Unanswered Questions
49,206 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
18
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502
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What do tangles teach us about braids?
A braid is a smooth level-preserving embedding $f\colon\, \{1,2,\ldots,n\}\times[0,1]\hookrightarrow \mathbb{R}^2 \times [0,1]$ such that $f(k,0)=(k,0)$ and $f(k,1) \in \{1,2,\ldots,n\} \times \{1\}$....
- 22.1k
18
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667
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The lonely molecule
Suppose $n$ air molecules (infinitesimal points) are bouncing around in
a unit $d$-dimensional cube, with perfectly elastic wall collisions.
Let $k=n^{\frac{1}{d}}$.
For example, in 3D, $d=3$, with $n=...
- 151k
18
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558
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Do quotients of amenable groups C*-algebras satisfy the UCT?
Let G be a discrete amenable group.
General Question: Let $J$ be an ideal of $C^*(G)$, the group C*-algebra of $G.$ Does $C^*(G)/J$ satisfy the universal
coefficient theorem (UCT)?
I am mainly ...
- 2,689
18
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0
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577
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Is there a quantum group or loop group description of a braided monoidal 2-category giving Khovanov homology?
Recall that there are (at least) two ways to describe the modular tensor category that $3$-dimensional Chern-Simons (with gauge group $G$ and level $k$) assigns to a circle: one involving ...
- 118k
18
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2k
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Distribution of digits of $pq$-adic idempotents (aka "automorphic numbers")
Let $p$ and $q$ be distinct primes. By the ring of $pq$-adic integers I mean the ring $\mathbb{Z}_{pq} := \varprojlim \mathbb{Z}/(pq)^n\mathbb{Z}$ which is obviously isomorphic to $\mathbb{Z}_p \...
- 32.5k
18
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987
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"Special" meanders
One of the open problems in combinatorics is enumeration of meanders.
Here on MO I only could find them under the heading not-especially-famous-long-open-problems-which-anyone-can-understand.
Since my ...
- 18.4k
18
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469
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Quasi-classical limit of representation theory
I am looking for a good reference on a general phenomenon of quasi-classical limit in representation theory, which relates "large" representations to measures on (co-adjoint orbits of) the associated ...
- 1,765
18
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0
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684
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Smooth curves on smooth varieties
Let $X$ be a smooth, proper algebraic variety over a field $k$, of positive dimension.
Is it true that $X$ contains a smooth Zariski-closed curve?
If it is projective, this is true by Bertini. But ...
- 1,584
18
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832
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Horrible sets and blowups in Hubbard's Teichmuller theory
Edit: I can rephrase this question this way: When blowing up every point in the $x$-axis in $\mathbb{C}^2$ by means of an inverse limit of finite blowups, how can anything be 'left over'? The horrible ...
- 3,359
18
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760
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Steenrod algebra at a prime power
Let $n=p^k$ be a prime power.
When $k=1$, the algebra of stable operations in mod $p$ cohomology is the Steenrod algebra $\mathcal{A}_p$. It has a nice description in terms of generators and ...
- 35.9k
18
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503
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Lipschitz constant of a homotopy
Let $n>0$, $\mathbb S^n$ be $n$-sphere and $1\in \mathbb S^n$ be its north pole.
A am looking for an example of compact manifold $M$ with a continuous $n$-parameter family of maps $h_x\colon M\to ...
- 45k
18
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0
answers
524
views
Applications of the surjectivity of Brauer's decomposition map over arbitrary fields?
Recently I've been going over some of Serre's reformulation of Brauer theory with a student, following the influential treatment in Part III of Serre's lectures (revised 1971 French edition) later ...
- 52.9k
18
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718
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Erdos-Kac for squarefree numbers
In its usual form, the Erdos-Kac Theorem states that if $f(n) : \mathbb{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ is a strongly additive function with $|f(p)| \le 1$ for all primes $p$, then
$$\frac{|\{n \le x : \...
- 211
18
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895
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local equivalence of loop group representations
Let $G$ be a compact, simple, connected, simply connected (cscsc) Lie group, and let its smooth loop group $LG:=C^\infty(S^1,G)$. Given an interval $I\subset S^1$, we have the local loop group
$$
L_IG ...
- 43.2k
18
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827
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Quotients of residually finite groups by amenable normal subgroups
My questions are:
Is there any group, which cannot be written as the quotient of a residually finite group by an amenable normal subgroup? Is it possible for large classes of groups?
and
Is ...
- 25.5k
18
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0
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899
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Computation of low weight Siegel modular forms
We have these huge tables of elliptic curves, which were generated by computing modular forms of weight $2$ and level $\Gamma_0(N)$ as N increased.
For abelian surfaces over $\mathbb{Q}$ we have very ...
- 41.4k
18
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answers
517
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Cohomological characterization of CM curves
In his 1976 classical Annals paper on $p$-adic interpolation, N. Katz uses the fact that if $E_{/K}$ is an elliptic curve with complex multiplications in the quadratic field $F$, up to a suitable ...
