do not suffice, because the book shows that near some regular points every fixed coordinate system sees a non-simple root (Figure 6.7). The proof needs infinitely many coordinate changes. It also needs Weierstrass preparation, the discriminant of a Weierstrass polynomial, and the principal-ideal description of Theorem 6.6.1. None of these are in Mathlib for convergent power series in several variables. The dimension bound is a separate claim: knowing that XsingX_{\mathrm{sing}}Xsing​ is a subvariety does not by itself exclude that it contains an (n−1)(n-1)(n−1)-dimensional manifold piece.

Formalization scope

  • Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is Fin n → ℂ. Holomorphic on an open set is DifferentiableOn ℂ, which is equivalent to the book's Definition 1.1.2 on open sets. A domain is IsOpen U ∧ IsConnected U (nonempty).
  • IsSubvariety U X includes IsOpen U and X ⊆ U; the families F\mathcal{F}F are arbitrary sets of functions.
  • A regular point uses an equivalence Fin n ≃ Fin k ⊕ Fin m for the permutation and the split into z′z'z′, z′′z''z′′, so no natural-number subtraction occurs.
  • Dimensions and codimensions are integers: "pure codimension 1" is "every regular point has dimension n−1n-1n−1" computed in ℤ, and "dim⁡Xsing≤n−2\dim X_{\mathrm{sing}} \le n-2dimXsing​≤n−2" is "every regular point of XsingX_{\mathrm{sing}}Xsing​ has dimension ≤n−2\le n-2≤n−2" in ℤ. For n=1n = 1n=1 the bound is −1-1−1, so the singular set must be empty. For Xsing=∅X_{\mathrm{sing}} = \emptysetXsing​=∅ the bound holds vacuously, where the book's maximum over the empty set is undefined.
  • Germs of sets are not quotients: GermEq and GermSubset are the relations of Definition 6.1.3. Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​ is a Subring of Mathlib's Filter.Germ (nhds p) ℂ, and Ip(X)I_p(X)Ip​(X) is an Ideal of it. "Generated by (f,p)(f,p)(f,p)" is Ideal.span {(f,p)}.
  • A germ of a pure-codimension-one subvariety is given by a representative subvariety X⊂UX \subset UX⊂U with p∈Up \in Up∈U. The conclusions depend only on the germ.
  • Lemma 6.5.10 is stated with the proviso X≠∅X \neq \emptysetX=∅ for its first clause; without it the page's sentence is false for X=∅X = \emptysetX=∅.
  • The goal is not trivialized by an empty or degenerate reading: the hypotheses are met by every zero set of a nonconstant holomorphic function, and the conclusion requires both the subvariety property of XsingX_{\mathrm{sing}}Xsing​ near every point of UUU and the dimension bound, not merely the existence of some description of XsingX_{\mathrm{sing}}Xsing​.

Infrastructure a complete development needs is Weierstrass preparation and division for convergent power series in several variables, the discriminant of a Weierstrass polynomial (Theorem 6.3.3), Noetherianity of Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​, and the Riemann extension theorem. All of them can be reused well beyond this mission. Contributions of any of these are welcome, as are proofs of the milestones independently of the goal.

Selected references

  • Jiří Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables: A Whirlwind Tour of the Subject, version 4.4, 2026, §6.5–6.7. https://www.jirka.org/scv/scv.pdf
  • E. M. Chirka, Complex Analytic Sets, Mathematics and Its Applications 46, Kluwer, 1989. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2366-9
  • Stanisław Łojasiewicz, Introduction to Complex Analytic Geometry, Birkhäuser, 1991. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7617-9
  • Robert C. Gunning and Hugo Rossi, Analytic Functions of Several Complex Variables, Prentice-Hall, 1965; reprinted AMS Chelsea, 2009. https://bookstore.ams.org/chel-368
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AlgebraAlgebraic GeometryAnalysis·Captain: mikedeng1

Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables IX: Weierstrass Preparation and the Ring of GermsTextbook

Why the ring of germs

Local complex analytic geometry studies zero sets of holomorphic functions near a point. The natural algebraic object for this is the ring of germs Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​ of holomorphic functions at p∈Cnp \in \mathbb{C}^np∈Cn: two functions are identified if they agree near ppp. The ring Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​ is the local ring of the complex manifold Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn at ppp in the sense of analytic geometry; its algebraic properties (Noetherian, integral domain, unique factorization) are what make the local theory of analytic varieties, their irreducible components and their singular sets work. This mission formalizes the section of Jiří Lebl's textbook Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables (jirka.org/scv) that establishes these properties, together with the two tools they rest on, the Weierstrass preparation and division theorems.

The preparation theorem goes back to Weierstrass (published 1886). Rückert (1933) used preparation and division to prove that the ring of convergent power series is Noetherian, the starting point of the algebraic treatment of local analytic geometry.

Setting

A point of Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is z=(z1,…,zn)z = (z_1, \dots, z_n)z=(z1​,…,zn​); when a last variable is singled out, z=(z′,zn)z = (z', z_n)z=(z′,zn​) with z′∈Cn−1z' \in \mathbb{C}^{n-1}z′∈Cn−1. A function on an open set is holomorphic if it is complex differentiable there; O(U)\mathcal{O}(U)O(U) is the set of holomorphic functions on UUU. A domain is a nonempty connected open set.

A germ at ppp is an equivalence class of functions defined on neighborhoods of ppp, two functions being equivalent if they agree on some neighborhood of ppp. Germs of complex-valued functions form a commutative ring under pointwise operations of representatives. The ring of germs of holomorphic functions Op=nOp\mathcal{O}_p = {}_n\mathcal{O}_pOp​=n​Op​ consists of the germs having a representative holomorphic on a neighborhood of ppp.

For fff holomorphic near ppp, write f(z)=∑kfk(z−p)f(z) = \sum_k f_k(z - p)f(z)=∑k​fk​(z−p) with fkf_kfk​ homogeneous of degree kkk. The order of vanishing ord⁡pf\operatorname{ord}_p fordp​f is the least kkk with fk≢0f_k \not\equiv 0fk​≡0, and ∞\infty∞ if f≡0f \equiv 0f≡0.

A Weierstrass polynomial of degree k≥0k \ge 0k≥0 on an open U∋0U \ni 0U∋0 in Cn−1\mathbb{C}^{n-1}Cn−1 is a monic polynomial in znz_nzn​,

P(z′,zn)=znk+∑ℓ=0k−1cℓ(z′) znℓ,P(z', z_n) = z_n^k + \sum_{\ell=0}^{k-1} c_\ell(z')\, z_n^\ell,P(z′,zn​)=znk​+ℓ=0∑k−1​cℓ​(z′)znℓ​,

with coefficients cℓc_\ellcℓ​ holomorphic on UUU and cℓ(0)=0c_\ell(0) = 0cℓ​(0)=0. A polydisc is a product of open discs. For a fixed z′z'z′, zeros of zn↦f(z′,zn)z_n \mapsto f(z', z_n)zn​↦f(z′,zn​) are geometrically distinct if they are distinct points; a zero is geometrically unique if it is the only one.

