n = 18 open ★=

941200≤s(18)≤72+127

The best packing known for 18 squares, side 72+127, Pertti Hämäläinen 1980
4.7054.823
456
4.2435.243
nn+1

Proven

4.705000≤s(18)≤4.822876

  • new result
  • exact

Citation record n-018

lowerwand125 after Tokoharu, Levy et al. 2026, GitHub (confirmed T-102)

upperHämäläinen 1980, Squares in Squares

Open

  • optimality

Bounds

Best known packing

72+127

4.82287565553229
Found by
Pertti Hämäläinen 1980
Construction
hand
Tilt angles
0∘, 24.295∘
Source
[Kingbird]
Evidence
E-kingbird-upper-register, E-lifted-q7-upper
Verified upper bound

72+127

4.82287565553229529525080787681963

The reported value, verified here.

Evidence
E-lifted-q7-upper
Reported lower bound

941200

Proved by
wand125 2026
Kind
counting
Scope
Unrestricted unit-square packing with independent rotations and disjoint interiors.
Note
wand125's square-packing-bounds (6 October 2026) reports s(18)≥941/200 from a density of 324 uniform rectangles of total mass 1799999/100000, on a net the certificate declares: core side 4999/5000 and 2073 half-angle tangents of step 1/5002, accepted there at every direction by sqverify-proof-net, the source's copy of this repository's sqverify_fast changed to read a declared net (a check2 bundle, with no C++ record). It is above the 588/125 the record reported (T-099). sqverify-fast, this repository's clean-room measure verifier, decided it here at all 2073 directions on 6 October 2026.
Source
[wand125 mixed bounds check2 2026-10-06]
Evidence
E-n018-wand125-mixed-4705-report
Verified lower bound

941200

The reported value, verified here.

Evidence
E-n018-wand125-mixed-4705-sqverify-fast-replay
Gap

72−241200≈ 0.11787565…

Verified upper minus verified lower.

Results in the register

Verification

upper: replayed here; lower: replayed here

—

Rigidity

not rigid, numerically checked, numerical multiprecision

Evidence: E-translation-escape-not-rigid

Scope

Square 1 of the retained witness (witness id 2) translates 0.451416 along (1, 0) with the packing still valid, so the configuration admits a non-trivial feasible motion; 6 of its 18 squares do. Every constraint is exactly affine in the slide parameter, so the arithmetic carries no linearization error, but the coordinates are the witness's own finite-precision transcription: this settles the retained configuration, not the true optimum. Rigidity and optimality are independent, and this bears only on the former.

Open questions
  • Blocker (source evidence): MacIver's historical n18 corollary depends on his n17 proof; its fourteen C1-C14 certificates and exact ledger/assembly scripts are absent from the inspected public source commit. E-n017-maciver-reported-lower
  • Blocker (source evidence): The complete source checker has not been independently replayed here. E-n017-anabologyco-weighted-certificate
  • Priority: Corollary 1.2 of '[MacIver 2026 n17]', a manuscript dated 8 August 2026, reports s(18) >= s(17) > (40sqrt(2)+19)/17 + 1/200, approximately 4.450208382054341. This historical monotonicity claim is weaker than the independently verified 4679/1000 and has not been replayed here. (David R. MacIver)
Evidence and sources
30 evidence entries

E-n018-wand125-mixed-4705-sqverify-fast-replay, E-n018-wand125-mixed-4705-report, E-n018-wand125-mixed-4704-sqverify-fast-replay, E-n018-wand125-mixed-4704-source-replay, E-n018-wand125-mixed-4704-report, E-n018-wand125-mixed-470-source-replay, E-n018-wand125-mixed-470-report, E-wand125-rectangle-source-replay, E-wand125-rectangle-report, E-kingbird-upper-register, E-nagamochi-lower, E-basic-grid-upper, E-lifted-q7-upper, E-green17-sixteen-point-lower, E-green17-interval-audit, E-n017-massaccesi-source-replay, E-n017-burns-source-replay, E-n017-burns-control-decision, E-n017-mira-point-certificate-replay, E-n017-fort-point-certificate-replay, E-n017-anabologyco-weighted-certificate, E-n017-massaccesi-h052-agreement, E-n017-maciver-reported-lower, E-n018-fractional-certificate, E-n018-t028-fractional-certificate, E-n018-t029-fractional-certificate, E-n018-t030-fractional-certificate, E-fractional-interval-decision, E-n017-guzhou-r012-source-replay, E-n017-guzhou-r012-interval-decision

s(18) — open

External intake, 2026-10-06. wand125’s check2 source reports s(18)≥941/200=4.705 (T-102), from a density of 324 rectangles of total mass 1799999/100000<18, on a net the certificate declares: core side 4999/5000 and 2073 half-angle tangents of step 1/5002. Since 4999/5000·(1+1/5002)<1, every unit square contains a core at a net angle strictly in its interior. The source ships no record of its C++ checker for it: it accepts it at every direction with its copy of this repository’s sqverify_fast, changed to read a declared net. It is above the reported 588/125 (T-099) by 0.001. This repository’s clean-room verifier sqverify-fast decided it here on 6 October 2026 at all 2073 directions of its net, and refused two mutants scaled below coverage one: confirmed, re-implemented sharing the producer’s components (the source’s check is a copy of the same crate), so it is also the verified lower bound. wand125’s README says parts of the work were produced with AI assistance under human direction.