- 797
18
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873
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Almost complex 4-manifolds with a "holomorphic" vector field
Main question. What is the class of smooth orientable 4-dimensional manifolds that admit an almost complex structure $J$ and a vector field v, that preserves $J$?
The following sub question is ...
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18
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1
answer
1k
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A set of generators for $\bar{\mathbb{Q}}$
Two questions:
Does there exist a sequence $\alpha_1,\alpha_2,...$ of algebraic numbers with degrees $d_1,d_2,...$ s.t. for each $i$, $d_i|d_{i+1}$ and $\alpha_i= p_i(\alpha_{i+1})$ with $p_i$ a ...
- 4,484
18
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1
answer
1k
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Categorification of Floer homology
Floer homology associates a vector space $HF^\ast(L_1,L_2)$ to any pair of Lagrangian submanifolds $L_1,L_2$ inside a symplectic manifold $X$. By a categorification of Floer homology, I mean a ...
- 18.7k
17
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358
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The convergence domain of the function $\sum \{n!x\}$
This is a problem from a mathematics competition: Does there exist an irrational number $x$ such that the series
$$\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\{n!x\}<+\infty$$
where $\{ \}$ means the fractional part of a ...
- 515
17
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0
answers
593
views
Must the number of smooth structures be countable or continuum?
Let $M$ be a manifold. Must the number of non-diffeomorphic smooth structures on $M$ be either countable or continuum? Could it be something in between when the continuum hypothesis fails?
Edit:
By ...
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17
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677
views
Are dualizable topological vector spaces finite-dimensional?
Consider the symmetric monoidal category TVS of complete Hausdorff topological vector spaces equipped with the completed projective, injective, or inductive tensor product.
Every finite-dimensional ...
- 37.8k
17
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answers
402
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Number of $F_p$-matrices ac=ca, bd = db , ad - da = cb - bc is polynomial in p ? ("Manin matrix variety" - normal ? Cohen–Macaulay ? )
Consider four $n\times n$ matrices $a,b,c,d$ over finite field $F_q$ (or $F_p$ for simplicity), such that they satisfy three equations: $ac=ca,bd=db, ad-da=cb-bc $. Thus an affine algebraic manifold ...
- 24.9k
17
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0
answers
1k
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Relations in a certain Lie algebra
Let ${\mathfrak g}$ be the (real) Lie algebra generated by infinitely many generators $D_i, E_i$ with $i=1,2,3,\dots$ subject to the following relations for any natural numbers $i,j$:
\begin{gather*}
[...
- 114k
17
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0
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540
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Are there more true statements than false ones?
It is a nontrivial fact that half the primes are $\equiv 1 \pmod{4}$ and the other half are $\equiv 3\pmod{4}$. The Chebyshev bias suggests, however, that the latter class of primes is winning the ...
- 18.7k
17
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1k
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Symmetries of local systems on the punctured sphere
Let $X=S^2\setminus D$, for $D\subset S^2$ some finite set of points, say with $|D|=n\geq 1$. The category of locally constant sheaves of $\mathbb{C}$-vector spaces on $X$ (equivalently, complex ...
- 23k
17
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0
answers
368
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Joyal's topos in which $[0,1]$ fails to be compact
Some time around 1977, André Joyal constructed a topos (actually a locale, i.e., a localic topos, necessarily non-spatial) in which the closed unit interval $[0,1]$ fails to be compact. There are ...
- 32.5k
17
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0
answers
1k
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Non-rigid ultrapowers in $\mathsf{ZFC}$?
Originally asked and bountied at MSE:
Question: Can $\mathsf{ZFC}$ prove that for every countably infinite structure $\mathcal{A}$ in a countable language there is an ultrafilter $\mathcal{U}$ on $\...
- 20.5k
17
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0
answers
509
views
The free complete lattice on three generators, beyond ZF
This was originally asked at MSE; although it is still under bounty it seems unlikely to be answered there.
$\mathsf{ZF}$ proves that there is no free complete lattice on three generators since any ...
- 20.5k
17
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0
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1k
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Colossally abundant numbers and the Riemann hypothesis
[This question followed up from a question on Math StackExchange.]
Writing Robin's inequality for the Riemann hypothesis (RH) as $$\frac{\sigma(n)}{n \ln\ln n} < e^\gamma \;,$$ we can take ...
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17
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0
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Does the Ackermann function count something?
Let $\mathrm{FinSet}$ be the category of finite sets.
A finite set structure is a faithful functor $F\colon C\to \mathrm{FinSet}$ such that, for any $n\geq 1$, there are only finitely many isomorphism ...
- 171
17
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0
answers
743
views
Picture of Lambert's proof that $\pi$ is irrational?
With a suitably generous notion of "picture proof" or "proof without words" or "geometric proof," there do exist such proofs of the irrationality of square roots and even ...
