Scalar curvature and finite-time Ricci-flow singularities

What OpenAI claims

Proves that a smooth Ricci flow on a closed four-manifold extends past any finite time at which scalar curvature remains uniformly bounded. A higher-dimensional counterexample has bounded scalar curvature but unbounded full curvature at its finite maximal time, disproving the unrestricted scalar-curvature extension conjecture.

Papers (3)

1. A closed Ricci flow with bounded scalar curvature and finite-time curvature blowup

   24 September 2026 · Preprint, not peer reviewed · PDF

   OpenAI's abstract We disprove the scalar-curvature extension conjecture in its unrestricted all-dimensions form. In sufficiently high dimension, we construct a Ricci flow on a closed manifold whose scalar curvature remains uniformly bounded while full curvature diverges at a finite maximal time. In one fixed sufficiently high dimension, the examples have two-sided power-law curvature blowup with arbitrarily large exponents.

2. Bounded scalar curvature and smooth extension of four-dimensional Ricci flow

   24 September 2026 · Preprint, not peer reviewed · PDF

   OpenAI's abstract We prove that a smooth Ricci flow on a closed real four-manifold extends on the same manifold through every finite time at which its scalar curvature remains uniformly bounded. This resolves the scalar-curvature extension problem in dimension four.

3. Path selection and an elliptic inequality on degenerating Ricci-flat trees

   24 September 2026 · Preprint, not peer reviewed · PDF

   OpenAI's abstract We prove a sequential elliptic inequality for the renormalized Einstein–Hilbert functional on a fixed finite tree of four-dimensional Ricci-flat spaces. As the joining lengths diverge and the scale-neutral weighted Ricci error M tends to zero, the functional satisfies E=o(M). The root end has decay exponent greater than one, and every joined quotient group is nontrivial. We also prove the multivariable path-selection theorem for asymptotic expansions used to obtain this estimate.

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.