T-054: s(45)=7 by a second, point-only route

V3 C3 simplification confirmed

2026-09-28 published · wand125 after Daniel, Tokoharu, Levy, Stromquist, Nagamochi, Burns, Massaccesi · n=45

s(45)=7 by a second, point-only route: the lower half by wand125's point-only measure of 28 September 2026, the upper half by the 7×7 grid.

The measure is 12,645 D4-invariant points, total 12666371418707823/2^48 = 44.99999100001 < 45. Its capture condition, every closed unit square in [0,7]^2 having mass at least one with a boundary point counting, is decided by Evan Daniel's unmodified zmx2 with --d4 --pair-points.

The source's verify.sh was replayed here in full on 28 and 29 September 2026: VERIFIED-D4 on all 4,900 roots, 1,295,460 boxes, the source's reference census.

wand125 after Evan Daniel, square-packing-bounds. The source uses Daniel's checker, states that Daniel published s(45)=7 first (T-053) and claims no priority, and says parts of the work were produced with AI assistance under human direction.

Significance, composition and next rung
Significance
A second certificate for a value T-053 already holds, decided by the same checker. It shows the value yields to points alone, with a uniform pointwise margin of 8.35e-4, a citable detail that changes no theorem.
Composition
Compound: the lower half is E-n045-wand125-point-cover-source-replay (interval-certified, on the source-chosen zmx2, the same implementation as T-053's replay), the upper half the grid (E-basic-grid-upper). The two machine methods certify different halves; the lower half sets the minimum at one method, and the equality is C3. The unreduced --full sweep was not run here.
Next rung
The unreduced zmx2 --full sweep would remove the reliance on the D4 reduction (review F2). A second machine method would need a checker other than zmx2 to decide this point cover; the exact zeromargin.py route reads point covers and is the reachable one. V4 and C4 need two adversarial AI reviews by distinct reviewers and a human oversight record, and none is retained.
Novelty
previously-published Present in an identified source

The case

Case record

n=45

7
678
6.7087.708
nn+1

Proven

s(45)=7

  • optimal
  • exact

Citation record n-045

lowerDaniel after Burns, Massaccesi 2026, GitHub (confirmed T-053)

The case record

LowerUpper
Verified77
Reported77
Gap0 solved: the verified bounds meet

Results on the case

8 results in the register on n=45, 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-053

    Nagamochi · Nagamochi 2005 · source · register

  2. 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

  3. 2026-09-27 published T-053

    s(45)=7, by a mixed cover of points and grid-line segments

    V3 C3 optimality confirmed

    Daniel after Burns, Massaccesi · evand square-packing 2026-09-28 · packet · source · review · register

  4. 2026-09-28 published T-054 this result

    s(45)=7 by a second, point-only route

    V3 C3 simplification confirmed

    wand125 after Daniel, Tokoharu, Levy, Stromquist, Nagamochi, Burns, Massaccesi · wand125 point and mixed bounds 2026-09-28 · packet · source · review · register

  5. 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

  6. 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-053

    Karakuş · Karakuş 2026 · source · register

  7. 2026-10-03 published T-081

    s(k2−4)=k for every integer k from 5 up; k=5…18 are the cases held here

    V0 C1 optimality reviewed on this case, second certificate, reported

    Daniel after Burns, Massaccesi · evand square-packing 2026-10-03 · packet · packet · source · review · register

  8. 2026-10-07 published T-124

    Reported non-strict local minima for 178 source configurations

    V0 C0 restricted optimality recorded

    Daniel after Couzo · Daniel exact and local reports 2026 · packet · register