Formalization targets

Goal: Theorem 6.4.2

For every nnn and p∈Cnp \in \mathbb{C}^np∈Cn,

Op is a unique factorization domain:\mathcal{O}_p \text{ is a unique factorization domain:}Op​ is a unique factorization domain:

it is an integral domain, and up to multiplication by units and permutation every nonzero nonunit has a unique factorization into irreducible elements of Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​.

Milestones

In attack order:

  1. Theorem 6.2.3 (Weierstrass preparation). If f∈O(U)f \in \mathcal{O}(U)f∈O(U), 0∈U0 \in U0∈U, f(0)=0f(0) = 0f(0)=0, and zn↦f(0,zn)z_n \mapsto f(0, z_n)zn​↦f(0,zn​) has order of vanishing k≥1k \ge 1k≥1 at 000, then on some open polydisc V=V′×DV = V' \times DV=V′×D with 0∈V⊂U0 \in V \subset U0∈V⊂U,
f(z′,zn)=u(z′,zn) P(z′,zn)f(z', z_n) = u(z', z_n)\, P(z', z_n)f(z′,zn​)=u(z′,zn​)P(z′,zn​)

with u∈O(V)u \in \mathcal{O}(V)u∈O(V) nowhere zero and PPP a Weierstrass polynomial of degree kkk with coefficients holomorphic in V′V'V′ whose zeros in znz_nzn​ lie in DDD for all z′∈V′z' \in V'z′∈V′; uuu and PPP are unique. 2. Theorem 6.2.5 (Weierstrass division). For fff holomorphic near 000 and PPP a Weierstrass polynomial of degree k≥1k \ge 1k≥1, there are a neighborhood VVV of 000 and unique q,r∈O(V)q, r \in \mathcal{O}(V)q,r∈O(V), rrr a polynomial in znz_nzn​ of degree less than kkk, with f=qP+rf = qP + rf=qP+r on VVV. 3. Proposition 6.3.1. On domains U′×DU' \times DU′×D, if for every z′∈U′z' \in U'z′∈U′ the function zn↦f(z′,zn)z_n \mapsto f(z', z_n)zn​↦f(z′,zn​) has a geometrically unique zero α(z′)∈D\alpha(z') \in Dα(z′)∈D, then α\alphaα is holomorphic in U′U'U′. 4. Theorem 6.3.3 (discriminant). For DDD a bounded domain, U′U'U′ a domain, f∈O(U′×D)f \in \mathcal{O}(U' \times D)f∈O(U′×D) whose zero set has no limit points on U′×∂DU' \times \partial DU′×∂D, there are mmm and a holomorphic Δ≢0\Delta \not\equiv 0Δ≡0 on U′U'U′ such that zn↦f(z′,zn)z_n \mapsto f(z', z_n)zn​↦f(z′,zn​) has exactly mmm geometrically distinct zeros in DDD for Δ(z′)≠0\Delta(z') \ne 0Δ(z′)=0 and fewer than mmm for Δ(z′)=0\Delta(z') = 0Δ(z′)=0. 5. Theorem 6.4.1. Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​ is Noetherian.

Significance

The preparation theorem reduces a holomorphic function near a point, after a unit, to a polynomial in one variable over the ring of functions of the others; the division theorem is division with remainder by such a polynomial. Together they turn O0\mathcal{O}_0O0​ in nnn variables into an object controlled by the polynomial ring O0[zn]\mathcal{O}_0[z_n]O0​[zn​] in n−1n - 1n−1 variables, and that is how both the Noetherian property and unique factorization are proved. Unique factorization gives the decomposition of a germ of a hypersurface into irreducible components; the Noetherian property says that every germ of an analytic variety is cut out by finitely many functions. Proposition 6.3.1 and Theorem 6.3.3 describe how the zeros of zn↦f(z′,zn)z_n \mapsto f(z', z_n)zn​↦f(z′,zn​) move with z′z'z′, the input to the study of hypervarieties in the following sections.

The results are classical. The book proves them, leaving some steps as exercises: uniqueness in the division theorem (Exercise 6.2.10), the one-variable cases of 6.4.1 and 6.4.2 (Exercises 6.4.2, 6.4.6), and the irreducibility step in 6.4.2 (Exercise 6.4.7). Mathlib has the algebra (Noetherian rings, unique factorization monoids, Hilbert's basis theorem, the Gauss lemma for polynomial rings), germs along filters, and one-variable complex analysis. The platform has the Weierstrass preparation and division theorems for formal power series over complete local rings. None of the statements of this mission about convergent germs and holomorphic functions has a machine-checked proof.

Difficulty

The statements concern convergent objects, and the algebra alone does not see convergence. The formal preparation and division theorems produce a factorization or a quotient as formal power series; they do not say that the output converges, nor that it is holomorphic on a fixed neighborhood, nor where the zeros of the Weierstrass polynomial lie. Likewise, the formal power series ring is known to be a Noetherian UFD, but Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​ is a proper subring and neither property passes to subrings. The coefficients of the Weierstrass polynomial are built from the zeros of zn↦f(z′,zn)z_n \mapsto f(z', z_n)zn​↦f(z′,zn​), which in general cannot be chosen continuously in z′z'z′ (the two square roots of z1z_1z1​ already show this), so the holomorphy of the coefficients cannot come from the zeros one at a time.

For the goal, the induction on nnn requires identifying O0\mathcal{O}_0O0​ in n−1n - 1n−1 variables, its polynomial ring, and a subring of O0\mathcal{O}_0O0​ in nnn variables, and moving between germs and representatives on explicit neighborhoods. A linear change of coordinates is needed to reach the hypothesis of the preparation theorem, so invariance of Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​ under such changes is also part of the work.

