OPEN
This is open, and cannot be resolved with a finite computation.
Let $m(n)$ be minimal such that there is an $n$-uniform hypergraph with $m(n)$ edges which is $3$-chromatic. Estimate $m(n)$.
In other words, the hypergraph does not have
Property B. Property B means that there is a set $S$ which intersects all edges and yet does not contain any edge.
It is known that $m(2)=3$, $m(3)=7$, and $m(4)=23$. Erdős proved\[2^n \ll m(n) \ll n^2 2^n\](the lower bound in
[Er63b] and the upper bound in
[Er64e]). Erdős conjectured that $m(n)/2^n\to \infty$, which was proved by Beck
[Be77], who proved $m(n)\gg (\log n)2^n$, and later
[Be78] improved this to\[n^{1/3-o(1)}2^n \ll m(n).\]Radhakrishnan and Srinivasan
[RaSr00] improved this to\[\sqrt{\frac{n}{\log n}}2^n \ll m(n).\]Pluhar
[Pl09] gave a very short proof that $m(n) \gg n^{1/4}2^n$.
View the LaTeX source
Additional thanks to: Jozsef Balogh
When referring to this problem, please use the original sources of Erdős. If you wish to acknowledge this website, the recommended citation format is:
T. F. Bloom, Erdős Problem #901, https://www.erdosproblems.com/901, accessed 2025-12-07