T-197: Daniel's smaller n155 packing, started from Ostashev's packing

V3 C3 Upper bound confirmed

2026-10-17 published · Daniel after Ostashev, Levy · n=155

One complete rational source certificate reports a finite upper-bound improvement at the exact side it states: s(155)≤2590452188930112807053435932173/200000000000000000000000000000.

The certificate and its duplicate-square and outside-container controls were decided here on 19 October 2026 by both maintained exact routes, and the frozen comparison rebuilt; no route here is the source's code, so the replay is independently re-implemented. The 19 October review found no blocking defect.

Issue 669 reports a different numerical local minimum found by Daniel's basin explorer from Ostashev's T-149 packing, the register's witness for 155 when the search ran, after a chain of 18 moves; no load-bearing tilt angle is shared with T-149. Its original and same-side regularized display certificates state one bound. KKT and local-minimum statements are the author's numerical evidence, not proofs. The issue says the work was done with Claude (Claude Code) under Daniel's direction.

Significance, composition and next rung
Significance
A new arrangement at 155, 1.64e-04 below the case and every report, found from Ostashev's packing, as T-149, T-160 and T-183 are; no lower bound or optimum.
Next rung
None for the bound. V4 and C4 need a second accepted adversarial review by a distinct reviewer and a retained human oversight record; one AI review, of 19 October, is retained.
Regularized drawings
n = 155: a regularization of T-197’s packing by Levy (regularize_grid_slack/1: Daniel's coincidence placement (evand/square-packing search/regularize reg.coincidences and reg.place, MIT), ported to start from the witness's exact frame and to keep its contacts, then the same-side exact re-solve, through devtools.regularize_grid_slack; the project’s modifications: port of his coincidence placement (regularize_grid_slack/1) rather than his code, same-side exact re-solve (devtools.regularize_same_side); at its own side; identity: measured here; nearest centres one to one; 14 squares moved, at most 0.125899; turns up to 0.00904477°).
Novelty
previously-published Present in an identified source

The case

Case record
Regularized by the Squares Project with Daniel's regularizer (evand/square-packing, MIT)
As published
The packing as published, Daniel 2026 [Daniel n155 explorer 2026-10-17]

n=155

12.4612.952
121314
12.45013.450
nn+1

Proven

12.46870≤s(155)≤12.952261

  • exact

Citation record n-155

lowerKarakuş 2026, arXiv corrects Nagamochi 2005 (confirmed T-083)

upperDaniel 2026, GitHub (confirmed T-197)

Open

  • optimality

The case record

LowerUpper
Gap0.48355174…

Results on the case

12 results in the register on n=155, oldest first, each with what it established and how it stands now.

  1. 2005 published T-007

    s(n)≥min(⌈n⌉,n−2⌊n⌋+1+1) for 4≤n≤324

    V0 C1 Lower bound incomplete on this case, superseded by T-083 and T-180 (reported)

    Nagamochi · Nagamochi 2005 · source · register

  2. 2026-09-04 published T-085

    Nagamochi 2005, Lemma 1 is false for every container with a>3 and b>2

    V3 C3 Correction confirmed

    Karakuş; Vlasenko · Karakuş 2026 · chelokot Nagamochi counterexample 2026 · packet · register

  3. 2026-09-27 published T-056

    Smaller packings for 49 counts from n=68 to 307, each certified two independent ways

    V3 C3 Upper bound confirmed superseded by T-197

    Couzo · franciscouzo square-packing 2026-09-27 · packet · register

  4. 2026-09-29 published T-083

    s(n)≥1/2+n−⌊n⌋+1/4 for every nonsquare 8≤n≤324

    V3 C3 Lower bound confirmed

    Karakuş · Karakuş 2026 · source · register

  5. 2026-10-05 published T-098

    Exact optima of 48 known-best packings: s(n) ≤ S', 3.5e-13 to 5.0e-11 below each printed side

    V3 C3 Upper bound confirmed on this case, superseded by T-197

    Daniel after Couzo, de Winter, Ellsworth, Levy · evand exact optima 2026-10-05 · packet · register

  6. 2026-10-07 published T-113

    s(n)≤Sn at ten counts, n=108 to 303, from new SQUISH rational packings

    V3 C3 Upper bound confirmed superseded by T-197

    Chaoweeraprasit after Ellsworth · SQUISH ten packings 2026-10-07 · packet · register

  7. 2026-10-07 published T-115

    s(n)≤Sn at twelve counts, from the SQUISH update’s new and smaller rational packings

    V3 C3 Upper bound confirmed superseded by T-197

    Chaoweeraprasit after Couzo and Ellsworth · SQUISH update 2026-10-07 · packet · register

  8. 2026-10-08 published T-128

    Eight complete rational refinements from Couzo

    V3 C3 Upper bound confirmed superseded by T-197

    Couzo after Xu, Chaoweeraprasit, Gupta, Ellsworth, Daniel, Levy · Couzo exact refinements 2026-10-08 · packet · register

  9. 2026-10-11 published T-149

    New packings of 155, 156 and 211 squares, each with an exact rational certificate

    V3 C3 Upper bound confirmed superseded by T-197

    Ostashev after Nakajima, Levy, Xu · Ostashev records 2026-10-11 · packet · register

  10. 2026-10-13 published T-174

    Tighter certificates at 68 counts from PingYou Ltd, of others' packings and its own

    V3 C3 Upper bound confirmed on this case, superseded by T-197

    PingYou Ltd after Friedman, Ellsworth, Daniel, Xu, Barnett, Couzo, Ostashev, Chaoweeraprasit, Gupta, Fang, Polkovskyi, Levy · PingYou PR 574 certificates 2026-10-13 · packet · register

  11. 2026-10-13 published T-180

    Closed-form lower bound s(N)≥a(N) for every non-square N≥49, reported

    V0 C1 Lower bound reviewed

    Hosono · wand125 closed form 2026-10-14 · packet · packet · register

  12. 2026-10-17 published T-197 this result

    Daniel's smaller n155 packing, started from Ostashev's packing

    V3 C3 Upper bound confirmed

    Daniel after Ostashev, Levy · Daniel n155 explorer 2026-10-17 · packet · register