Formalization scope

  • Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is Fin n → ℂ; where a last variable is singled out, Cn−1×C\mathbb{C}^{n-1} \times \mathbb{C}Cn−1×C is (Fin d → ℂ) × ℂ with d=n−1d = n - 1d=n−1, so d=0d = 0d=0 is the case n=1n = 1n=1. Holomorphic on an open set is DifferentiableOn ℂ, which agrees with the book's Definition 1.1.2 on open sets.
  • Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​ is GermRing n p: the subring of Mathlib's germ ring (𝓝 p).Germ ℂ of germs with a representative complex-differentiable at every point near ppp. The goal produces the IsDomain structure and asserts UniqueFactorizationMonoid; Theorem 6.4.1 is IsNoetherianRing.
  • Ruled out: replacing Op\mathcal{O}_pOp​ by the ring of all germs of functions (not a domain) or by formal power series MvPowerSeries (Fin n) ℂ. Both change the theorem; convergence is the whole point.
  • The order of vanishing is ℕ∞-valued: the least kkk with nonzero kkk-th derivative at ppp, and ∞\infty∞ if there is none.
  • A Weierstrass polynomial is given by its coefficient tuple c0,…,ck−1c_0, \dots, c_{k-1}c0​,…,ck−1​; the polydisc V′×DV' \times DV′×D of Theorem 6.2.3 is a coordinatewise polydisc with positive radii times an open disc, both centers arbitrary as in the book. "All kkk zeros lie in DDD" is stated as "every zero lies in DDD", equivalent for a monic polynomial of degree kkk. Uniqueness in 6.2.3 and 6.2.5 is uniqueness on the VVV produced.
  • In Theorem 6.3.3 zeros are counted as distinct points with Set.encard. The book writes m∈Nm \in \mathbb{N}m∈N with N={1,2,… }\mathbb{N} = \{1, 2, \dots\}N={1,2,…}; the statement allows m=0m = 0m=0, since for fff without zeros no m≥1m \ge 1m≥1 can satisfy the conclusion.

A complete development needs the one-variable argument principle and Cauchy integral formula with holomorphic parameters, Newton's identities, Radó's theorem (for 6.3.3), Hilbert's basis theorem and the Gauss lemma (in Mathlib), and the identification of O0\mathcal{O}_0O0​ in n−1n - 1n−1 variables with a subring of O0\mathcal{O}_0O0​ in nnn variables. A general API for rings of holomorphic germs and their changes of coordinates is reusable in the next mission of this series (hypervarieties and their singular sets); contributions of it as standalone lemmas are welcome.

Selected references

  • J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables, version 4.4, 2026, Chapter 6, §§6.1–6.4. https://www.jirka.org/scv/scv.pdf
  • W. Rückert, "Zum Eliminationsproblem der Potenzreihenideale", Mathematische Annalen 107 (1933).
  • R. C. Gunning and H. Rossi, Analytic Functions of Several Complex Variables, Prentice-Hall, 1965; reprint AMS Chelsea, 2009, Chapter II.
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AnalysisFunctional Analysis·Captain: mikedeng1

Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables VIII: The Bergman KernelTextbook

Motivation

On a domain in Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn with n≥2n \ge 2n≥2 there is in general no Cauchy integral formula whose kernel is holomorphic in the evaluation point and independent of choices: the Bochner–Martinelli kernel works on every domain but is not holomorphic in the right variable. The Bergman kernel is the canonical replacement. It is attached to every domain U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn, it reproduces every square-integrable holomorphic function on UUU, and it is holomorphic in one variable and antiholomorphic in the other. Stefan Bergman introduced it in one and several variables in the 1920s–1930s (Bergman, The Kernel Function and Conformal Mapping, 1950). Aronszajn's theory of reproducing kernels (Aronszajn 1950) places it inside a general Hilbert-space framework. The kernel's boundary behaviour is the central tool in Fefferman's theorem that biholomorphisms between smoothly bounded strongly pseudoconvex domains extend smoothly to the boundary (Fefferman 1974).

This mission formalizes the construction of the kernel and its basic structure theory, following Chapter 5 of Jiří Lebl's Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables (version 4.4, 2026).

Setting

Write Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn for Fin n → ℂ and dVdVdV for Lebesgue measure on Cn≅R2n\mathbb{C}^n \cong \mathbb{R}^{2n}Cn≅R2n (volume). A domain is a connected open set U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn. The space L2(U)L^2(U)L2(U) consists of the square-integrable functions on UUU, modulo equality almost everywhere. It carries the inner product

⟨f,g⟩=∫Uf(z) g(z)‾ dV(z).\langle f, g \rangle = \int_U f(z)\,\overline{g(z)}\, dV(z).⟨f,g⟩=∫U​f(z)g(z)​dV(z).

The Bergman space bergmanSpace U is

A2(U)=O(U)∩L2(U).A^2(U) = \mathcal{O}(U) \cap L^2(U).A2(U)=O(U)∩L2(U).

It consists of those classes in L2(U)L^2(U)L2(U) that contain a function holomorphic on UUU (DifferentiableOn ℂ). It is a linear subspace of L2(U)L^2(U)L2(U) and carries the L2L^2L2 norm ∥f∥A2(U)\|f\|_{A^2(U)}∥f∥A2(U)​. For f∈A2(U)f \in A^2(U)f∈A2(U) and z∈Uz \in Uz∈U, f(z)f(z)f(z) denotes the value at zzz of the holomorphic function in the class (holoRep U f z). This value is unambiguous because UUU is open.

For z∈Uz \in Uz∈U, suppose there is an element kz∈A2(U)k_z \in A^2(U)kz​∈A2(U) with

f(z)=⟨f,kz⟩for all f∈A2(U).f(z) = \langle f, k_z \rangle \quad \text{for all } f \in A^2(U).f(z)=⟨f,kz​⟩for all f∈A2(U).

Such a kzk_zkz​ is unique (bergmanRepresenter U z). The Bergman kernel is then

KU(z,ζˉ)=kz(ζ)‾,(z,ζˉ)∈U×U∗,U∗={ζ:ζˉ∈U}.K_U(z, \bar\zeta) = \overline{k_z(\zeta)}, \qquad (z, \bar\zeta) \in U \times U^*, \quad U^* = \{\zeta : \bar\zeta \in U\}.KU​(z,ζˉ​)=kz​(ζ)​,(z,ζˉ​)∈U×U∗,U∗={ζ:ζˉ​∈U}.

In Lean, bergmanKernel U z ζ is KU(z,ζˉ)K_U(z, \bar\zeta)KU​(z,ζˉ​): the second argument is ζ\zetaζ itself, and pairs range over U×UU \times UU×U.

A family {φℓ}ℓ∈I\{\varphi_\ell\}_{\ell \in I}{φℓ​}ℓ∈I​ in A2(U)A^2(U)A2(U), over an arbitrary index set III, is a complete orthonormal system (IsCompleteOrthonormalSystem U φ) if it is orthonormal and its linear span is dense in A2(U)A^2(U)A2(U).

Formalization targets

Goal: Proposition 5.2.5 (p. 163)

Let U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn be a domain and let {φℓ}ℓ∈I\{\varphi_\ell\}_{\ell\in I}{φℓ​}ℓ∈I​ be a complete orthonormal system for A2(U)A^2(U)A2(U). Then

KU(z,ζˉ)=∑ℓ∈Iφℓ(z) φℓ(ζ)‾,K_U(z, \bar\zeta) = \sum_{\ell \in I} \varphi_\ell(z)\,\overline{\varphi_\ell(\zeta)},KU​(z,ζˉ​)=ℓ∈I∑​φℓ​(z)φℓ​(ζ)​,

with uniform convergence on compact subsets of U×U∗U \times U^*U×U∗. In Lean the conclusion reads as follows: for every compact L⊂U×UL \subset U \times UL⊂U×U, the finite partial sums over s⊂Is \subset Is⊂I converge to bergmanKernel U z ζ uniformly on LLL as sss increases along the finite subsets of III.

