Collapse conjecture for the Hales–Jewett bracket hierarchy

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Let [t]n[t]^n be the set of words of length nn over an alphabet of size tt, let rr be the number of colors, and let HJ[k](t,r)\mathrm{HJ}^{[k]}(t,r) denote the least dimension forcing a monochromatic line in the kk-th bracket class, with value ∞\infty if no such dimension exists. Let HJ(t,r)\mathrm{HJ}(t,r) be the Hales–Jewett number, and let κall(t,r)\kappa_{\mathrm{all}}(t,r) be the largest bracket level whose line-free colorings exist in every dimension. Collapse conjecture.

HJ[HJ(t,r)−1](t,r)=∞\mathrm{HJ}^{[\mathrm{HJ}(t,r)-1]}(t,r)=\infty

for all t,r≥2t,r\ge2; equivalently, κall(t,r)=HJ(t,r)−1\kappa_{\mathrm{all}}(t,r)=\mathrm{HJ}(t,r)-1. This is known wherever the relevant Hales–Jewett numbers are known, but remains open in general.

References

Primary source

Younes Mouhib, “One-Weight Colorings, the Symmetric Class, and Lower Bounds for Hales–Jewett Numbers”, arXiv:2607.02226 (2026).

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