Semi-Autonomous Mathematics Discovery with Gemini: A Case Study on the Erdős Problems

Tony Feng, Trieu Trinh, Garrett Bingham, Jiwon Kang, Shengtong Zhang, Sang-hyun Kim, Kevin Barreto, Carl Schildkraut, Junehyuk Jung, Jaehyeon Seo, Carlo Pagano, Yuri Chervonyi, Dawsen Hwang, Kaiying Hou, Sergei Gukov, Cheng-Chiang Tsai, Hyunwoo Choi, Youngbeom Jin, Wei-Yuan Li, Hao-An Wu, Ruey-An Shiu, Yu-Sheng Shih, Quoc V. Le, Thang Luong

For increasing positive integers aₙ with liminf aₙ^(1/2ⁿ)>1, Aletheia’s accepted proof shows that Σₙ 1/(aₙaₙ₊₁) is irrational. This is the original Erdős #1051 statement.

Sources for this record

What was already known

The precise 2ⁿ growth condition remained open. A later joint paper proves a stronger golden-ratio-growth criterion, which is separate from this output.

AI involvement AI-autonomous

The study describes the accepted Aletheia run as autonomous. Domain experts vetted it, Kevin Barreto formalized the original statement in Lean 4, and the human team rewrote and corrected the exposition.

The study explicitly classifies Erdős 1051 as an autonomous Aletheia resolution and distinguishes the accepted second model run from human checking and later collaborative generalization.

Importance Modest

The accepted proof resolves a specific Erdős question, although the study’s experts judged it modest in individual importance.

Limitations

The first model output had a disputed recurrence step. The accepted proof came from a separate run and needed a minor strict-inequality correction; the stronger later theorem is outside this claim.

Technical verification Formal (Lean 4 formalization by Kevin Barreto + human)

The paper reports careful human-domain-expert vetting of the accepted corrected output and a Lean 4 formalization by Barreto. The human review and machine formalization concern the original 2^n statement, not the later golden-ratio generalization. The formal run was not reproduced here.

Formal checking

Careful human mathematical vetting after candidate filtering, correction of the strict-inequality slip and comparison with intended problem

Checker
Google DeepMind study's internal domain experts
Scope
Aletheia's accepted Erdős 1051 irrationality proof under liminf(a_n^(1/2^n)) > 1
Basis
Reported by the linked checker

Formalization of the mathematical proof in Lean 4

Checker
Kevin Barreto using Lean 4
Scope
The accepted Erdős 1051 irrationality solution, distinct from the later generalized threshold
Basis
Reported by the linked checker
Evidence source

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

Human understanding Full

The human authors rewrote and explained the accepted tail argument, identified the strict-inequality correction, and connect the proof to Mahler's irrationality criterion. This documents understanding of the original mechanism.

Correction and publication history

2026-10-18 · publication

The accepted proof resolves a specific Erdős question, although the study’s experts judged it modest in individual importance.

Read this published revision