Milestones

  1. Lemma 5.2.1 (p. 161). For a domain UUU and compact K⊂UK \subset UK⊂U there is a constant CKC_KCK​ with sup⁡z∈K∣f(z)∣≤CK∥f∥A2(U)\sup_{z\in K}|f(z)| \le C_K \|f\|_{A^2(U)}supz∈K​∣f(z)∣≤CK​∥f∥A2(U)​ for all f∈A2(U)f \in A^2(U)f∈A2(U). Consequently, A2(U)A^2(U)A2(U) is complete.
  2. Eq. (5.1) (p. 162), the reproducing property. For f∈A2(U)f \in A^2(U)f∈A2(U) and z∈Uz \in Uz∈U,
f(z)=∫Uf(ζ) KU(z,ζˉ) dV(ζ),f(z) = \int_U f(\zeta)\,K_U(z, \bar\zeta)\, dV(\zeta),f(z)=∫U​f(ζ)KU​(z,ζˉ​)dV(ζ),

with integrable integrand. 3. Proposition 5.2.2 (p. 162). KU(z,ζˉ)K_U(z, \bar\zeta)KU​(z,ζˉ​) is holomorphic in zzz and antiholomorphic in ζ\zetaζ, and KU(z,ζˉ)‾=KU(ζ,zˉ)\overline{K_U(z, \bar\zeta)} = K_U(\zeta, \bar z)KU​(z,ζˉ​)​=KU​(ζ,zˉ).

Significance

The result itself. The Bergman kernel can rarely be written in closed form. Proposition 5.2.5 computes it from any orthonormal basis of A2(U)A^2(U)A2(U). For the unit ball, the normalized monomials give the closed form KBn(z,ζˉ)=n!πn(1−⟨z,ζ⟩)−(n+1)K_{\mathbb{B}_n}(z,\bar\zeta) = \frac{n!}{\pi^n}(1 - \langle z, \zeta\rangle)^{-(n+1)}KBn​​(z,ζˉ​)=πnn!​(1−⟨z,ζ⟩)−(n+1) (Exercises 5.2.9–5.2.10). For the polydisc they give a product of one-variable kernels (Exercise 5.2.8). The expansion is also the standard route to the kernel's positivity on the diagonal, KU(z,zˉ)=∑ℓ∣φℓ(z)∣2K_U(z,\bar z) = \sum_\ell |\varphi_\ell(z)|^2KU​(z,zˉ)=∑ℓ​∣φℓ​(z)∣2, and so to the Bergman metric. Lemma 5.2.1, the milestone underneath, is what makes A2(U)A^2(U)A2(U) a Hilbert space and point evaluation continuous. It is the reason a reproducing kernel exists at all.

Formalizing it. These results are classical and fully proved in the book. As far as a search of the platform shows, none of them has a machine-checked proof: Mathlib has L2L^2L2 spaces, Hilbert bases and the Riesz representation theorem, but no Bergman space. The platform's reproducing-kernel entries (Moore–Aronszajn, real-valued RKHS statements) start from a positive semidefinite kernel, which is the opposite direction and not about A2(U)A^2(U)A2(U). What remains is to formalize the known proofs, and to build a reusable Bergman-space layer on which the biholomorphic transformation law (Exercise 5.2.7) and explicit kernels could later be stated.

Difficulty

The obvious argument for the goal expands z↦KU(z,ζˉ)z \mapsto K_U(z, \bar\zeta)z↦KU​(z,ζˉ​) in the orthonormal system. For each fixed ζ\zetaζ, that expansion converges in L2L^2L2 in the variable zzz only. Upgrading L2L^2L2 convergence to uniform convergence on compacts in zzz needs Lemma 5.2.1. Uniformity in the pair (z,ζ)(z, \zeta)(z,ζ) is a further step: a bound for each fixed ζ\zetaζ does not give it, and the tails must be controlled simultaneously in both variables. The sum is over an arbitrary index set, so the convergence to be proved is that of an unordered sum, uniformly on a compact set.

On the formal side, elements of L2L^2L2 are equivalence classes. Every pointwise statement therefore passes through the holomorphic representative, and needs the fact that continuous functions agreeing almost everywhere on an open set agree on it. Lemma 5.2.1 needs the mean-value property on polydiscs, and Cauchy–Schwarz on a polydisc inside UUU. The kernel exists only once completeness of A2(U)A^2(U)A2(U) and the Riesz representation theorem are combined.

Formalization scope

  • Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is Fin n → ℂ with volume, the product of Lebesgue measures on C≅R2\mathbb{C} \cong \mathbb{R}^2C≅R2; this is dVdVdV. No Euclidean ball or norm appears in any statement, so the sup norm on Fin n → ℂ plays no role.
  • A domain is IsOpen U ∧ IsConnected U. Holomorphic means DifferentiableOn ℂ on the open set UUU, which is equivalent to the book's Definition 1.1.2 by Osgood's lemma (Proposition 1.1.3, Theorem 1.2.1).
  • A2(U)A^2(U)A2(U) is a Submodule ℂ of Lp ℂ 2 (volume.restrict U), with the L2L^2L2 norm and inner product. Mathlib's inner product is conjugate-linear in its first argument. The book's ⟨f,g⟩\langle f, g\rangle⟨f,g⟩ is therefore written as an explicit integral ∫Uf gˉ dV\int_U f\,\bar g\,dV∫U​fgˉ​dV wherever the order matters (the definition of kzk_zkz​). Orthonormality does not depend on the convention.
  • bergmanKernel U z ζ means KU(z,ζˉ)K_U(z,\bar\zeta)KU​(z,ζˉ​). Compact subsets of U×U∗U\times U^*U×U∗ in the variables (z,ζˉ)(z,\bar\zeta)(z,ζˉ​) correspond to compact subsets of U×UU \times UU×U in the variables (z,ζ)(z,\zeta)(z,ζ).
  • The kernel is defined by choice: kzk_zkz​ is an element satisfying the reproducing identity, with fallback 000 if none exists. The fallback cannot make the goal trivially true: by Lemma 5.2.1 and Riesz a representer exists at every point of a domain, and the goal is equivalent to the book's statement for the actual kernel. The goal's convergence is uniform on compact sets, not merely pointwise, and the sum is unordered over an arbitrary index type. Replacing either by pointwise convergence or by a fixed enumeration would state a weaker theorem.
  • The reproducing property includes integrability of its integrand in its conclusion, so it cannot hold through the Bochner integral's default value 000.
  • Not included. Theorem 5.1.1 (Bochner–Martinelli) is not included. It needs integration of (n,n−1)(n,n-1)(n,n−1)-forms over a smooth boundary, which Mathlib lacks, and the goal does not use it. The Szegő kernel (§5.3) is sketched in the book without numbered results. Examples 5.2.3–5.2.4 and the exercises are not results and are not stated.

