Algebra·OpenAI Math·Result 197·Lean formalisation listed
A torsion-free group algebra that is not directly finite
One of the 372 results in OpenAI's public mathematics catalogue, filed under algebra: 4 preprints, the latest dated 4 October 2026. This page quotes OpenAI's own summary of the claim, links the papers and abstracts, and embeds the animation.
In one line: OpenAI reports a result titled ‘A torsion-free group algebra that is not directly finite’ (algebra) in 4 preprints, the latest dated 4 October 2026. It has not been peer reviewed. The channel's animation, Every OpenAI Math Result, Part 2 of 4: PCP for PPAD, Birkhoff Conjecture and 82 More, is on YouTube.
Chapter 35 of 84 in Every OpenAI Math Result, Part 2 of 4: PCP for PPAD, Birkhoff Conjecture and 82 More · starts at 11:47 · watch from there on YouTube →
What OpenAI claims
Constructs a finitely presented torsion-free nonsofic group whose group algebra over 𝔽2 is not directly finite, disproving Kaplansky's conjecture even without torsion. Companion examples give injective nonsurjective cellular automata on all configurations, refuting Gottschalk's surjunctivity conjecture. Another counterexample is an integral group-ring matrix, invertible over the rational group ring, with Fuglede–Kadison determinant strictly between zero and one, disproving the unrestricted Determinant Conjecture. (Lean)
Papers (4)
A Torsion-Free Group Algebra That Is Not Directly Finite
OpenAI's abstract We construct a finitely presented torsion-free counterexample to Kaplansky's direct finiteness conjecture over the field of two elements. The group admits a finite two-dimensional classifying complex.
A Counterexample to Kaplansky's Direct-Finiteness Conjecture in Characteristic Two
OpenAI's abstract We disprove Kaplansky's direct-finiteness conjecture by constructing a finite field K of characteristic two, a finitely presented group G, and finite sums a,b ∈ K[G] with ab=1 but ba ≠ 1. The group G is nonsofic. The same elements define a cellular automaton on KG that is injective but not surjective, disproving Gottschalk's surjunctivity conjecture.
A Counterexample to the Group-Ring Determinant Conjecture
OpenAI's abstract We disprove the unrestricted group-ring Determinant Conjecture. We construct a finitely generated group G and a square matrix over ℤ[G] that is invertible over ℚ[G] and has Fuglede–Kadison determinant strictly between zero and one. The logarithmic integral defining the determinant is finite.
A Counterexample to Kaplansky's Direct-Finiteness Conjecture in Odd Characteristic
OpenAI's abstract We construct a counterexample to Kaplansky's direct-finiteness conjecture in odd characteristic. For one specified odd prime p, we obtain a field K of order p4, a finitely generated group G containing torsion, and finite sums a,b ∈ K[G] with ab=1 but ba ≠ 1. The same elements define a cellular automaton on KG that is injective but not surjective.
Status
Preprint. The papers have not been independently reviewed. Treat the result as OpenAI's claim until other mathematicians have checked it. If a video exists, it illustrates the statement; it is not the proof.
Quick answers
- Is it proven?
- Not independently yet. OpenAI posted 4 preprints, the latest dated 4 October 2026; it has not been peer reviewed, so treat the result as OpenAI's claim until other mathematicians have checked it.
- What exactly does OpenAI claim?
- Constructs a finitely presented torsion-free nonsofic group whose group algebra over 𝔽2 is not directly finite, disproving Kaplansky's conjecture even without torsion. Companion examples give injective nonsurjective cellular automata on all configurations, refuting Gottschalk's surjunctivity conjecture. Another counterexample is an integral group-ring matrix, invertible over the rational group ring, with Fuglede–Kadison determinant strictly between zero and one, disproving the unrestricted Determinant Conjecture. (Lean)
- Where is the proof?
- In the paper, A Torsion-Free Group Algebra That Is Not Directly Finite (PDF).
- Is there a video?
- Yes, on YouTube (29:10, chapter 35).
Also in
- Chapter 5 of 10 in Serre's Multiplicity Conjecture, Kaplansky Zero-Divisor Conjecture and 8 More · starts at 1:24 · watch from there on YouTube →
The video
Every OpenAI Math Result, Part 2 of 4: PCP for PPAD, Birkhoff Conjecture and 82 More · Compilation · 29:10 · chapter 35 from 11:47 · description, sources and chapters →
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