The Algebraic Landscape of Kochen-Specker Sets in Dimension Three
Abstract
We present a computational survey of Kochen-Specker (KS) uncolorability in three-dimensional Hilbert space across two-symbol coordinate alphabets drawn from quadratic, cyclotomic, and golden-ratio number fields. In every tested raw alphabet (before cross-product completion), KS sets arise only when supports one of two cancellation mechanisms: modulus-2 cancellation (the generator satisfies , as in , , or ; the integer case is the degenerate additive instance) or phase cancellation (a vanishing sum of unit-modulus terms, as in ). Alphabets whose generators have and are not roots of unity produce orthogonal triples but not KS-uncolorability in our survey. This empirical pattern explains why constructions cluster into at least six discrete algebraic islands among the tested fields (with a seventh, cubic island confirmed at higher cost). Two yield potentially new KS graph types: the Heegner-7 ring (43 vectors) and the golden ratio field (52 vectors, revealed only by cross-product completion); provides a new algebraic realization of a known Peres-type graph. Using SAT-based bipartite KS-uncolorability, we verify the input counts of Trandafir and Cabello for three islands (exact) and establish upper bounds for three others. The golden ratio island is a boundary case: its raw alphabet satisfies neither mechanism, but cross-product completion introduces effective modulus-2 cancellations. Whether the two-mechanism pattern extends to all number fields remains an open question.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2603.16988,
title = {The Algebraic Landscape of Kochen-Specker Sets in Dimension Three},
author = {Michael Kernaghan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.16988},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
33 pages, 14 tables, no figures