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March 22, 20260 citationsOpen Access

A Machine-Verified Natural Proofs Barrier in Lean 4

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ALAlex Li

Key Points

  • This research aims to formalize the natural proofs barrier in Lean 4 to demonstrate its implications regarding pseudorandom function generators.
  • Formalized the natural proofs barrier in Lean 4 with approximately 400 lines of code.
  • Identified definitions that allow mechanization of the barrier proof without requiring probabilistic infrastructure.
  • Formalized the Shannon counting argument regarding Boolean functions and large circuits.
  • Established that if pseudorandom function generators exist, then no natural combinatorial property is useful against P/poly.
  • The formalization contains no unresolved proof obligations.

Abstract

The natural proofs barrier (Razborov--Rudich 1997) has had no machine-verified formalization in any proof assistant. We formalize it in Lean 4: if pseudorandom function generators exist, then no natural combinatorial property is useful against P/poly. The formalization is approximately 400 lines of Lean 4 with no unresolved proof obligations. We identify definition choices that make the barrier proof mechanizable without probabilistic infrastructure and analyze why simpler alternatives fail. We also formalize the Shannon counting argument: most Boolean functions require large circuits.

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Cite This Study

Alex Li (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69bf393dc7b3c90b18b43a08https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19132831
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