Context-free grammar approximation conjecture for irrational numbers

Let xx be an irrational real number. Let GxG_x be a context-free grammar that generates an infinite sequence of Dyck rationals (si)iN+(s_i)_{i\in\mathbb{N}_{+}}, and let \upalphaQr\upalpha_{\mathbb{Q}_{r}} denote the interpretation map from Dyck-rational words to rational numbers. Irrational-approximation grammar conjecture. For every irrational number xx, there exists such a context-free grammar GxG_x for which

\upalphaQr(si)xas i.\upalpha_{\mathbb{Q}_{r}}(s_i)\longrightarrow x\quad\text{as }i\longrightarrow\infty.

This is an alternative to representing irrational numbers exactly by finite words: the grammar would generate successive rational approximations following a pattern that converges to the chosen irrational number. The source gives no resolution of the conjecture.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Ralph L. Childress, “Recursive Prime Factorizations: Dyck Words as Numbers”, arXiv:2102.02777 (2026).

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