Unanswered Questions
49,206 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Why was it so difficult to define the relative de Rham-Witt complex?
In Illusie's original article, the de Rham-Witt complex is defined for a smooth scheme over a perfect characteristic $p$ base $S$, without reference to $S$. Some 25 years later, Langer and Zink ...
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Has Cheeger's 'de Rham cohomology' of metric measure spaces been studied beyond its definition?
In J. Cheeger's 'Differentiability of Lipschitz Functions on Metric Measure Spaces' (Geometric and Functional Analysis, 1999, Vol. 9 pp 428-517, see here), a 'de Rham cohomology group' $H_{dR}^1(Z,\mu)...
user14166
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Expanding disks lead to what packing of the plane?
Suppose one sprinkles points uniformly at random on the infinite Euclidean plane,
with some density $\rho$ per unit area.
View the points as disks of radius zero.
Now the radii $r$ of all disks grows ...
- 151k
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Relation Between Truncated Braid Groups and Regular Tilings of the Complex and Hyperbolic Plane
This is perhaps a vague question, but hopefully there exists literature on the subject. The question is motivated by an answer I gave to this question on math.SE.
There exists a rather remarkable ...
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For how many primes does an elliptic curve over a totally imaginary field have supersingular reduction?
An elliptic curve over a finite field, $k$, of characteristic p is called supersingular if it has no $p$-torsion over $k^{\mathrm{alg}}$, or equivalently, if $\mathrm{End}(E)$ is an order in a ...
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A Kakeya-like problem: must a union of annuli fill the plane?
Let $S$ be a subset of $\mathbb{R}^2$ with the following property. For all $x \in \mathbb{R}^2$ and $\varepsilon \gt 0$, there exists a nontrivial interval $[a,b] \subseteq [1-\varepsilon,1]$, such ...
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Bloch-Kato conjecture and Wiles' numerical criterion
I already asked this question some days ago on https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/158747/bloch-kato-conjecture-and-wiles-numerical-criterion but didn't receive any response.
In the ...
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448
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Best known constant for parallel sorting
I recently found myself talking about Szemerédi's mathematics, and briefly discussed his famous sorting network, discovered with Ajtai and Komlós. Apparently their algorithm is not practical because ...
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Homotopy groups of the orthogonal group
I'm interested in knowing what $n$-dimensional vector bundles on the $n$-sphere look like, or equivalently in determining $\pi_{n-1}(SO(n))$; here's a case that I haven't been able to solve.
Let $n \...
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443
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Asymptotics for the number of triangulations of a manifold M
In Gromov's talk at the Clay Math Research from 23:23 to 25:55 Gromov says (slightly paraphrased)
I want to emphasize a problem which
comes from mathematical physics which
is unsolved which is ...
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Does every Abelian variety have a finite resolution by Jacobians?
One knows that every Abelian variety is a quotient of a Jacobian. Does every Abelian variety have a finite resolution by Jacobians?
user19475
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Representations of quantum groups at roots of unity
I'm interested in the semisimplified category of representations of a quantum group at a root of unity. I've heard that simple objects in this category correspond to certain "integral" conjugacy ...
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How does duality of symmetric spaces explain the hyperbolic cosine theorem?
There is a well-known duality between compact symmetric spaces and symmetric spaces of noncompact type. Basically it goes as follows: If $$G/K$$ is a symmetric space of noncompact type, $$g=k+p$$ the ...
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Maximal Tori and group structures on spheres
It is known that for any compact Lie group $G$ with maximal torus $T$, that any other maximal torus $T'$ is conjugate to $T$. This might be a bit of a stretch, but I was wondering if it is possible to ...
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Are "fpqc algebraic spaces" algebraic spaces?
Suppose $F:Sch^\text{op}\to Set$ is a sheaf in the fpqc topology, has quasi-compact representable diagonal, and has an fpqc cover by a scheme. Must $F$ be an algebraic space? That is, must $F$ have an ...
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Is the category of smooth manifolds equivalent to the opposite category of the category of commutative monoids of some additive symmetric monoidal category?
This is a followup to my previous question, which asked whether
the category of commutative or noncommutative C*-algebras or von Neumann algebras
is equivalent to the category of commutative or ...
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Any references on zeta-function like sums of inverse determinants over lattices of matrices?
I'm sorry for the title, it was little difficult to phrase..
Let us consider a matrix lattice $L\subset M_n(\mathbb{C})$. By this I mean a discrete additive group in $M_n(\mathbb{C})$. Let us ...