A complete development needs the following:

  • the mean-value property of holomorphic functions on polydiscs;
  • closedness of A2(U)A^2(U)A2(U) in L2(U)L^2(U)L2(U);
  • Riesz representation (InnerProductSpace.toDual);
  • expansions in Hilbert bases (HilbertBasis);
  • uniform convergence of unordered sums of functions on compact sets.

The Bergman-space layer (holomorphic representatives, continuity of point evaluation, the kernel) is reusable for any later work on Bergman metrics, transformation laws or explicit kernels. Contributions of that layer as separate lemmas are welcome.

Selected references

  • J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables: A Whirlwind Tour of the Subject, version 4.4, 2026, Chapter 5. https://www.jirka.org/scv/scv.pdf
  • S. Bergman, The Kernel Function and Conformal Mapping, Mathematical Surveys 5, American Mathematical Society, 1950 (2nd ed. 1970). https://doi.org/10.1090/surv/005
  • N. Aronszajn, Theory of reproducing kernels, Transactions of the American Mathematical Society 68 (1950), 337–404. https://doi.org/10.1090/S0002-9947-1950-0051437-7
  • C. Fefferman, The Bergman kernel and biholomorphic mappings of pseudoconvex domains, Inventiones Mathematicae 26 (1974), 1–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01406845
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AnalysisPartial Differential Equations·Captain: mikedeng1

Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables VI: The Hartogs PhenomenonTextbook

Motivation

In one complex variable every open set is the natural domain of some holomorphic function: 1/z1/z1/z on a punctured disc cannot be continued across the puncture. In two or more variables this fails in a striking way. Hartogs observed in 1906 that a function holomorphic on the complement of a compact set inside a domain always extends across the hole (Hartogs, Math. Ann. 62, 1906). This Hartogs phenomenon is the first place where several complex variables departs from the one-variable theory, and it forces the notions of domain of holomorphy and pseudoconvexity that organize the rest of the subject.

Timeline. Hartogs's original argument (1906) had gaps. A complete proof was given by Fueter in 1939 for n=2n = 2n=2, and independently by Bochner and Martinelli for general nnn in the early 1940s. The proof now standard, via the compactly supported ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-problem, is due to Ehrenpreis (Ehrenpreis, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 67, 1961). This mission follows the presentation in §4.1–4.3 of Lebl's textbook (Lebl, version 4.4, 2026).

Setting

Write Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn for nnn-tuples z=(z1,…,zn)z = (z_1, \dots, z_n)z=(z1​,…,zn​) of complex numbers, zk=xk+iykz_k = x_k + i y_kzk​=xk​+iyk​. A domain is a nonempty connected open set. A function on an open set is holomorphic if it is complex differentiable there (for open sets this agrees with the textbook's definition by local boundedness and separate holomorphy).

The Wirtinger derivatives of a differentiable function fff are

∂f∂zˉk=12(∂f∂xk+i ∂f∂yk),k=1,…,n,\frac{\partial f}{\partial \bar z_k} = \frac12\left(\frac{\partial f}{\partial x_k} + i\,\frac{\partial f}{\partial y_k}\right), \qquad k = 1, \dots, n,∂zˉk​∂f​=21​(∂xk​∂f​+i∂yk​∂f​),k=1,…,n,

and in one variable ∂f/∂zˉ=12(∂xf+i ∂yf)\partial f/\partial\bar z = \tfrac12(\partial_x f + i\,\partial_y f)∂f/∂zˉ=21​(∂x​f+i∂y​f). A C1C^1C1 function is holomorphic exactly when all ∂f/∂zˉk\partial f/\partial\bar z_k∂f/∂zˉk​ vanish.

A (0,1)(0,1)(0,1)-form is an expression g=g1 dzˉ1+⋯+gn dzˉng = g_1\,d\bar z_1 + \cdots + g_n\,d\bar z_ng=g1​dzˉ1​+⋯+gn​dzˉn​ with coefficient functions gjg_jgj​. For a smooth ψ\psiψ, ∂ˉψ=∑k∂ψ∂zˉk dzˉk\bar\partial\psi = \sum_k \frac{\partial\psi}{\partial\bar z_k}\,d\bar z_k∂ˉψ=∑k​∂zˉk​∂ψ​dzˉk​, so the equation ∂ˉψ=g\bar\partial\psi = g∂ˉψ=g is the system ∂ψ/∂zˉk=gk\partial\psi/\partial\bar z_k = g_k∂ψ/∂zˉk​=gk​ for all kkk. Since mixed partial derivatives commute, a solution can exist only if the compatibility conditions ∂gk/∂zˉℓ=∂gℓ/∂zˉk\partial g_k/\partial\bar z_\ell = \partial g_\ell/\partial\bar z_k∂gk​/∂zˉℓ​=∂gℓ​/∂zˉk​ hold.

In one variable, the area element is written dζ∧dζˉ=(−2i) dAd\zeta\wedge d\bar\zeta = (-2i)\,dAdζ∧dζˉ​=(−2i)dA, where dA=dx dydA = dx\,dydA=dxdy is Lebesgue measure on C\mathbb{C}C.

Formalization targets

Goal: the Hartogs phenomenon (Theorem 4.3.1)

Let n≥2n \ge 2n≥2, U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn a domain, K⊂UK \subset UK⊂U compact with U∖KU \setminus KU∖K connected, and fff holomorphic on U∖KU \setminus KU∖K. Then

∃! F∈O(U) with F∣U∖K=f,\exists!\, F \in \mathcal{O}(U) \text{ with } F|_{U \setminus K} = f,∃!F∈O(U) with F∣U∖K​=f,

where uniqueness means any two such extensions agree on UUU.

