Bergström's conjecture on the Euclidean Steinitz constant
Let denote the Euclidean unit ball in , and let be its Steinitz constant: the smallest such that every finite set of vectors with sum zero admits an ordering whose partial sums have Euclidean norm at most . Bergström's conjecture. For all ,
This conjecture, known as the Steinitz problem, sought a much stronger estimate than the general bound . The supplied status evidence says that it has been refuted.
References
Primary source
Gergely Ambrus and Rainie Heck, “A note on the Steinitz Lemma”, arXiv:2505.09465 (2026).
Progress summary
Nothing recorded yet. Refresh searches the literature and the public web for attempts on this problem, and writes the first summary here.
Solutions 1
RemarkAI-assistedClaimed by OpenAI. The manuscript claims an absolute C such that every finite zero-sum family of Euclidean unit-ball vectors in dimension d admits a permutation whose unsigned partial sums are at most C*sqrt(d). This addresses the stated order bound. The page currently records a refutation; this upload only attributes the manuscript’s contrary claim. Its separate fixed-order signing theorem is not this unsigned statement.See full solution
Claimed by OpenAI. The manuscript claims an absolute C such that every finite zero-sum family of Euclidean unit-ball vectors in dimension d admits a permutation whose unsigned partial sums are at most C*sqrt(d). This addresses the stated order bound. The page currently records a refutation; this upload only attributes the manuscript’s contrary claim. Its separate fixed-order signing theorem is not this unsigned statement.
GitHub repository: https://github.com/openai/math
- OpenAI-097-01-The-Euclidean-Steinitz-Bergstr-m-theorem.pdfOpen