Boolean Rank Nine for Polygons with 35 to 40 Vertices

Abstract

We give a computer-assisted proof that the rectangle covering number, or Boolean rank, of every polygon slack matrix of order 35 through 40 is nine. The upper bound is due to Goucha, Gouveia, and Silva; the new contribution is the matching lower bound. A hypothetical covering by eight rectangles yields a saturated inclusion cycle between two antichains on eight coordinates. An exact maximal-chain identity bounds its length and assigns a nonnegative penalty to each inclusion edge. The equality case is excluded combinatorially, leaving at most 39 lower vertices. For orders 35 through 39, symmetry reductions and a shadow bound leave fifteen finite exclusions, each supported by a checked reverse-unit-propagation refutation. The main text presents the mathematical reductions and their dependencies; the accompanying supplement gives the complete cycle parameters, encodings, and certificate record. The previously known equality for orders 41 through 55 is cited directly.