Alex Shvets

Independent Researcher · Haifa, Israel

About

I am an independent researcher in Haifa, Israel, working across two areas of mathematics: the information-theoretic foundations of differential privacy, and analytic number theory.

In privacy and information theory, I study the exact finite-sample theory of privacy amplification by shuffling — the mechanism by which anonymizing user reports can provably strengthen differential privacy guarantees. This work develops a complete asymptotic and exact framework for the shuffle model: sharp Gaussian and non-Gaussian limits for neighboring experiments, optimal mechanism design under local privacy constraints, and exact privacy envelopes that go beyond existing upper bounds.

In number theory, I work on supercongruences and Apéry-type limits for hypergeometric and Calabi–Yau sequences, using modular forms, eta-products, Eichler integrals, and Belyi pullbacks. Recent results include an unconditional mod-p⁴ supercongruence for symmetric-cube coefficients, a CM-enhanced split-prime supercongruence at the point (1/6, 1/3; 1), and a proof of the Ramanujan-Machine continued-fraction conjecture Z₂.

Research interests: differential privacy, information theory, shuffle model, f-divergences, supercongruences, Apéry-like sequences, modular forms, Calabi–Yau differential operators.

Information Theory

March 2026
Anchored Likelihood-Ratio Geometry of Anonymous Shuffle Experiments: Exact Privacy Envelopes and Universal Low-Budget Design
Alex Shvets · arXiv:2603.21197 · cs.IT
A geometric framework for anonymous shuffle experiments based on an anchored affine likelihood-ratio law: a mean-zero measure on the regular simplex polytope. Every finite-output d-ary channel corresponds, up to refinements, to a unique anchored law, and conversely. On privacy: among all ε₀-LDP channels, binary randomized response universally extremizes all convex f-divergences and all hockey-stick profiles after shuffling. A rigidity converse shows that saturation of both directed envelopes at finite n forces the binary endpoint law. On design: exact finite-n canonical optimality formulas under the pairwise χ*-budget, a trace-cap theorem, and a two-orbit reduction of the global χ* frontier. In the low-budget regime, augmented randomized response is asymptotically minimax-optimal to the sharp leading constant. Self-contained; does not rely on the author's trilogy.
March 2026
Growing Alphabets Do Not Automatically Amplify Shuffle Privacy: Obstruction, Estimation Bounds, and Optimal Mechanism Design
Alex Shvets · arXiv:2603.18080 · cs.IT
One-step neighboring shuffle experiments for ε₀-LDP channels along growing alphabets d → ∞ and optimal mechanism design for frequency estimation. An exact compression theorem, universal extremal bound χ²(W) ≤ (eᵋ⁰−1)²/eᵋ⁰ sharp iff the likelihood ratio is two-point, explicit obstruction families, and a sharp diluting/persistent dichotomy. Universal minimax lower bound of order (d−1)/(nχ*(W)). Augmented GRR — a fraction p of users applies aggressive GRR with λ* = √(d−1), the rest send null — is optimal under the canonical χ²-budget. GRR is the unique matched-budget optimizer within the subset-selection family.
Part III · March 2026
Universal Shuffle Asymptotics, Part III: Dominant-Block Quotient Geometry and Hybrid Gaussian–Compound-Poisson Limits in Finite-Alphabet Shuffle Privacy
Alex Shvets · arXiv:2603.13407 · cs.IT
Completes the finite-alphabet weak-limit theory by identifying the dominant-block quotient geometry governing neighboring shuffle experiments. Dominant blocks of arbitrary finite size, overlap between dominant output sets, and a decomposition: projecting onto the sum of dominant tangent spaces yields a Gaussian factor, while quotienting isolates a compound-Poisson jump field. Sharp O(n⁻¹/²) rate with an explicit compatibility condition for the sharper O(n⁻¹) rate, a boundary Berry–Esseen theorem, and a strong-boundary obstruction. Together with Parts I–II, yields a three-regime universality picture and a precise finite-alphabet Lévy–Khintchine layer for shuffle privacy.
Part II · March 2026
Universal Shuffle Asymptotics, Part II: Non-Gaussian Limits for Shuffle Privacy — Poisson, Skellam, and Compound-Poisson Regimes
Alex Shvets · arXiv:2603.10073 · math.ST
Characterizes the first universality-breaking frontier for shuffle experiments. When exp(ε₀)/n → c², the Gaussian limit fails: Poisson-shift limits for canonical neighboring pairs, Skellam-shift limits for proportional compositions, and multivariate compound-Poisson limits for general finite alphabets. Explicit Le Cam rates of O(n⁻¹) and quantitative privacy curve convergence. Together with Part I, yields a three-regime picture: Gaussian/GDP, critical Poisson/Skellam/compound-Poisson, and super-critical no privacy.
Part I · January 2026
Universal Shuffle Asymptotics: Sharp Privacy Analysis in the Gaussian Regime
Alex Shvets · arXiv:2602.09029 · cs.IT · Submitted 17 Jan 2026
A sharp, experiment-level privacy theory for amplification by shuffling in the Gaussian regime. Exact likelihood-ratio identities for shuffled histograms, a complete conditional-expectation linearization theorem, sharp Jensen–Shannon divergence expansions with universal leading constant I_π/(8n), equivalence to Gaussian Differential Privacy with Berry–Esseen bounds, the full limiting (ε,δ) privacy curve, and Local Asymptotic Normality with quantitative Le Cam equivalence.

