Erdős Problem #306

Partial progress by Shisheng Li with Claude and Claude Code (17 Jun 2026): partial result (Lean). 2 AI contributions are recorded in all.

Problem
Erdős problem #306 (number theory, unit fractions); current status: open
Credit
Shisheng Li with Claude and Claude Code · AI working with humans
Checked
Lean formalizationListed in Tao's wiki
Timeline
First AI contribution 2026-02-25 · wiki data as of 2026-06-30
Sources
Problem page (erdosproblems.com)Tao's AI-contributions wiki
PARTIALPer Tao's AI-contributions wiki

The problem

Let a/b∈Q>0a/b\in \mathbb{Q}_{>0} with bb squarefree. Are there integers 1<n1<⋯<nk1<n_1<\cdots<n_k, each the product of two distinct primes, such that

ab=1n1+⋯+1nk?\frac{a}{b}=\frac{1}{n_1}+\cdots+\frac{1}{n_k}?

Statement quoted from erdosproblems.com/306, maintained by Thomas Bloom. Original source: [ErGr80]. Current status there: open.

AI contributions

As recorded in Terence Tao's wiki AI contributions to Erdős problems (data as of 30 Jun 2026). 🟢 full, 🟡 partial, ⚪ unverified, 🔴 incorrect.

Date Kind AI systems Humans Outcome
25 Feb, 2026 Literature search GPT-5.2 Thinking — 🟡 Partial results found
17 Jun, 2026 AI working with humans Claude, Claude Code Shisheng Li 🟡 Partial result (Lean)
19 Jun, 2026 AI working with humans Unspecified Yuren Tang ⚪ Candidate full solution (Lean)

Caveats

The wiki's classifications are provisional and are not a benchmark. Many Erdős problems have never had a thorough literature review, so a result that looks new may later turn out to be known; some problems were also stated ambiguously or incorrectly. See the problem page for the full discussion.

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