T-038: s(17)>461300/99853=4.6197910929…

V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

2026-09-21 published · Kleddamag after Levy, Mira, Guzhou0806 · n=17

s(17)>461300/99853 = 4.6197910929..., by Kleddamag's 17-squares-certified-bound v1.0.0 release of 21 September 2026. It raised the verified bound by 0.0067450 over Guzhou0806's R012 (T-032).

The certificate is a mixed point and two-of-three threshold charge, exact, nonnegative and D4-invariant, of budget 16998427356 integer units, over 7,853 contiguous parent-angle intervals, each with a closed core strictly inside every parent, in the container 4613/1000 with parents of side 99853/100000. The minimum core charge 1000020517 gives seventeen cores a surplus of 1921433 over the budget, and compactness makes the bound strict.

It was replayed here in full on 21 September 2026 by the source's two complete checkers, a Python and a JavaScript event-cell sweep, which agreed on all 509 histogram bins; they are one method.

Kleddamag, 17-squares-certified-bound, in the lineage the release names itself: Mira, Guzhou0806 / N17 project, and this repository's threshold-atom work. Its AUTHORS.md says the project was directed by Kleddamag with the research, implementation and verification done by OpenAI Codex.

Significance, composition and next rung
Significance
Raised the verified lower bound at n=17 by 0.0067 over R012 and brought into the record the mixed point/threshold parent-core architecture every later n=17 rung is built on. Scored as T-015 and T-032 were: a result by others replayed here, on this project's weighted method extended by others.
Next rung
V4 and C4 need two adversarial AI reviews by distinct reviewers and a human oversight record, and none is retained. Unlike the later releases, this certificate carries only point and two-of-three atoms, which this repository's native parent-core route models, so a complete native run of it is the reachable second machine method, which would be shown beside the rung. No test under packing/tests exercises this packet; the control named is the release's own independent_controls.py, which the 2026-09-21 review used to close the containment and centre-domain premises. Rung 5 needs a proof-assistant formalization reviewed by human experts. Superseded as the verified lower bound on 2026-09-25 by Guzhou0806's R052 (T-039); stays true as stated.
Novelty
previously-published Present in an identified source

The case

Case record

n=17

4.664.676
456
4.1235.123
nn+1

Proven

4.66044≤s(17)≤4.675531

  • exact

Citation record n-017

lowerGuzhou0806 after Kleddamag et al. 2026, GitHub (confirmed T-093)

upperBidwell 1998, Squares in Squares (confirmed T-065)

Open

  • optimality

The case record

Results on the case

17 results in the register on n=17, oldest first, each with what it established and how it stands now.

  1. 2005 published T-007

    s(n)≥min(⌈n⌉,n−2⌊n⌋+1+1) for 4≤n≤324

    V0 C1 lower bound incomplete on this case, superseded by T-093

    Nagamochi · Nagamochi 2005 · source · register

  2. 2026-08-21 published T-015

    s(17)≥22529/5000=4.5058

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

    Massaccesi after Burns · Burns–Massaccesi n17 · packet · register

  3. 2026-08-31 established T-001

    s(17)≥4426213/1000000=4.426213, from a sixteen-point unavoidable set

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

    Levy after Bentz · register

  4. 2026-08-31 established T-003

    The sixteen-point set's unavoidability ceiling lies in [4426213/1000000,4427/1000)

    V3 C3 method limit confirmed

    Levy after Bentz · register

  5. 2026-09-04 established T-019

    s(n)≥459/100=4.59 for n=17,18,19

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

    Levy after Burns, Massaccesi · register

  6. 2026-09-04 published T-085

    Nagamochi 2005, Lemma 1 is false for every container with a>3 and b>2

    V3 C3 correction confirmed

    Karakuş; chelokot · Karakuş 2026 · chelokot Nagamochi counterexample 2026 · packet · register

  7. 2026-09-20 published T-032

    s(17)≥461300/99999=4.61304613…, and beneath it Mira's s(17)≥4613/1000

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

    Guzhou0806, Mira after Levy, Burns, Massaccesi · n17 weighted certificates 2026-09-20 · packet · register

  8. 2026-09-21 published T-038 this result

    s(17)>461300/99853=4.6197910929…

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

    Kleddamag after Levy, Mira, Guzhou0806 · Kleddamag n17 certified bound · packet · source · review · register

  9. 2026-09-21 published T-065

    s(17)≤4.6755300936045509…, Bidwell's packing certified exactly

    V3 C3 upper bound confirmed

    Kleddamag after Levy, Mira, Guzhou0806 · Kleddamag n17 certified bound · packet · source · review · register

  10. 2026-09-25 published T-039

    s(17)>231001/50000=4.62002

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

    Guzhou0806 after Kleddamag, Mira, Levy · Guzhou0806 n17 R052 · packet · source · review · register

  11. 2026-09-26 published T-040

    s(17)>232001/50000=4.64002

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

    Kleddamag after Levy, Mira, Guzhou0806 · Kleddamag n17 4.640020 · packet · source · review · register

  12. 2026-09-27 published T-041

    s(17)>466001/100000=4.66001

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

    Kleddamag after Levy, Mira, Guzhou0806 · Kleddamag n17 4.66001 · packet · source · review · register

  13. 2026-09-28 published T-042

    s(17)>233009/50000=4.66018

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

    Guzhou0806 after Kleddamag, Mira, Levy · Guzhou0806 n17 R067 · packet · source · review · register

  14. 2026-09-28 published T-043

    s(17)>116511/25000=4.66044

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed superseded by T-093

    Guzhou0806 after Kleddamag, Mira, Levy · Guzhou0806 n17 R068 · packet · source · review · register

  15. 2026-09-29 published T-058

    Rectangle-certificate ceiling α·UB(n) proved for n=1..100; B·UB(n) on 64 grid rows

    V3 C3 method limit confirmed

    wand125 after Tokoharu, Daniel · wand125 tools 2026 · packet · register

  16. 2026-09-29 published T-083

    s(n)≥1/2+n−⌊n⌋+1/4 for every nonsquare 8≤n≤324

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed on this case, superseded by T-093

    Karakuş · Karakuş 2026 · source · register

  17. 2026-09-30 published T-093

    s(17)>18641771/4000000=4.66044275

    V3 C3 lower bound confirmed

    Guzhou0806 after Kleddamag, Mira, Levy · Guzhou0806 n17 R071 · packet · source · review · register