VibeMathedMath problems solved by AI

The mod 4 Kawauchi Conjecture

Kawauchi conjectured that the Conway polynomial of an amphicheiral knot factors as K(z)=f(z)f(z)\nabla_K(z) = f(z)f(-z) for an integer polynomial ff. Hartley proved it for negative amphicheiral knots and Ermotti, Hongler and Weber published the first counterexample to the general case. The mod 4 form of the conjecture, equivalent to a statement the author conjectured independently in 2006, is true.

Result
Proved(see note)
Status
Resolved
AI contribution
AI co-developed
Method
Argument
Field
Knot theory
Posed by
Akio Kawauchi
Year posed
1979
Years open
47y
Solved
2026-07-21
Model
Claude Fable 5
Vendor
Anthropic
Collaborators
Jim Conant
Verification
Unreviewed
Publication
Preprint
Significance
20 / 100
Disclosed cost
Wikipedia
No dedicated article

What was actually shown

the mod 4 form; the general conjecture is false by Ermotti, Hongler and Weber

What the AI did

The paper states the proof was produced with the help of Claude Fable 5 and that the draft was prepared in the course of an extended research conversation. The acknowledgements attribute three specific things to the model: the quotient-tower strategy, the level-wise torsion identities, and an initial draft of the main argument.

Verification

Single-author arXiv preprint; not yet peer-reviewed.

Source

arXiv:2607.18655 - A proof of the mod 4 Kawauchi Conjecture

Discussion