Milestones

  1. Cauchy–Pompeiu formula (Theorem 4.1.1), on a disc UUU: for fff continuous on U‾\overline UU with bounded continuous partial derivatives in UUU and z∈Uz \in Uz∈U,
f(z)=12πi∫∂Uf(ζ)ζ−z dζ+12πi∫U∂f/∂ζˉ(ζ)ζ−z dζ∧dζˉ.f(z) = \frac{1}{2\pi i}\int_{\partial U}\frac{f(\zeta)}{\zeta - z}\,d\zeta + \frac{1}{2\pi i}\int_U \frac{\partial f/\partial\bar\zeta(\zeta)}{\zeta - z}\,d\zeta\wedge d\bar\zeta.f(z)=2πi1​∫∂U​ζ−zf(ζ)​dζ+2πi1​∫U​ζ−z∂f/∂ζˉ​(ζ)​dζ∧dζˉ​.
  1. One-variable ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ (Lemma 4.4.6), on a disc UUU: for ggg smooth near U‾\overline UU, ψ(z)=12πi∫Ug(ζ)ζ−z dζ∧dζˉ\psi(z) = \frac{1}{2\pi i}\int_U \frac{g(\zeta)}{\zeta - z}\,d\zeta\wedge d\bar\zetaψ(z)=2πi1​∫U​ζ−zg(ζ)​dζ∧dζˉ​ is smooth on UUU with ∂ψ/∂zˉ=g\partial\psi/\partial\bar z = g∂ψ/∂zˉ=g.
  2. Compactly supported ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-problem (Theorem 4.2.1): for n≥2n \ge 2n≥2 and compactly supported smooth g1,…,gng_1, \dots, g_ng1​,…,gn​ satisfying the compatibility conditions, there is a unique compactly supported smooth ψ\psiψ with ∂ˉψ=g\bar\partial\psi = g∂ˉψ=g.
  3. Zero sets (Corollary 4.3.2): for n≥2n \ge 2n≥2 and fff holomorphic on a domain, a nonempty zero set f−1(0)f^{-1}(0)f−1(0) is never compact.

Significance

The result. The Hartogs phenomenon shows that isolated singularities, and more generally compact singular sets, do not exist for holomorphic functions of several variables. Direct consequences include Corollary 4.3.2, the fact that the complement of a bounded domain of holomorphy is connected, and the extension of CR functions from the boundary of a bounded domain (the Hartogs–Bochner and Severi theorems). It is the reason the domain of a holomorphic function in Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn carries geometric information, which leads to pseudoconvexity and the Levi problem. Theorem 4.2.1 is the simplest solvability statement for the ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-equation, a model for the Dolbeault and Hörmander L2L^2L2 theories.

Formalizing it. All results here are classical and proved in the book; none is formalized. Mathlib has the one-variable Cauchy integral formula on discs, but it has no Cauchy–Pompeiu formula, no Cauchy transform with a ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ identity, and no ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ-problem in Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn. A complete development would provide a reusable one-variable ∂ˉ\bar\partial∂ˉ solution operator, differentiation under a singular integral, and the removable-compact-set theorem for holomorphic functions of several variables.

Difficulty

The first idea, extending fff one complex line at a time by one-variable Cauchy integrals, works only for special shapes of KKK (Hartogs figures): for a general compact KKK with connected complement the one-variable slices of U∖KU \setminus KU∖K can be complicated, and patching slice-wise extensions into one holomorphic function is where the historical proofs had gaps. The milestones carry their own analytic difficulties. The kernel 1/(ζ−z)1/(\zeta - z)1/(ζ−z) is singular, so the area integrals must first be shown to converge, and a zˉ\bar zzˉ-derivative cannot be moved naively under the integral (doing so would give 000, contradicting Lemma 4.4.6). In Theorem 4.2.1 the delicate point is compact support of the solution, which is where n≥2n \ge 2n≥2 enters: for n=1n = 1n=1 the equation is solvable but in general has no compactly supported solution.

Formalization scope

  • Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is Fin n → ℂ; functions are total, and only their values on the sets named in the hypotheses matter. Holomorphic is DifferentiableOn ℂ on an open set. A domain is IsOpen U ∧ IsConnected U. "K⊂⊂UK \subset\subset UK⊂⊂U compact" is IsCompact K ∧ K ⊆ U. The hypothesis n≥2n \ge 2n≥2 is 2 ≤ n and is essential.
  • wirtingerBar k f is 12(∂xkf+i ∂ykf)\tfrac12(\partial_{x_k}f + i\,\partial_{y_k}f)21​(∂xk​​f+i∂yk​​f) built from real one-variable derivs; dbar f is its one-variable analogue. Smooth means real C∞C^\inftyC∞ (ContDiff ℝ ∞), not analytic; compact support is HasCompactSupport.
  • In Theorem 4.1.1 and Lemma 4.4.6 the book allows any bounded open set with piecewise-C1C^1C1 boundary; the formalization restricts to open discs, since Mathlib has no boundary integral over such sets. The boundary integral is circleIntegral, and ∫U⋯dζ∧dζˉ\int_U \cdots d\zeta\wedge d\bar\zeta∫U​⋯dζ∧dζˉ​ is (−2i)(-2i)(−2i) times the Lebesgue (Bochner) integral over the disc. Integrability of the singular integrand is part of the conclusion, so a vanishing Bochner integral cannot make a statement hold vacuously.
  • Uniqueness in the goal is agreement on UUU of any two holomorphic extensions (values off UUU are unconstrained); in Theorem 4.2.1 it is ∃! among compactly supported smooth functions.
  • Trivializations ruled out: the goal is not stated for n=1n = 1n=1, it does not assume fff already holomorphic on UUU, and it does not replace "extends" by the existence of some function on UUU without the agreement F=fF = fF=f on U∖KU \setminus KU∖K.
  • Omitted: Corollary 4.3.3 (Severi), which needs real-analytic hypersurfaces and CR functions.
  • Needed infrastructure: Green's theorem on a disc or an equivalent polar-coordinate argument, local integrability of 1/∣ζ∣1/|\zeta|1/∣ζ∣ in the plane, differentiation under the integral sign, smooth cutoff functions, and the identity theorem in Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn. Reusable contributions in any of these are welcome.

Selected references

  • J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables, version 4.4, 2026, §4.1–4.3, pp. 130–137. https://www.jirka.org/scv/scv.pdf
  • F. Hartogs, Zur Theorie der analytischen Funktionen mehrerer unabhängiger Veränderlichen, insbesondere über die Darstellung derselben durch Reihen, welche nach Potenzen einer Veränderlichen fortschreiten, Math. Ann. 62 (1906), 1–88.
  • L. Ehrenpreis, A new proof and an extension of Hartog's theorem, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 67 (1961), 507–509.
  • L. Hörmander, An Introduction to Complex Analysis in Several Variables, 3rd ed., North-Holland, 1990, Theorem 2.3.2.
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AnalysisDifferential Geometry·Captain: mikedeng1

Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables III: Hartogs Figures, the Levi Form and the Tomato Can PrincipleTextbook

Motivation

In one complex variable every domain is the natural domain of some holomorphic function. In several variables this fails: there are open sets U⊂CnU \subset \mathbb{C}^nU⊂Cn, n≥2n \ge 2n≥2, on which every holomorphic function extends past part of the boundary. The first example is the Hartogs figure (Hartogs, 1906). The question of which domains are natural domains of holomorphic functions, the domains of holomorphy, drove the development of the subject for half a century. E. E. Levi (1911) found a necessary condition for domains with smooth boundary: a sign condition on a Hermitian form attached to the boundary, now called the Levi form. The converse, the Levi problem, was settled in the 1950s by Oka, Bremermann and Norguet. Hörmander's L2L^2L2 approach is a later proof (Hörmander, An Introduction to Complex Analysis in Several Variables).

