Small undecidable groups and fixed-size Adian–Rabin families

Marc Kegel, Shana Yunsheng Li, Qiuyu Ren

Kegel, Li and Ren give an effective family of finite presentations with four generators and eleven relators for which deciding triviality is impossible. These are fixed presentation slots, not a minimality result.

Sources for this record

What was already known

Tancer’s earlier Adian–Rabin family had deficiency nine; the new four-generator, eleven-relator family has deficiency seven.

AI involvement AI-led

GPT-5.6 Sol Pro found two further Tietze eliminations and identified issues in the Tancer route. Kegel, Li and Ren directed, checked and reorganized the argument; Codex built its Lean proof.

The paper credits GPT-5.6 Sol Pro with the two further Tietze eliminations behind this four-generator, eleven-relator family. Kegel, Li and Ren directed and checked it.

Importance Notable

Improves a fixed-size construction for the undecidable triviality problem.

Limitations

The formal comparison concerns the algebraic family. The paper’s topological applications and optimality of the counts are separate questions.

Technical verification Formal (Lean 4/Mathlib kernel and Comparator + human)

The authors report independent checking of Theorem 1.3's mathematical argument. The cited Lean revision reports a complete proof, a standard-axiom audit and Comparator acceptance for that algebraic theorem.

Independent checking

independent checking and reorganization of the arguments, manual statement checking and final argument review. This assessment concerns Theorem 1.3 within the three-theorem check.

Checker
Marc Kegel, Shana Yunsheng Li and Qiuyu Ren
Scope
Kegel, Li and Ren give an effective family of finite presentations with four generators and eleven relators for which deciding triviality is impossible. These are fixed presentation slots, not a minimality result.
Basis
Reported by the linked checker
Evidence source

Formal checking

complete formal proofs, statement comparison, kernel check and axiom audit. This assessment concerns Theorem 1.3 within the three-theorem check.

Checker
Lean 4 kernel, Comparator and the authors' transitive axiom audit
Scope
Kegel, Li and Ren give an effective family of finite presentations with four generators and eleven relators for which deciding triviality is impossible. These are fixed presentation slots, not a minimality result.
Basis
Reported by the linked checker
Evidence source

Checking a formal statement does not establish that it matches the original problem.

Human understanding Full

Theorem 1.3: The named authors independently reorganized and checked the argument and explain the HNN and Tietze route in §§1.3–1.5 and the body of their paper.

Correction and publication history