External intake, 2026-10-06. wand125’s finer-net source reports s(18)≥588/125=4.704 (T-099), since superseded (T-102), from a density of 209 rectangles of total mass 1799999/100000<18, on a net the certificate declares: core side 1999/2000 and 832 half-angle tangents of step 1/2006, twice as many as the net of the 5 October certificate below. Since 1999/2000·(1+1/2006)<1, every unit square contains a core at a net angle strictly in its interior. The source accepts it at every net angle by the same checker at threshold one. It is above the 5 October certificate’s 47/10 by 0.004. This repository’s clean-room verifier sqverify-fast decided it here on 6 October 2026 at all 832 directions of its net, and refused two mutants scaled below coverage one: confirmed, independently re-implemented, so it was also the verified lower bound until later that day, when the check2 certificate above superseded it in both lanes. The source’s own checker was also replayed here in full on 6 October 2026, the bundle’s own driver over all 832 nodes with its assertions on, each returning the certificate’s own record: confirmed, reproduced with the producer’s code. wand125’s README says parts of the work were produced with AI assistance under human direction.

External intake, 2026-10-05. wand125’s mixed-certificate source reports s(18)≥47/10=4.7 (T-096), from a density of 136 rectangles of total mass 1799999/100000<18, on a net the certificate declares: core side 999/1000 and 416 half-angle tangents of step 1/1001, where its earlier mixed certificates use 9977/10000 and 201 tangents of step 83/40000. Since 999/1000·(1+1/1001)<1, every unit square contains a core at a net angle strictly in its interior. The source accepts it at every net angle by its research copy of Tokoharu’s checker at threshold one. It is above the source’s rectangle certificate’s 939/200 by 0.005. Its complete replay here on 5 October 2026, the bundle’s own driver and the source’s unchanged checker on the pinned tarball, returned the certificate’s own record at all 416 net nodes, so it was also the verified lower bound until 2026-10-06, when the certificate above superseded it in both lanes. This repository’s clean-room sqverify-fast, extended to read a declared net, also verified all 416 directions; no rung rests on it. wand125’s README says parts of the work were produced with AI assistance under human direction.

External intake, 2026-10-01. wand125’s rectangle-density source reports the rectangle certificate rect_n18_L4695 at side 939/200=4.695, since superseded (T-096), with total mass 1799/100=17.99<18, accepted by Tokoharu’s unchanged interval checker. The complete 201-direction coverage replay here accepted it again, after this repository’s exact audit checked that the regenerated checker input is the published one and checked the mass and net premises, so it was also verified until 2026-10-05. wand125’s README says parts of the work were produced with AI assistance under human direction.

External intake, 2026-09-27. wand125’s rectangle-density source reports the same certificate at side 939/200=4.695, with total mass 1799/100=17.99<18, accepted by Tokoharu’s unchanged interval checker. This repository’s exact audit checks that the regenerated checker input is the published one, and checks the mass and net premises; the complete coverage replay has not yet run here, so the verified lower bound is unchanged. wand125’s README says parts of the work were produced with AI assistance under human direction.

Open. The best known packing gives s(18)≤4.82287566. The verified lower bound is s(18)≥941/200=4.705, from wand125’s check2 certificate on its finest declared net (T-102, 2026-10-06, V3/C3), leaving a bound gap of 0.1179 to the reported record. It superseded the source’s certificate at 588/125=4.704 on a coarser declared net (T-099, 2026-10-06), the verified lower bound until later that day, and that one superseded the source’s certificate at 47/10=4.7 on a coarser declared net (T-096, 2026-10-05), which was the verified lower bound until 2026-10-06, and that one superseded wand125’s rectangle-density certificate at 939/200=4.695 (T-045, 2026-10-02), which was the verified lower bound until 2026-10-05, and that one superseded this repository’s weighted fractional unavoidable-set certificate at 4679/1000=4.679 (T-030, 2026-09-19), which was the verified lower bound until 2026-10-02. That certificate is not inherited by monotonicity: only Condition 2 of the five mentions n, so an atom set of total mass 71573611/4000000=17.89340275 certifies its side for every integer strictly above that mass — 18 and upward. The bounds it superseded in turn: this repository’s own 1871/400=4.6775 (T-029, 2026-09-19), which held until later on 2026-09-19; 187/40=4.675 (T-028, 2026-09-19), previously; 467/100=4.67 (T-027, 2026-09-18), previously; 459/100=4.59 (T-019, 2026-09-04), which still holds n = 17; the selected external report 9141/2000=4.5705; the n=17 Massaccesi certificate’s 22529/5000=4.5058, carried here by monotonicity as T-016; the first-party sixteen-point certificate’s 4.426213 (T-002); and Nagamochi’s general 4.316625 (closed form: s(N)≥min(⌈N⌉,N−2·⌊N⌋+1+1)). Corrected 2 October 2026: Nagamochi’s value is now a reported bound, his Lemma 1 being false (Karakuş 2026; review). This register had recorded that proof as verified, its own error, logged as defect D-516.