This mission follows §2.1–2.3 of J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables (version 4.4, 2026, jirka.org/scv). Those sections go from the Hartogs figure and the continuity principle, through tangent vectors and the Levi form of a smooth boundary, to the tomato can principle. That principle is the easy direction of the Levi problem: a domain of holomorphy with smooth boundary has no negative Levi eigenvalue.

Setting

Write Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn for nnn-tuples z=(z1,…,zn)z = (z_1, \dots, z_n)z=(z1​,…,zn​) with zℓ=xℓ+iyℓz_\ell = x_\ell + i y_\ellzℓ​=xℓ​+iyℓ​, and D={ξ∈C:∣ξ∣<1}\mathbb{D} = \{\xi \in \mathbb{C} : |\xi| < 1\}D={ξ∈C:∣ξ∣<1}. A function on an open set is holomorphic if it is complex differentiable at every point, and O(U)\mathcal{O}(U)O(U) is the set of holomorphic functions on UUU. Δs(p)\Delta_s(p)Δs​(p) is the polydisc of radius sss about ppp, the set where every coordinate satisfies ∣zℓ−pℓ∣<s|z_\ell - p_\ell| < s∣zℓ​−pℓ​∣<s.

A domain is a nonempty connected open set. A domain UUU is a domain of holomorphy if there are no nonempty open sets V,WV, WV,W with WWW connected, V⊂U∩WV \subset U \cap WV⊂U∩W and W⊄UW \not\subset UW⊂U such that every f∈O(U)f \in \mathcal{O}(U)f∈O(U) agrees on VVV with some F∈O(W)F \in \mathcal{O}(W)F∈O(W).

Identify Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn with R2n\mathbb{R}^{2n}R2n. An open set UUU has smooth boundary if every p∈∂Up \in \partial Up∈∂U has an open neighbourhood VVV and a C∞C^\inftyC∞ function r:V→Rr : V \to \mathbb{R}r:V→R with the following properties:

  • the derivative of rrr never vanishes on VVV;
  • ∂U∩V={r=0}\partial U \cap V = \{ r = 0 \}∂U∩V={r=0};
  • r<0r < 0r<0 on U∩VU \cap VU∩V and r>0r > 0r>0 on V∖U‾V \setminus \overline{U}V∖U.

Such an rrr is a defining function at ppp. With the Wirtinger derivatives ∂/∂zℓ=12(∂/∂xℓ−i ∂/∂yℓ)\partial/\partial z_\ell = \tfrac12(\partial/\partial x_\ell - i\,\partial/\partial y_\ell)∂/∂zℓ​=21​(∂/∂xℓ​−i∂/∂yℓ​) and ∂/∂zˉℓ=12(∂/∂xℓ+i ∂/∂yℓ)\partial/\partial \bar z_\ell = \tfrac12(\partial/\partial x_\ell + i\,\partial/\partial y_\ell)∂/∂zˉℓ​=21​(∂/∂xℓ​+i∂/∂yℓ​), the holomorphic tangent space is

Tp(1,0)∂U={a∈Cn:∑kak∂r∂zk(p)=0},T^{(1,0)}_p \partial U = \Big\{ a \in \mathbb{C}^n : \sum_{k} a_k \tfrac{\partial r}{\partial z_k}(p) = 0 \Big\},Tp(1,0)​∂U={a∈Cn:k∑​ak​∂zk​∂r​(p)=0},

and the Levi form is the Hermitian form

L(Xp,Xp)=∑k,ℓ=1naˉkaℓ ∂2r∂zˉk∂zℓ(p),Xp=∑kak∂∂zk∣p∈Tp(1,0)∂U.\mathcal{L}(X_p, X_p) = \sum_{k,\ell=1}^n \bar a_k a_\ell \,\frac{\partial^2 r}{\partial \bar z_k \partial z_\ell}(p), \qquad X_p = \sum_k a_k \frac{\partial}{\partial z_k}\Big|_p \in T^{(1,0)}_p\partial U.L(Xp​,Xp​)=k,ℓ=1∑n​aˉk​aℓ​∂zˉk​∂zℓ​∂2r​(p),Xp​=k∑​ak​∂zk​∂​​p​∈Tp(1,0)​∂U.

UUU is pseudoconvex at ppp if L≥0\mathcal{L} \ge 0L≥0 there, and strongly pseudoconvex if L>0\mathcal{L} > 0L>0 on nonzero vectors. The inertia of L\mathcal{L}L is its number of positive and negative eigenvalues, the largest dimensions of subspaces of Tp(1,0)∂UT^{(1,0)}_p\partial UTp(1,0)​∂U on which it is positive or negative definite.

Formalization targets

Goal: the tomato can principle (Theorem 2.3.11)

If UUU has smooth boundary, p∈∂Up \in \partial Up∈∂U, and L(Xp,Xp)<0\mathcal{L}(X_p, X_p) < 0L(Xp​,Xp​)<0 for some Xp∈Tp(1,0)∂UX_p \in T^{(1,0)}_p\partial UXp​∈Tp(1,0)​∂U, then there is a connected open W∋pW \ni pW∋p with

∀f∈O(U) ∃F∈O(W): F=f on U∩W,\forall f \in \mathcal{O}(U)\ \exists F \in \mathcal{O}(W):\ F = f \text{ on } U \cap W,∀f∈O(U) ∃F∈O(W): F=f on U∩W,

and, if UUU is connected, UUU is not a domain of holomorphy.

