Imaginary quadratic fields with a prescribed class number
Give an algorithm that, for h between 2^90 and 2^100, quickly finds an imaginary quadratic field with class number exactly h.
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| 1 | +# Imaginary quadratic fields with a prescribed class number | |
| 2 | + | |
| 3 | +Gauss's class number problem asks which imaginary quadratic fields have a given class number. It is conjectured that every positive integer $h$ is the class number of some such field, yet nobody knows how to find one quickly when $h$ is large. The task is an algorithm that does so for $h$ between $2^{90}$ and $2^{100}$. | |
| 4 | + | |
| 5 | +## Problem | |
| 6 | + | |
| 7 | +For a negative fundamental discriminant $D$, let $h(D)$ be the class number of $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{D})$. | |
| 8 | + | |
| 9 | +**Task.** Give an algorithm that, on input a positive integer $h$, returns a negative fundamental discriminant $D$ with $h(D) = h$ and $|D| \le 10^5 h^2$, fast enough to succeed within minutes for $h$ between $2^{90}$ and $2^{100}$. | |
| 10 | + | |
| 11 | +## Background | |
| 12 | + | |
| 13 | +Let $F(h)$ be the number of imaginary quadratic fields with class number $h$. Watkins determined $F(h)$ unconditionally for all $h \le 100$ [3], completing a line of work on Gauss's problem. Soundararajan established the average size of $F(h)$ and speculated about its growth [1], and Holmin, Jones, Kurlberg, McLeman and Petersen refined this into a conjectural asymptotic formula, also studying which abelian groups occur as class groups [2]. In particular, these authors conjecture that every $h$ occurs. Since $h(D)$ grows roughly like $\sqrt{|D|}$, a field with a huge prescribed class number has a huge discriminant, and Epoch designed the challenge so that passing it should require a genuinely good idea. | |
| 14 | + | |
| 15 | +## What is known | |
| 16 | + | |
| 17 | +- $F(h)$ is known exactly for $h \le 100$ (Watkins) [3]. | |
| 18 | +- The average of $F(h)$ is known, and its typical size is conjectured [1, 2]; that $F(h) > 0$ for every $h$ is not proved. | |
| 19 | +- Epoch's verifier assumes the generalized Riemann hypothesis when it certifies class numbers at this size. | |
| 20 | + | |
| 21 | +## What would count as progress | |
| 22 | + | |
| 23 | +- A program that, given $h$, outputs $D$; each answer is checked by computing $h(D)$ exactly. | |
| 24 | +- Epoch scores submissions with its own verifier: a Python or Sage program receives $h$ and prints $D$. It is run on up to 100 challenges within 30 minutes (the submitter may fix the range $2^s \le h < 2^{s+1}$, scored only for $s \ge 90$), and a correct answer to any challenge counts. | |
| 25 | +- An algorithm proved always to succeed would also prove that every positive integer is the class number of an imaginary quadratic field. | |
| 26 | + | |
| 27 | +## References | |
| 28 | + | |
| 29 | +1. K. Soundararajan, The number of imaginary quadratic fields with a given class number, 2007. [arXiv:0707.0237](https://arxiv.org/abs/0707.0237) | |
| 30 | +2. S. Holmin, N. Jones, P. Kurlberg, C. McLeman and K. L. Petersen, Missing class groups and class number statistics for imaginary quadratic fields, *Experiment. Math.* 28 (2019), 233–254. [doi:10.1080/10586458.2017.1383952](https://doi.org/10.1080/10586458.2017.1383952) | |
| 31 | +3. M. Watkins, Class numbers of imaginary quadratic fields, *Math. Comp.* 73 (2004), 907–938. [doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-03-01517-5](https://doi.org/10.1090/S0025-5718-03-01517-5) | |
| 32 | + | |
| 33 | +## Source | |
| 34 | + | |
| 35 | +Imported from [FrontierMath: Open Problems, quadratic-field-class-number](https://epoch.ai/frontiermath/open-problems/quadratic-field-class-number), curated by Epoch AI. Open according to the source as of 2026-10-20. The statement above is written in our own words; see the source for the original wording, history and discussion. | |