The packing

Hämäläinen’s 1980 packing, at the tilt arcsin((7−1)/4) DS7 names exactly, for which the survey states the angle but no generating rule. cases/lifted_q7 lifts the retained witness’s every coordinate into Q(sqrt 7) at small height — the repository’s first exact verification outside Q(sqrt 2) — and verifies the lifted pose exactly, which is what moved verified_upper_bound from the grid ceiling onto the published exact side. The lift is a candidate generator and the exact verifier is the proof (D-398, and the operation D-402 does not foreclose).

The lower bound

The earlier external report, [n17 weighted certificates 2026-09-20], gives the lower-bound expression 461300/99999 for s(18) (approximately 4.613046130461). Guzhou0806’s R012 parent-angle certificate of 20 September 2026 states s(17) >= 461300/99999 = 4.61304613 …, and both its own exact replay and this repository’s interval decision accept all 2925 catalogue entries. R012’s ATTRIBUTION.md names it as research by “Guzhou0806 / N17 project, with AI assistance”. Inherited at n=18 by monotonicity. wand125’s rectangle-density certificate above replaced it in the reported field, and was also the verified lower bound from its replay here on 2026-10-02 until wand125’s mixed certificate on a declared net (T-096) replaced it in both on 2026-10-05, and T-099 replaced that one in both on 2026-10-06. The source audit compares the exact theorem expressions separately from opaque table decimals.

David R. MacIver’s manuscript dated 8 August 2026 separately reports s(18)≥s(17)>(402+19)/17+1/200≈4.450208382054341, in Corollary 1.2. The archived source review records it as a historical claim whose essential certificate and replay files are absent from the inspected public snapshot. It does not change the stronger verified bound below.

Until 2026-10-02 the operative bound was this repository’s own T-030 certificate at side 4679/1000: 957 rationally weighted atoms on a D4-symmetric site set, total mass 71573611/4000000=17.89340275<18, every closed B-square at every net direction capturing mass at least one, the least being 200001/200000. It is decided from its own bytes by an exact event-cell sweep and by an interval branch and bound over centre boxes, which agree on that least value to the digit. The site set is BC-191 auto grids (32,43,54) unioned with T-029’s 804 atom sites scaled from 1871/400 to 4679/1000, plus a windows-5 lattice. Auto at this side resolved to (32,43,54), the same triple T-029 used. The row loop never crossed 18 and converged. No monotonicity step is involved and none is needed: the covering program the search solves does not contain n at all, and Condition 2 — total mass strictly below n — is the only place n enters, so the same atoms certify the side at every size above their own mass. The certificate does not reach n = 17, whose mass must sit strictly below 17; T-019 still holds that case at 459/100. From n = 19 on the register already holds 24/5=4.80 (T-020), so this certificate is true there and weaker. A run at 117/25=4.68 drove three historical site sets in succession, 538, 578 and 618 orbits, and each returned a restricted optimum of exactly 18.000000. The T-019 seed that previously certified 467/100 as T-027 locked at 18.000000 there too, as did T-027’s own atoms. Adding sites can still lower a restricted optimum, so 117/25 is not barred. Four weaker bounds are retained for provenance: T-029’s 4.6775, which held this case until later on 2026-09-19; T-028’s 4.675, previously; T-027’s 4.67, previously; and T-019’s 4.59 below them, which held until 2026-09-18. Corrected 2 October 2026: Nagamochi’s Lemma 1 is false (Karakuş 2026), so his closed form below is now a reported bound whose published proof is incomplete (review). Nagamochi’s general closed form remains the external published baseline and applies to every N≥4:

s(N)≥min{⌈N⌉,N−2⌊N⌋+1+1}

It is weaker here than the verified 4.679 bound recorded above.

Verification Code

The programs behind this case’s verified bounds, by their evidence. The code column says how the code that ran stands to the code its producer used. VERIFIERS.md says what each program is and whose it is.

bound evidence run code programs
verified lower E-n018-wand125-mixed-4705-sqverify-fast-replay replayed here shared components V-sqverify-fast (first-party)
verified upper E-lifted-q7-upper replayed here independent V-sqpack-verify (first-party)