Number Theory

May 2026
Split-prime supercongruence at the mixed CM point (1/6, 1/3; 1)
Alex Shvets · arXiv:2605.19773 · math.NT
For the mixed CM point (a,b,c) = (1/6, 1/3, 1), define Aₙᵐⁱˣ := 108ⁿ[zⁿ] ₂F₁(1/6, 1/3; 1; z)³. For every split prime p ≥ 7, p ≡ 1 (mod 3), and every m ≥ 1, we prove unconditionally Aₘₚᵐⁱˣ ≡ Aₘᵐⁱˣ (mod p⁴). The exponent 4 exceeds the generic weight-3 Hodge-gap prediction of 3; the extra factor of p is a CM enhancement attached to j = 0. We also establish the matching unconditional inert-prime obstruction (p ≡ 2 mod 3), both as a formal-parameter congruence on the q-side and as a coefficient-level Cartier parity law modulo p. The proof uses the modular realization on Γ₀(3) with parameter t = u/(1+27u)², a Lagrange–Bürmann reduction to three Cartier identities Λₚ(Cₘᵢₓ·Uₚ^ℓ) ≡ 0 (mod p⁴) for ℓ = 1, 2, 3, a saturated weak q-expansion lattice on the rigidified stack X₀(3) handling vertical integrality, and a length-three Witt–Cartier pole estimate at the elliptic point P₋ driven by μ₃-equivariance of the canonical Frobenius lift.
April 2026
Eta-products, Eichler integrals, and the level-8 Apéry limit
Alex Shvets · arXiv:2604.14219 · math.NT
We give an independent eta-product derivation of the level-8 Apéry limit lim Bₙ⁽⁸⁾/sₙ = (7/32)ζ(3), where sₙ = Σ_{k=0}^n C(n,k)²·C(2k,n)² and Bₙ⁽⁸⁾ is the rational companion sequence satisfying the same cubic recurrence with initial values B₀⁽⁸⁾ = 0, B₁⁽⁸⁾ = 1. This value was identified numerically by Almkvist–van Straten–Zudilin and proved by Golyshev via Beukers's Atkin–Lehner modular method; it was later recomputed by Golyshev–Kerr–Sasaki in the motivic / normal-function framework. The continued fraction PCF((2n+1)(3n²+3n+1), −n⁶) = 8/(7ζ(3)) already appears in Batut–Olivier and was later rediscovered by the Ramanujan Machine as conjecture Z1. The contribution of the present paper is an explicit rederivation, in the eta-product normalization, of the already-known level-8 Apéry limit: the eta-product verification of the Wronskian identity, the normalization of the Eichler integral, the residue computation of the Fricke period polynomial, and the elementary continuant conversion.
April 2026
Order-3 pi-formulas, Apéry-like kernels, and Clausen functoriality for Conservative Matrix Fields
Alex Shvets · arXiv:2604.09723 · math.NT
Raz, Shalyt, Leibtag, Kalisch, Weinbaum, Hadad, and Kaminer recently showed that formulas for π can be organized by canonical polynomial recurrences and partially unified by a rank-2 Conservative Matrix Field (CMF). We prove that each order-3 recurrence explicitly printed in the public Appendix B.6 of their paper is a shifted summation lift of an explicit order-2 kernel, and identify all three kernels: the two