ProofCouncil: An LLM Agent for Solving Open Mathematical Problems

Large language models (LLMs) increasingly excel at mathematical reasoning, but their unreliability limits their utility in mathematics research. A mitigation is using LLMs to generate formal proofs in languages like Lean. We perform the first large-scale evaluation of this method's ability to solve open problems. Our most capable agent autonomously resolved 9 of 353 open Erdős problems at the per-problem cost of a few hundred dollars, proved 44/492 OEIS conjectures, and is being deployed in combinatorics, optimization, graph theory, algebraic geometry, and quantum optics research. A basic agent alternating LLM-based generation with Lean-based verification replicated the Erdős successes but proved costlier on the hardest problems. These findings demonstrate the power of AI-aided formal proof search and shed light on the agent designs that enable it.

AI reasoning has become a central focus in contemporary artificial intelligence, largely driven by the success of large language models. However, mathematical research, which is characterized by non-linear derivation paths, rigorous logical requirements, and protracted exploration cycles, poses severe challenges for existing reasoning systems. To overcome these limitations, we present the MechMath Agent Team (MMAT), which is a large language model driven agent designed to serve as a co-pilot throughout the full cycle of mathematical research. We design a tripartite Harness Architecture that decouples system responsibilities into Control, Execution, and Augmentation planes, thereby reconciling rigorous logical control with the agility demanded by open-ended research. Building upon this framework, we instantiate three specialized agents: a Knowledge Base Manager, a Natural Language Prover, and a Formal Language Prover, all operating in a closed loop to produce formally certified mathematical proofs. We evaluate MMAT on open problems in Number Theory, Algebraic Complexity Theory, Differential Algebra, Operator Algebra, and Inequalities. Across a two-month deployment, 11 problems have been solved, demonstrating its capacity to act as a co-pilot throughout the entire research cycle. The contributions are threefold: a general decoupled Harness Architecture for multi-agent mathematical reasoning, its concrete instantiation in the MMAT system, and empirical validation on a diverse suite of open problems.

We present $\textbf{Research Math Agents (RMA)}$, an agentic framework for automated reasoning on research-level mathematical problems. Unlike prior studies centered on competition mathematics or formal theorem proving, RMA targets research-level mathematical problems that require long-horizon reasoning, literature grounding, and iterative proof refinement. RMA decomposes research-level proof solving into specialized modules for problem analysis, literature search and understanding, fair comparison, knowledge-bank construction, and proof verification, all coordinated by initializer, proposer, and verifier agents through a shared structured memory. Within this unified framework, these agents operate in a multi-role, multi-round workflow, collaboratively generating, refining, and verifying candidate proofs through iterative feedback. We evaluate RMA on the First Proof benchmark, which consists of ten research-level problems contributed by expert mathematicians across diverse domains. Through comprehensive expert evaluation, RMA outperforms strong baselines on the First Proof benchmark, including GPT-5.2R and Aletheia, solving eight out of ten research problems and producing more logically sound and readable proofs. Our comprehensive ablation studies further show that performance gains arise from the interaction of structured reasoning modules, iterative refinement, and verifier-based feedback, rather than any single component. Our solutions and implementations will be made publicly available upon acceptance.