Hill's crossing-number conjecture for complete graphs

Let KnK_n be the complete graph on nn vertices, and let cr(Kn)\operatorname{cr}(K_n) denote its crossing number, the minimum number of crossings in a drawing of KnK_n in the plane or sphere. Define

X(n):=14n2n12n22n32.X(n):=\frac{1}{4}\Big\lfloor \frac{n}{2}\Big\rfloor \Big\lfloor \frac{n-1}{2} \Big\rfloor \Big\lfloor \frac{n-2}{2} \Big\rfloor \Big\lfloor \frac{n-3}{2}\Big\rfloor.

Hill's conjecture. The crossing number satisfies

cr(Kn)=X(n)=38(n4)+O(n3).\operatorname{cr}(K_n)=X(n)=\frac{3}{8}\binom{n}{4}+O(n^3).

This is a foundational unsolved problem in geometric graph theory. The conjecture was first studied by Hill in the 1950s, and the displayed quantity is attained by the standard conjectured optimal drawings; the equality is not known for general nn.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Elizaveta Streltsova and Uli Wagner, “Sublevels in arrangements and the spherical arc crossing number of complete graphs”, arXiv:2504.07770 (2025).

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