[Submitted on 28 Jul 2026]

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Abstract:The Erdős-Selfridge odd covering problem (Erdős problem #7) asks whether a covering system of $\mathbb{Z}$ exists whose moduli are all odd, distinct, and greater than 1. The problem is open. We present a Lean 4 formalization, checked end to end by the proof kernel, of the exclusion: any covering of $\mathbb{Z}$ by finitely many congruence classes with distinct odd moduli > 1 has lcm of the moduli exceeding 10000. The proof composes a formalized density argument (a covering by divisors of $N$ exceeding 1 forces $2N \le \sigma_1(N)$, so the lcm is abundant or perfect), a kernel-checked abundancy floor (no odd $N < 945$ qualifies), a family of Chinese-Remainder capacity certificates -- decidable per-$N$ arithmetic inequalities each refuting every covering with distinct moduli > 1 dividing that $N$ -- for all 23 odd abundant numbers below $10^4$, and a kernel-checked enumeration establishing that those 23 are the only odd non-deficient candidates. The result is transported to the official StrictCoveringSystem $\mathbb{Z}$ formulation of Erdős #7 in google-deepmind/formal-conjectures, with a bidirectional periodicity bridge between coverings of $\mathbb{Z}$ and finite checks over $\mathbb{Z}/N\mathbb{Z}$ suitable for consuming future SAT-style search output. All 63 published theorems depend on exactly propext, this http URL, and this http URL: no sorry, no native_decide, no solver in the trusted base. The mathematical content is known -- the density argument is folklore, and far larger uncertified classifications of covering numbers exist -- so the contribution is epistemic rather than mathematical: these exclusions are theorems of the Lean kernel, with an axiom gate enforced mechanically in continuous integration.

Submission history

From: Ibrahim Mian [view email]
[v1] Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:10:26 UTC (13 KB)