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Functions approximated by rolling epicycle curves
Imagine a decreasing sequence of (positive) radii $r_1 > r_2 > r_3 > \cdots$
and a series of nested circles $C_1 \supset C_2 \supset C_3 \supset \cdots$
with these radii,
initially each ...
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Lifting varieties from char. $p$ to char. 0 after alterations
The question is related to this MO question:
Lifting varieties to characteristic zero.
Let $X$ be a projective smooth variety over $k$ alg. closed field of char. $p.$ Does there always exist an ...
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Minimal resources for Undecidability of First-Order Logic: the number of variables
It is well-known that First-Order Logic (FO) with a full vocabulary (i.e., a countable numbers of unary predicate symbols, a countable number of binary predicate symbols, etc.) is undecidable. And it ...
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Galois theory: Generalization of Abel's Theorem?
Let $L$ stand for the field obtained by adjoining to
${\Bbb Q}$ all roots of all polynomials of the
form $x^n+ax+b$, $a,b\in {\Bbb Q}$.
What polynomials $p$ don't split over $L$? In particular, ...
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Relative canonical divisors
Suppose that $X$ is a Gorenstein variety and that $\pi : Y \to X$ is a birational map of varieties with normal $Y$.
In this case the relative canonical divisor is defined to be $K_Y - \pi^*K_X$ (if ...
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753
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Are all these groups CAT(0) groups?
Given a geodesic metric space $X$ together with a choice of midpoints
$m:X\times X\rightarrow X$ (i.e. $d(m(x,y),x)=d(m(x,y),y)=d(x,y)/2$).
Assume furthermore, that the following nonpositive curvature ...
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Covers of $Z^k$
This is a question related to covers of $Z^\infty$. Is it possible to cover $Z^k$, $k>1$, with the $l_1$-metric by a constant (not depending on $k$) number of collections of subsets $U^0,...,U^c$ ...
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How much has been written down about Deligne's geometric approach to the order formula for a finite group of Lie type?
This is a follow-up to a recent mathoverflow question
34387
about computing the orders of finite unitary groups and the comments made there.
Between 1955 (Chevalley's Tohoku paper) and 1968 (...
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Razborov's response to Almost Natural Proofs
This post is about Natural Proofs barrier in computational complexity.
There are two recent papers related to this. They are:
Amplifying lower bounds by means of self-reducibility by Eric Allender ...
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Is every k-edge-connected graph also k-trail-ordered?
This is an old question of Aradhana Narula-Tam and Philip Lin that I think deserves wider circulation. It appeared in Discrete Math. 257 (2002), page 613, but not many people have looked at it and it ...
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790
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Must we close weakly to apply the spectral theorem?
Let $H$ be an infinite dimensional separable complex Hilbert space. All C*-subalgebras of $B(H)$ are assumed to be non-degenerate.
The spectral projections of a self-adjoint element $T$ of $B(H)$ lie ...
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Is the sum $\sum_{d\mid n}\frac1{d+1}$ never integral?
Recall that a positive integer $n$ is a perfect number if and only if
$$\frac{\sigma(n)}n=\sum_{d\mid n}\frac1d=2.$$
QUESTION: Is my following conjecture true?
Conjecture. (i) We have $\sum_{d\mid ...
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Can the axiom of choice be expressed in 4 quantifiers?
This 2007 paper presents a 5-quantifier $(\in, =)$-expression that is ZF-equivalent to the axiom of choice, but leaves open the 4-quantifier case:
Thus the gap is reduced to the undecided case of a 4 ...
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Is the Zariski density proof of Cayley-Hamilton circular?
This old MO thread and its comments contains a discussion of the Zariski density proof of Cayley-Hamilton (I have also asked a separate question about the proof Victor gives in the comments here). ...
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When can we extend a diffeomorphism from a surface to its neighborhood as identity?
Let $M$ be a closed and simply-connected 4-manifold and let $f: M^4 \to M^4$ be a diffeomorphism such that $f^*: H^*(M;\mathbb{Z})\to H^*(M;\mathbb{Z})$ is the identity map. Moreover, let $\Sigma \...
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Characterisations of functors $F$ such that $F^*$ or $F_*$ is [property], e.g. faithful, conservative, etc
I'm currently writing a comprehensive/encyclopedic set of notes on category theory (EDIT: now up here), and one of the things I'm trying to do is gather all sorts of statements of the form
Let $F\...
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Which G-structures lead to analyticity?
