EFX allocations exist for multigraph instances under cancelable valuations and can be computed in polynomial time.
A Counterexample to EFX $n \ge 3$ Agents, $m \ge n + 5$ Items, Submodular Valuations via SAT-Solving
2 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
abstract
The existence of EFX allocations is a central open problem in discrete fair division. An allocation is EFX (envy-free up to any good) if no agent envies another agent after the removal of any single good from the other agent's bundle. We resolve this longstanding question by providing the \textbf{first-ever counterexample} to the existence of EFX allocations for agents with monotone valuations, which in turn immediately implies a counterexample for submodular valuations. Specifically, we show that EFX allocations need not exist for instances with $n \ge 3$ agents and $m \ge n+5$ goods. In contrast, we prove that every instance with three agents and seven goods admits an EFX allocation. Both results are obtained via SAT solving. We encode the negation of EFX existence as a SAT instance: satisfiability yields a counterexample, while unsatisfiability establishes universal existence. The correctness of the encoding is formally verified in Lean. Finally, we establish positive guarantees for fair allocations with three agents and an arbitrary number of goods. Although EFX allocations may fail to exist, we prove that every instance with three agents and monotone valuations admits at least one of two natural relaxations of EFX: tEFX, or EF1 and EEFX.
fields
cs.GT 2years
2026 2verdicts
UNVERDICTED 2representative citing papers
Existence of EF1 and constant-ρ MMS allocations proven for submodular valuations.
citing papers explorer
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EFX Allocations Exist on Multi-Graphs
EFX allocations exist for multigraph instances under cancelable valuations and can be computed in polynomial time.
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Simultaneous EF1 and approximate MMS allocations for submodular valuations
Existence of EF1 and constant-ρ MMS allocations proven for submodular valuations.