The Skolem Problem: a century-old enigma at the heart of computation
The Skolem Problem: a century-old enigma at the heart of computation (Presented by Joël Ouaknine as part of the Saaland Informatics Campus Lecture Series).
Abstract
It has been described as the most important problem whose decidability is still open: the Skolem Problem asks how to determine algorithmically whether a given integer linear recurrence sequence (such as the Fibonacci numbers) has a zero term. This deceptively simple question arises across a wide range of topics in computer science and mathematics, from program verification and automata theory to number theory and logic. This talk traces the history of the Skolem Problem: from the early 1930s to the current frontier of one of the most enduring open questions in computer science.
More information
Video information:
- Recording date: 04.02.2026
- Publication date: 06.02.2026
- License: CC BY
- Language: English
- Audience: Researchers, PhD, Postdoctoral students
- Director: Christian Klein
Lecture information:
- Speaker: Joël Ouaknine
- Affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Software Systems
- Event: Saarland Informatics Campus Lecture Series
- Fields: Algorithmic Verification
- Date: 04.02.2026
- Location: E1, 5, Lecture hall 002, Max Planck for Software Systems.