It’s well known that integrability conditions on $G$-structures sometimes force a unique analytic structure on the underlying manifold:
A Lie group structure (a 1-structure with equivariantly ...
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Is the monster group maximal in SO(196883)?
$\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}$The smallest degree of a nontrivial complex representation of the monster group $ M $ is $ 196883 $. This irrep has Schur indicator $ 1 $, so the image must lie in the ...
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Nonsmoothable 4-manifolds
Does there exist a closed connected nonsmoothable 4-manifold $M$ such that:
$\kappa(M)=0$ (Kirby-Siebenmann invariant vanishes, hence, there is no "classical" obstruction to smoothability) ...
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Summary of why Wiles' method does not work for general Fermat curves
It is by now extremely well known that Sir Andrew Wiles proved the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture, and therefore, through the Frey-Hellegouarch curve, that for $n \geq 5$ the only integer solutions to ...
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Explicit and complete list of Lean's Axioms
I'm a big fan of the idea of fully formalizing mathematics. So the Lean proof checker appeals to me.
Relating to this, one of the biggest appeals of mathematics to me is that there is a (largely) ...
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Unitary group of a von Neumann algebra: is it a retract of $U(H)$?
Let $M\subset B(H)$ be a properly infinite von Neumann algebra (the case I care about is $M=$ hyperfinite $\mathrm{III}_1$).
Consider the unitary groups $U(M)$ and $U(H)$ in their strong operator ...
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Limits in free cocompletion, constructively
Classically, if a locally small category $C$ has all limits of shape $K$ (for some small diagram $K$), then its free co-completion also has $K$-shapped limits.
But all proof I know of that result ...
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Which functions have all the common $\forall\exists$-properties of continuous functions?
This is an attempt at partial progress towards this question. Meanwhile, Sam Sanders pointed out that my original term was already in use, as were a couple other back-up terms, so ... oh well.
For a ...
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Normal curvature of Veronese embedding
Is it true that the Veronese embedding minimizes the maximal normal curvature among all smooth embeddings $\mathbb{R}\mathrm{P}^n\hookrightarrow \mathbb{S}^N$?
Remarks
The Veronese embedding $\...
- 45k
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Comparing algebraic and analytic spaces through the universal property of classifying topoi
$\newcommand\kAlg{k\mathrm{Alg}}\DeclareMathOperator\Zar{Zar}\newcommand\Mnf{\mathrm{Mnf}}$I apologize beforehand if my question is naïve. I must admit that I do not know much about analytic/smooth ...
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An 'onion-structure' for roots of a series associated to prime numbers?
The series $$\sum_{n=1}^\infty\frac{z^{p_n-n}}{n!}$$ associated to the
sequence $p_1=2,p_2=3,p_3=5,p_4=7,p_5=11,\ldots$ of prime numbers
defines a holomorphic function in the open disc of radius $e$.
...
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Is every prime $q$ of the form $x^2 + py^2$ for some prime $p<q$?
For every odd prime $q \geq 3$, does there exist a prime $p < q$ and integers $x,y$ such that
$$\displaystyle x^2 + py^2 = q?$$
One can easily show that all primes $q \not \equiv -1 \pmod{3}$ can ...
- 26.9k
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271
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Regular $n$-gon with diagonals: bounds on area of largest cell?
Consider a regular $n$-gon of side length $1$ with diagonals. Here is an example with $n=11$ (from geogebra applet).
I've been trying to find, in terms of $n$, bounds on the area of the largest cell, ...
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2
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637
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Tarski-Seidenberg for strict inequalities and bounded quantification
This theorem says that quantifiers over real variables can be eliminated from classical first order formulae built from equations and inequalities between polynomials with rational coefficients, ie in ...
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341
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Converse of Knaster-Tarski's theorem as choice principle
Knaster-Tarski's theorem States that if $(A,\le)$ is a complete lattice, then every monotone function $f :A \to A$ has a fixed point. The proof is carried out in $\mathsf{ZF}$.
By $\mathsf{KTC}$ we ...
- 241
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What is the relationship between Goodwillie calculus and derived deformation theory?
Goodwillie calculus is a way of understanding a functor $F$ in terms of its Goodwillie tower, a tower whose limit approximates $F$, whose layers can be understood in terms of stable data. Derived ...
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A conjectured rational generating function
In regard to my question here, let $G_n$
be a sequence of positive integers satisfying
$\lim_{n\to\infty}G_n=\infty$, such that the generating function
$\sum_{n\geq 1} G_nx^n$ is rational. Let
$$ P_n(...
- 50.8k