slug: even-hypergraph-inverse-positivity-refutation bibkey: chaithrarani2025marked doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2507.20847 url: https://arxiv.org/html/2507.20847v1 triage: theorem motivation_gids:

• D5/S0/Certificates/Hypergraphs/EvenInversePositivityRefutation

Even-hypergraph inverse-positivity refutation

Problem

Section 8.1 of arXiv:2507.20847v1, PDF p. 23, states: “Let 𝒢 be a simple hypergraph. Then we have I(𝒢,−x)⁻¹ ≥ 0 if and only if all edges of 𝒢 must have even number of elements.” Quotations preserve the prose verbatim; mathematical glyphs and whitespace are normalized.

Section 3.1, p. 7, begins: “Let n be a positive integer.” Definition 2(1), p. 7, says: “A hypergraph 𝒢 is called simple if for any e,f ∈ ℰ, we have |e| ≥ 2 and e ⊆ f implies e = f.” Definition 2(5), p. 7, says: “A subset I ⊆ 𝒱 is called independent if no edge of 𝒢 is entirely contained in I, i.e., e ⊈ I for all e ∈ ℰ.”

Definition 3, p. 7, includes every independent subset, including the empty set, in the ordinary independence polynomial. The coefficient ring is rational (p. 1) and positivity is coefficientwise (p. 2). Relabel [n] as Fin n. Here indicator S is one on S and zero elsewhere, and signedIndependence E is the sum, over all independent S ⊆ Fin n, of the monomial with exponent indicator S and coefficient (-1 : ℚ)^S.card. The precise claim is

∀ n : ℕ, 0 < n → ∀ E : Finset (Finset (Fin n)),
  ((∀ e ∈ E, 2 ≤ e.card) ∧
    (∀ e ∈ E, ∀ f ∈ E, e ⊆ f → e = f)) →
  ((∀ m : Fin n →₀ ℕ,
      0 ≤ MvPowerSeries.coeff m (signedIndependence E)⁻¹) ↔
    ∀ e ∈ E, Even e.card)

The inverse is in MvPowerSeries (Fin n) ℚ and all multiindices are quantified. There is no marked-vertex parameter. The scope is the full Section 8.1 equivalence, also introduced by Conjecture 1 on p. 5.

Motivation

Even edge cardinality is proposed as a complete characterization of inverse positivity. A faithful refutation must satisfy source simplicity and obtain a negative coefficient of the actual inverse of the source polynomial. A single squarefree coefficient can disprove positivity at all multiindices.

Gap

The supplied bounded check of v1 and related Zhang–Dong (2020), DOI 10.1016/j.disc.2020.112134, and Foissy (2026), DOI 10.1016/j.aam.2026.103067, located no later full resolution. This is not an exhaustive absence or priority claim. The source’s reported Sage checks through ten vertices conflict with the eight-vertex witness. Their code and tested families were unavailable; no explanation for the discrepancy is established.

Route

Use Fin 8, labeled a1,a2,a3,b1,b2,b3,s,t, with edges {6,7,0,1}, {6,7,1,2}, {6,7,2,0}, {6,7,3,4}, {6,7,4,5}, {6,7,5,3}. Six distinct four-element sets have even cardinality at least two and satisfy the inclusion clause of simplicity.

For T ⊆ Fin 8, set i=|T∩{0,1,2}|, j=|T∩{3,4,5}|, and d=(1,1,0,−4). Put c(T)=1 unless both 6,7 belong to T, and c(T)=2−d(i)d(j) otherwise. If f(U)=(−1)^|U| for independent U and zero otherwise, the finite certificate is c(∅)=1 and c(T)=−∑_{∅≠U⊆T} f(U)c(T∖U) for every nonempty T. The constant coefficient of the signed independence polynomial is one. Every decomposition of indicator T corresponds uniquely to U ⊆ T and T∖U; induction on cardinality thus identifies the certificate with the actual inverse coefficients. For the full set, the value is 2−(−4)(−4)=−14, contradicting the even-edges-to-positivity implication.

The same arithmetic can be seen from A=∏(1−a_i), B=∏(1−b_i), J_A=1−a1−a2−a3, J_B=1−b1−b2−b3. The signed polynomial is F=(1−s−t)AB+stJ_AJ_B, and [st]F⁻¹=2/(AB)−J_AJ_B/(A²B²). Each triple coefficient in J_A/A² or J_B/B² is 8−3·4=−4, yielding 2−16=−14. This is an ordinary algebraic explanation of the same witness, not an additional formal proof.

Falsifier

Failure of a source hypothesis, an incorrect independence polynomial, or a nonnegative full squarefree coefficient in its actual inverse would invalidate this counterexample. Failure of the finite convolution identity at any of the 256 subsets would invalidate this particular certificate and its formal route.

Evidence

• The complete 256-subset certificate and unconditional public result : Not claim are in D5/S0/Certificates/Hypergraphs/EvenInversePositivityRefutation.lean.
• The production Lean source compiles in the pinned environment with exit 0.
• The production module’s semantic declarations are indicator, signedIndependence, SourceSimple, claim, and result; its reported compiler-checked axiom closure is [propext, Classical.choice, Quot.sound], with no sorry, private axiom, or native_decide.
• The certificate uses decide +kernel for all 256 subsets and proves the actual inverse coefficient at the full squarefree multiindex is −14, so the result refutes the full source equivalence over all multiindices.
• Primary HTML SHA-256: 39e8da49ecd6878f0cc909c3ec2b554d78ca66dda89f363a3450360ef36ca700. Source locators are the v1 PDF pages cited in Problem.

Triage

theorem classifies the target proposition; it is not a completion status. The ordinary counterexample refutes the sufficient direction of the published equivalence, and the kernel-checked theorem establishes that refutation. No claim is made here against the other direction or against a different conjecture with added hypotheses.

ASSUMED-UNVERIFIED

The bounded literature check covers the cited v1 and the listed related works; it does not establish exhaustive absence or worldwide priority. The source’s reported Sage checks through ten vertices conflict with the eight-vertex witness, and the unavailable tested families and code leave the cause of that discrepancy unresolved. These are source and prior-art boundaries, not gaps in the Lean refutation.