- 82.7k
17
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0
answers
493
views
Can the intermediate Chern classes be expressed as Euler classes?
General question: We know that the top Chern class $c_n(\xi)$ of an $n$-dimensional complex vector bundle $\xi$ is its Euler class, while the first Chern class, $c_1(\xi)$, is the Euler class of its ...
- 2,062
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0
answers
613
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Finite version special case Jacobi triple product formula
In this paper, Shanks uses the following formula:
$$ \sum_{s=0}^{n-1}q^{s(2n+1)} \times \left( \prod_{k=s+1}^{n} \dfrac{1-q^{2k}}{1-q^{2k-1}}\right) = \sum_{s=1}^{2n} q^{\frac{s(s-1)}{2}}$$
to get a ...
- 7,300
17
votes
1
answer
3k
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The homology of the orbit space
Suppose we have an acyclic group $G$ and let $X$ be a contractible CW-complex such that $G$ acts freely on $X$ (we do not suppose that the action is proper).
Is there a way to understand the homology ...
- 223
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0
answers
2k
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Toposophy vs Set theoretical multiverse philosophy
Johnstones classic topos theory book talks at some length in its introduction about how category theory/topos theory suggest that we view the 'universe' in which mathematics takes place as consisting ...
- 10.1k
17
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626
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Which rings are cohomology rings?
Which rings can arise as cohomology rings of algebraic varieties?
To be more specific, take a Weil cohomology theory $H^*$ with coefficients in a field $K$ of characteristic 0 defined for smooth ...
- 171
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367
views
Average value of j-invariant at infinity
Let $\xi\in\mathbb{R}$ and consider the average value (with respect to hyperbolic length) of the $j$-invariant ($j(z)=q^{-1}+744+196884q+\ldots$, $q=e^{2\pi iz}$) along a geodesic aimed at $\xi$:
$$
\...
- 609
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0
answers
770
views
What are hyperkähler metrics used for?
It seems that a lot of effort has been devoted to endow holomorphic-symplectic manifolds with hyperkähler metrics. It started with Calabi [4] with $T^*\mathbb{CP}^n$. Other examples include coadjoint ...
- 179
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answers
681
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Proof of MacPherson's result about set-valued constructible sheaves and exit paths
I'm looking for a proof of a theorem that is attributed to MacPherson. Treumann (Section 1.1 in Exit paths and constructible stacks, 2009) states the theorem as:
Theorem 1.2 (MacPherson). Let $(X,S)...
- 355
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1k
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Almost monochromatic point sets
There are many sort of equivalent theorems about monochromatic configurations in finite colorings, such as Van der Waerden, Hales-Jewett or Gallai's theorem, the latter of which states that in a ...
- 19.1k
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558
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Gitik's work on Shelah's weak hypothesis
It seems that Moti Gitik has recently refuted some variants of Shelah's weak hypothesis. For this see the title and abstract of his talk at the Set Theory, Model Theory and Applications conference.
I ...
- 32.2k
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391
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Kan's simplicial formula for the Whitehead product
In his article on Simplicial Homotopy Theory (Advances in Math., 6, (1971), 107 –209) Curtis quotes a formula (on page 197) for the Whitehead and Samelson products in a simplicial group $G$. The ...
- 9,627
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0
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874
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Ramsey's theorem for the first uncountable ordinal
Sierpiński proved that a version of Ramsey's theorem for colourings of pairs of countable ordinals fails miserably by comparing the ordering of $\omega_1$ with the linear ordering of (a subset of) the ...
- 11.3k
17
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705
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When is the determinant an $8$-th power?
I am working over $\mathbb{R}$ (though most of the story goes over any field). I am looking for linear spaces of matrices such that the restriction of the determinant to this spaces can be written (...
- 7,300
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0
answers
648
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Is there an Infinite dimensional sheaf theory for analysis on manifolds?
I apologize if this question is slightly vague but I don't know how to ask it non-vaguely. Moreover, my question is about an ideal situation. If there's a close answer which doesn't satisfy all the ...
- 7,799
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341
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Are there two non-equivalent exotic structures on $\mathbb{R}^4$ coming from topologically slice, non-slice knots?
For a knot $K \subset S^3$, which is topologically slice but not slice (in a smooth way), there's a four manifold $\mathbb{R}^4_K$, homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to standard euclidean $\mathbb{R}^...
17
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0
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908
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Souslin trees and weakly compact cardinals
In Souslin trees on the first inaccessible cardinal it is asked if it is consistent that there are no $\kappa-$Souslin trees at the least inaccessible cardinal $\kappa$.
In this question I would like ...
- 32.2k
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694
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Antichains of Cardinals in ZF Without Choice...
With the Axiom of Choice, the cardinals form a nice linearly ordered "set". In the absence of the Axiom of Choice, the cardinals form a partially ordered "set". Broadly, I am wondering what ...
- 596