Johannes Kepler University Linz Publishes Proof for Nakano’s Light Puzzle Algorithm

The RISC Report Series (2026) from the Institute for Symbolic Computing at Johannes Kepler University Linz presents a detailed correctness proof for a greedy algorithm that solves Nakano’s Problem, a light‑puzzle on a cube. The authors give a necessary and sufficient condition for transforming any configuration of on/off lights to the all‑off state by touching cube faces, and introduce an alternative criterion based on the parity of box sums.

The paper also discusses how these results support ongoing research into automating mathematical invention, combining automated reasoning with machine‑learning‑driven literature search. The 58‑page report is publicly available online.