English

Eleven, twelve, and thirteen lonely runners

Combinatorics 2026-04-28 v1 Discrete Mathematics Number Theory

Abstract

Wills conjectured that, for any non-zero integers u1,,uku_1,\ldots,u_k, there is a real number tt such that, for all i=1,,ki=1,\ldots,k, tui1k+1,\lVert tu_i\rVert\geq\frac{1}{k+1}, where x\lVert x\rVert is the distance from xx to the closest integer. This statement is known as the Lonely Runner Conjecture. A computational method developed by Rosenfeld and the second author verified the conjecture for k9k\leq9. We further refine this method with new sieving techniques and employ a polynomial method argument to show that any (u1,,uk)(1,2,,k)(modp)(u_1,\ldots,u_k)\equiv(1,2,\ldots,k)\pmod{p} with gcd(u1,,uk)=1\gcd(u_1,\ldots,u_k)=1 satisfies the conjecture when k+1k+1 and p>k2+kp > k^2+k are both odd primes. Ultimately, we provide a computer-assisted proof of the Lonely Runner Conjecture for k{10,11,12}k\in\{10,11,12\}.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.23906,
  title  = {Eleven, twelve, and thirteen lonely runners},
  author = {Touch Sungkawichai and Tanupat Trakulthongchai},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.23906},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T12:36:07.597Z