The union-closed sets conjecture
In a family of sets closed under unions, is some element in at least half the sets?
▸Motivation
Péter Frankl, 1979. One of the most approachable-sounding open problems in combinatorics, and it resisted entirely for forty-three years.
In 2022 Justin Gilmer proved a constant lower bound of about 0.01 using an information-theoretic argument that surprised the field; the constant was quickly improved to about 0.38, but one half remains out of reach and the entropy method appears to have a ceiling below it.
Péter Frankl, 1979.
▸Lean API
import Mathlib.Data.Finset.Lattice.Basic
import Mathlib.Data.Finset.Card
namespace Conjectura.CB004
/-- Frankl's conjecture: in a finite family closed under unions and containing a
non-empty set, some element lies in at least half the sets. Justin Gilmer proved a
constant bound of about 0.01 in 2022 using an information-theoretic argument; one half
remains open. -/
def goal : Prop :=
∀ (F : Finset (Finset ℕ)), F.Nonempty → (∀ A ∈ F, ∀ B ∈ F, A ∪ B ∈ F) →
(∃ A ∈ F, A.Nonempty) →
∃ x : ℕ, 2 * (F.filter (fun A => x ∈ A)).card ≥ F.card
end Conjectura.CB004▸Definition4
- FinsetFinset
structure
- NonemptyF.Nonempty
abbrev
- filterF.filter
def
- cardF.card
theorem
▸Related work1
- A constant lower bound for the union-closed sets conjectureJustin Gilmer · 2022
The first constant bound, after 43 years of nothing.
▸For your AI
I am proving a theorem in Lean 4 and submitting it to Conjectura.
## Problem CB004 — The union-closed sets conjecture
In a family of sets closed under unions, is some element in at least half the sets?
## Environment (fixed — do not assume anything newer)
- Lean toolchain: `leanprover/lean4:v4.33.0-rc1`
- Mathlib: `v4.33.0-rc1`
If a lemma you want does not exist in that Mathlib, prove it inline instead of
importing something newer.
## The exact statement I must prove
```lean
theorem solution : ∀ (F : Finset (Finset ℕ)), F.Nonempty → (∀ A ∈ F, ∀ B ∈ F, A ∪ B ∈ F) →
(∃ A ∈ F, A.Nonempty) → ∃ x : ℕ, 2 * (F.filter (fun A => x ∈ A)).card ≥ F.card := by
sorry
```
## The file I submit
```lean
import Conjectura.Problems.CB004.Statement
namespace Submission
theorem solution : Conjectura.CB004.goal := by
sorry
end Submission
```
## The Lean definitions of every term in this problem
These are the actual definitions your proof will be checked against. Do not
substitute your own version of any of them.
### Finset
structure
```lean
Finset
```
Defined in Mathlib.
### Nonempty
abbrev
```lean
F.Nonempty
```
Defined in Mathlib.
### filter
def
```lean
F.filter
```
Defined in Mathlib.
### card
theorem
```lean
F.card
```
Defined in Mathlib.
## Rules — submissions violating these are rejected automatically
1. **Do not change the name or type of `solution`.** It must satisfy the
statement above exactly.
2. **Do not redefine or shadow anything from the problem's Statement module.**
Declaring your own `goal`, or redefining a name it depends on, produces a
proof of a *different* statement and is rejected. This is the single most
common rejection.
3. **No `sorry`** anywhere, including in helper lemmas. It surfaces as the
axiom `sorryAx` and is detected transitively through imports.
4. **No `native_decide`** — it surfaces as `Lean.ofReduceBool` and is not
accepted, because it trusts compiled code rather than the kernel.
5. Only these axioms are permitted: `propext`, `Classical.choice`,
`Quot.sound`.
6. Follow Mathlib style: hypotheses left of the colon, explicit types,
`snake_case` theorem names, `UpperCamelCase` types.
## What I want from you
Here is my argument in informal mathematics:
> [PASTE YOUR PROOF SKETCH HERE]
Turn it into Lean 4 that compiles under the environment above and satisfies the
statement exactly. Where you are unsure a lemma exists in this Mathlib version,
say so explicitly rather than guessing a name.Submissions are not open yet
Conjectura is in beta. You can read every statement, every definition and the Lean behind them, and download the exact files the checker uses — but proofs are not being accepted yet.
The reason is a deliberate order of operations. Accepting a proof means running a stranger’s code and standing behind a verdict, and no statement here yet carries a researcher’s name. A machine-checked answer to a question nobody has vouched for is worth very little, so the vouching comes first.
The English write-ups are also switched off during the beta. Nothing on this page is generated by a model.
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