The path to the goal

  • Theorem 2.1.4 (Hartogs figure). For 0<a,b<10 < a, b < 10<a,b<1, every function holomorphic on H={(z,w)∈Dm+k:∣zℓ∣>a ∀ℓ}∪{(z,w)∈Dm+k:∣wℓ∣<b ∀ℓ}H = \{(z,w) \in \mathbb{D}^{m+k} : |z_\ell| > a\ \forall \ell\} \cup \{(z,w) \in \mathbb{D}^{m+k} : |w_\ell| < b\ \forall \ell\}H={(z,w)∈Dm+k:∣zℓ​∣>a ∀ℓ}∪{(z,w)∈Dm+k:∣wℓ​∣<b ∀ℓ} extends holomorphically to Dm+k\mathbb{D}^{m+k}Dm+k.
  • Corollary 2.1.5. For n≥2n \ge 2n≥2, UUU open and p∈Up \in Up∈U, every f∈O(U∖{p})f \in \mathcal{O}(U \setminus \{p\})f∈O(U∖{p}) extends holomorphically to UUU.
  • Theorem 2.1.7 (continuity principle). Closed analytic discs φk→φ\varphi_k \to \varphiφk​→φ uniformly, with φk(D‾)⊂U\varphi_k(\overline{\mathbb{D}}) \subset Uφk​(D)⊂U and φ(∂D)⊂U\varphi(\partial\mathbb{D}) \subset Uφ(∂D)⊂U, give an s>0s > 0s>0 such that every f∈O(U)f \in \mathcal{O}(U)f∈O(U) continues holomorphically to Δs(p)\Delta_s(p)Δs​(p) for each p∈φ(D)p \in \varphi(\mathbb{D})p∈φ(D). The continuation agrees with fff on a nonempty open subset of U∩Δs(p)U \cap \Delta_s(p)U∩Δs​(p).
  • Proposition 2.3.6. The inertia of the Levi form does not depend on the defining function.
  • Theorem 2.3.8. The inertia of the Levi form is invariant under local biholomorphisms that map UUU to U′U'U′ near the boundary points.
  • Lemma 2.3.9. Near any point, after a local biholomorphic change of coordinates, a smooth real hypersurface has the form Im⁡w=∑k≤α∣zk∣2−∑α<k≤α+β∣zk∣2+E\operatorname{Im} w = \sum_{k \le \alpha}|z_k|^2 - \sum_{\alpha < k \le \alpha+\beta}|z_k|^2 + EImw=∑k≤α​∣zk​∣2−∑α<k≤α+β​∣zk​∣2+E with EEE vanishing to order three. For a boundary, α\alphaα and β\betaβ are the Levi inertia and UUU is the side >>>.

Significance

The tomato can principle is the necessity half of the solution of the Levi problem: pseudoconvexity is a local, computable condition on the boundary that every domain of holomorphy with smooth boundary satisfies. Together with its converse, it lets one decide whether a smooth domain is a domain of holomorphy by computing second derivatives of a defining function. The Hartogs figure and the continuity principle are the standard ways to extend holomorphic functions, and later chapters use them for the Hartogs phenomenon and for Hartogs pseudoconvexity. The invariance results make the Levi form's inertia a biholomorphic invariant of a boundary point. The normal form is the usual starting point for local computations in CR geometry.

All results are classical and proved in the source, except Proposition 2.3.6, which the book leaves as an exercise. None of them is formalized in Mathlib or on the platform: Mathlib has holomorphic functions of several variables, but no Hartogs extension, no Levi form and no pseudoconvexity. The platform's ray_hartogs is Hartogs's theorem on separate analyticity, a different result. The mission produces faithful statements of this chain, together with definitions of smooth boundaries, holomorphic tangent vectors and the Levi form that later missions of the series need.

Difficulty

The goal combines three independent pieces of machinery. The Hartogs figure needs holomorphy of Cauchy integrals over a torus with a holomorphic parameter, and the identity theorem on a polydisc. Reducing to the normal form needs the implicit function theorem for real hypersurfaces, second-order Taylor expansion in Wirtinger coordinates, a polynomial holomorphic change of coordinates, and Sylvester's law of inertia. The inertia results need the chain rule for Wirtinger derivatives of r∘fr \circ fr∘f, and the fact that two defining functions differ by a positive smooth factor. That last fact is itself a division lemma for smooth functions vanishing on a hypersurface.

The naive formalization of "the Levi form has a negative eigenvalue" as a negative eigenvalue of the complex Hessian on all of Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is wrong. The complex Hessian changes under the choice of defining function, and only its restriction to Tp(1,0)∂UT^{(1,0)}_p\partial UTp(1,0)​∂U has invariant signs.

Formalization scope

Cn\mathbb{C}^nCn is Fin n → ℂ. Its Mathlib norm is the sup norm, so Metric.ball p s is exactly the polydisc Δs(p)\Delta_s(p)Δs​(p). No Euclidean ball occurs in these statements. Holomorphic on an open set is DifferentiableOn ℂ, which is equivalent there to the book's Definition 1.1.2. Functions are ambient maps whose values off the relevant set are irrelevant.

Smooth means ContDiffOn ℝ ∞ on the open neighbourhood VVV. Real partial derivatives are fderiv ℝ in the directions eℓe_\elleℓ​ and ieℓi e_\ellieℓ​, and Wirtinger derivatives are built from them. Tp(1,0)∂UT^{(1,0)}_p\partial UTp(1,0)​∂U is the submodule holTangent r p of coefficient vectors, computed from the defining function in use. The Levi form is compared through its real part. The inertia is the pair leviPosIndex, leviNegIndex: suprema over ℕ of dimensions of definite subspaces, nonempty (the zero subspace) and bounded by nnn. The book's O(3)O(3)O(3) is VanishesToOrder 3: the function and its derivatives of order at most two vanish at the point. It is not Mathlib's IsBigO.

Conventions and restrictions:

  • The goal assumes the negative Levi value for one defining function, the weakest form of the hypothesis. "Extends to a neighbourhood of ppp" is read literally: F=fF = fF=f on the whole overlap U∩WU \cap WU∩W, with WWW fixed before fff is chosen. Agreement on a mere nonempty open subset of U∩WU \cap WU∩W would be a weaker statement and is not what is asked. The second conjunct adds connectedness of UUU, because Definition 2.1.1 applies only to domains.
  • In Theorem 2.1.7, "some open subset" is read as a nonempty open subset. The empty set would make the conclusion vacuous.
  • Lemma 2.3.9 is stated in Cm+1\mathbb{C}^{m+1}Cm+1, with zzz the first mmm coordinates and www the last one. Nothing is lost, because C0\mathbb{C}^0C0 contains no hypersurface.
  • In Definition 2.2.1, "r>0r > 0r>0 for points not in UUU" is read as "not in U‾\overline{U}U", since r=0r = 0r=0 on ∂U\partial U∂U.

A trivializing formalization is excluded: the Levi form is restricted to holTangent r p, never the full complex Hessian, and the defining function must carry the sign condition. So neither a hypothesis that fails for every open set nor one that holds for every open set can make the goal vacuous or trivial.

A complete development needs parameter-dependent Cauchy integrals on polydiscs, a real implicit function theorem for hypersurfaces, a smooth division lemma, a Wirtinger chain rule, and Sylvester's law of inertia for Hermitian forms restricted to subspaces. These pieces are reusable across the series, and contributions of any of them are welcome.

Selected references

  • J. Lebl, Tasty Bits of Several Complex Variables, version 4.4, 2026. https://www.jirka.org/scv/scv.pdf
  • L. Hörmander, An Introduction to Complex Analysis in Several Variables, 3rd ed., North-Holland, 1990.
  • S. G. Krantz, Function Theory of Several Complex Variables, 2nd ed., AMS Chelsea, 2001.
  • S. Ivashkovich, Discrete and continuous versions of the continuity principle, J. Geom. Anal. 32 (2022), Paper No. 226.
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