Unsolved Math Problems

“Many mathematical problems have been stated but not yet solved. These problems come from many areas of mathematics, such as theoretical physics, computer science, algebra, analysis, combinatorics, algebraic, differential, discrete and Euclidean geometries, graph theory, group theory, model theory, number theory, set theory, Ramsey theory, dynamical systems, and partial differential equations. Some problems belong to more than one discipline and are studied using techniques from different areas. Prizes are often awarded for the solution to a long-standing problem, and some lists of unsolved problems, such as the Millennium Prize Problems, receive considerable attention.

This list is a composite of notable unsolved problems mentioned in previously published lists, including but not limited to lists considered authoritative, and the problems listed here vary widely in both difficulty and importance.

Various mathematicians and organizations have published and promoted lists of unsolved mathematical problems. In some cases, the lists have been associated with prizes for the discoverers of solutions.

• Hilbert’s problems
• Landau’s problems
• Taniyama’s problems
• Thurston’s 24 questions
• Smale’s problems
• Millenium Prize Problems
• Simon problems
• Unsolved Problems on Mathematics for the 21st Century
• DARPA’s math challenges
• Erdős’s problems

Millennium Prize Problems

Of the original seven Millennium Prize Problems listed by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000, six remain unsolved to date:[6]

• Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture
• Hodge conjecture
• Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness
• P versus NP
• Riemann hypothesis
• Yang–Mills existence and mass gap

The seventh problem, the Poincaré conjecture, was solved by Grigori Perelman in 2003. However, a generalization called the smooth four-dimensional Poincaré conjecture—that is, whether a four-dimensional topological sphere can have two or more inequivalent smooth structures—is unsolved.

Notebooks

• The Kourovka Notebook (Russian: Коуровская тетрадь) is a collection of unsolved problems in group theory, first published in 1965 and updated many times since.
• The Sverdlovsk Notebook (Russian: Свердловская тетрадь) is a collection of unsolved problems in semigroup theory, first published in 1965 and updated every 2 to 4 years since.
• The Dniester Notebook (Russian: Днестровская тетрадь) lists several hundred unsolved problems in algebra, particularly ring theory and modulus theory.
• The Erlagol Notebook (Russian: Эрлагольская тетрадь) lists unsolved problems in algebra and model theory.”