Ringel’s conjecture

∀n∈Z>0  ∀T  ((T is a tree∧∣E(T)∣=n)⇒∃(Gi)i=02n  [ Gi⊆K2n+1∧Gi≅T ∀i∈{0,…,2n},  E(Gi)∩E(Gj)=∅ ∀i≠j, ⋃i=02nE(Gi)=E(K2n+1) ]).\forall n\in\mathbb{Z}_{>0}\;\forall T\;\Bigl((T\text{ is a tree}\land |E(T)|=n)\Rightarrow\exists (G_i)_{i=0}^{2n}\;\bigl[\,G_i\subseteq K_{2n+1}\land G_i\cong T\ \forall i\in\{0,\ldots,2n\},\ \ E(G_i)\cap E(G_j)=\varnothing\ \forall i\neq j,\ \bigcup_{i=0}^{2n}E(G_i)=E(K_{2n+1})\,\bigr]\Bigr).

References

Primary source

GitHub

Additional references

Progress summary

Refreshed
Claimed progress

The conjecture is proved for all sufficiently large cases, but the full statement for every size remains open; a new formalization checks part of that large-case proof.

Ringel posed the conjecture in 19631963: every tree with nn edges should decompose K2n+1K_{2n+1} into 2n+12n+1 copies. The asymptotic theorem is established, but the supplied evidence does not establish the remaining all-nn statement.

Known results

  • Montgomery, Pokrovskiy, and Sudakov (20202020; journal publication 20212021): for sufficiently large nn, K2n+1K_{2n+1} decomposes into copies of every tree with nn edges.
  • Keevash and Staden (20202020): proved a stronger quasirandom-graph packing theorem, including the complete-graph case for sufficiently large nn.
  • Allen, Böttcher, Clemens, and Taraz (20192019): obtained probabilistic packing results for many random trees, not the full conjecture.

August 2026 formalization

Walid Elkersh’s repository machine-checks graph-theoretic and probabilistic components of the sufficiently-large-nn proof development. This strengthens verification of the asymptotic result but does not settle the full all-nn conjecture; independent review of the repository is not documented in the supplied evidence.

Current status (as of August 2026): the sufficiently-large-nn case is proved and partly formalized, while the full all-nn conjecture remains unsettled.

Sources

Solutions 0

No solutions have been posted yet.