Erdős Problem #650 solved exactly, f(m) = min(m, ⌈2√m⌉), with a strategy proposed by ChatGPT and a Lean proof by Aristotle; first Justin Sun Prize awards in October
Result confirmed
The takeaway
On 30 March 2026 Wouter van Doorn, Yanyang Li and Quanyu Tang posted arXiv 2603.28636, which determines exactly the function in Erdős Problem #650 (matching integers to distinct multiples in an interval): f(m) = min(m, ⌈2√m⌉).
Status
- Claim
Result confirmed
- Our reporting
- High confidence
- Verification
- Lean-verified
- Importance
- 2 of 5
- Last verified
- 14 October 2026
Your AI and this story
- GPT-6 AstraIn its training data
- Claude Opus 5.5In its training data
- Gemini 4 ArgonIn its training data
- Grok 4.7In its training data
It happened before the cutoffs of all four assistants, so it can be in their training data.
Key facts
- Paper: ‘Optimal bounds for an Erdős problem on matching integers to distinct multiples’, arXiv 2603.28636 (math.CO, math.NT), submitted 30 March 2026, 8 pages; Wouter van Doorn, Yanyang Li, Quanyu Tang
- Problem (paper): f(m) is the largest integer such that for every set A of m positive integers and every open interval I of length 2a_m there are at least f(m) disjoint pairs (a, b) with a ∈ A dividing b ∈ I. Result: f(m) = min(m, ⌈2√m⌉) for all m
- History (erdosproblems.com/650): Erdős and Surányi (1959) proved f(m) ≥ √m; Erdős and Selfridge gave f(m) ≤ 2⌈√m⌉; GPT 5.4 Pro, prompted by He, Li and Tang, proved f(m) ≤ ⌈2√m⌉, and GPT 5.4 Pro with Aristotle gave a matching lower bound; the site lists the problem as solved by [VLT26]
- AI disclosure (abstract): ‘The proof was obtained through an AI-assisted workflow: the proof strategy was first proposed by ChatGPT, and the detailed argument was subsequently made fully rigorous and formally verified in Lean by Aristotle. The exposition and final proofs presented here are entirely human-written.’
- The problem’s formal statement is in Google DeepMind’s Formal Conjectures repository (ErdosProblems/650.lean)
- Justin Sun Prize (announced Geneva, Oct 5, 2026; carried as TRON-commissioned sponsored content by The Block and Cointelegraph): van Doorn, Tang and Li are the program’s ‘first confirmed awards’, for six Erdős problems: #650; #369, #457 and #469 (van Doorn, Lean-checkable proofs); #1044 (Tang); #1196 (Tang and Li within a wider team). Paid in USDT on TRON or USDC on Ethereum; no amounts or judges named
- Prize site (hejustinsun.com/prize): motto ‘Quod probatur, solvitur’; accepts complete Lean proofs, solutions without Lean, or previously catalogued work; no distinction between human and AI contributors
What happened
Erdős Problem #650 asks, for a set of m integers, how many of them can always be paired with distinct multiples lying in a short interval. Erdős and Surányi had shown at least √m in 1959. In early 2026 GPT 5.4 Pro, prompted by researchers, improved the upper bound to ⌈2√m⌉ and, with Harmonic’s Aristotle, found a matching lower bound (as recorded on erdosproblems.com). On 30 March 2026 Wouter van Doorn, Yanyang Li and Quanyu Tang posted the exact answer, f(m) = min(m, ⌈2√m⌉), stating in the abstract that ChatGPT proposed the proof strategy and Aristotle made it rigorous and verified it in Lean, while the final text is human-written.
The result returned to the news in October 2026, when the Office of Justin Sun announced in Geneva (Oct 5) that the three were the first recipients of the Justin Sun Prize, a crypto-paid prize for Erdős problems that accepts Lean proofs and does not distinguish human from AI contributors. The announcement circulated as TRON-commissioned sponsored content (The Block, Cointelegraph) and names no amounts or judges.
Why it matters
A small, clean example of the 2026 workflow for open problems: a chat model proposes the idea, a formal prover closes the gaps in Lean, and humans simplify and write it up. The prize shows new money (here from a crypto entrepreneur) attaching itself to AI-assisted Erdős results, which the erdosproblems.com maintainers had begun to ration by October (see the related entry on the site freezing proof claims).
Sources
5 sources from 5 sites. Numbers match the chips in the text.
5 sources: 4 primary, 1 press
Primary
- arXiv 2603.28636: Optimal bounds for an Erdős problem on matching integers to distinct multiplesarxiv.org, paper
- Erdős Problem #650 (erdosproblems.com)erdosproblems.com, docs
- Formal Conjectures: ErdosProblems/650.leangithub.com, code
- Justin Sun Prizehejustinsun.com, official
Press
Changes
- Filed (arXiv abstract, erdosproblems.com page and the sponsored release were read)