π-kernels are explicit rescalings of the sporadic Apéry-like sequences A036917 and A002895 (Domb numbers, case (α)), while the Catalan kernel is a hypergeometric twist of the Gauss-square coefficient sequence at (a,b,c) = (1/2, 1, 3/2). We place these kernels in a unified Sym² framework: the first π-kernel and the Catalan kernel come directly from Gauss-square coefficient sequences, while the Domb kernel is recovered by recasting the classical degree-3 Belyi pullback φ(x) = 108x²/(1−4x)³ and the associated algebraic twist in CMF language. We write an explicit square-gauge matrix for the Gauss CMF, formulate the standard pullback–twist transport in CMF terms, and show that for rank-2 objects it is compatible with Sym². We further prove an inverse classification: for a fixed Sym²-type Riemann scheme, the one-parameter family of Fuchsian operators contains a unique Sym²(Gauss) point, cut out by the closed-form condition λ₀ = 2γ₁γ₂(1−2α) on the accessory parameter. Finally, a Belyi-pullback scan over 5040 configurations produces 11 additional integer sequences of the form [xⁿ]λⁿ·₂F₁(a,b;c;φ(x))²; we prove their integrality and place them in the same Sym²-pullback framework.
April 2026
The Domb Apéry-limit and a proof of the Ramanujan Machine conjecture Z2
Alex Shvets · arXiv:2604.06239 · math.NT
We prove that the ratio Bₙ/Dₙ of the Apéry-like sequence Bₙ to the Domb numbers Dₙ converges to (7/24)ζ(3), and that Σ_{n=1}^∞ 64ⁿ/(n³·Dₙ·Dₙ₋₁) = (56/3)ζ(3). As a corollary we establish the value Z₂ = 12/(7ζ(3)) conjectured by the Ramanujan Machine project. The proof uses level-6 eta products, Atkin–Lehner involutions, and Eichler integrals of weight-4 modular forms.
April 2026
Order drop, Hecke descent, and a mod p⁴ supercongruence for symmetric-cube hypergeometric coefficients
Alex Shvets · arXiv:2604.06238 · math.NT
We prove that the symmetric-cube coefficients Aₙ = (−27)ⁿ[zⁿ] ₂F₁(1/3, 1/3; 1; z)³ satisfy the supercongruence A(mp) ≡ A(m) (mod p⁴) for every prime p ≥ 5 and every m ≥ 1. The proof rests on three ingredients: (i) the modular identification F(t(τ)) = η(τ)⁹/η(3τ)³ with t(τ) = η(3τ)¹²/η(τ)¹², whose logarithmic derivative is the weight-5 Eisenstein series C(q) = 3E₅(χ₀, χ₃) on Γ₀(3); (ii) exact congruences cₘₚʳ ≡ cₘₚʳ⁻¹ (mod p⁴ʳ) for the coefficients of C, combined with a Lagrange–Bürmann extraction; and (iii) a Hecke descent on weakly holomorphic forms, where the defect is expanded in the two-dimensional space of weight-5 forms on Γ₀(3) with character χ₃, spanned by C and tC, via a cusp-adapted basis, with the second cusp handled by the Fricke involution W₃. As an independent result, we show that the Mao–Tian cubic recurrence drops from order 3 to order 2 at the specialization (1/3, 1/3, 1).

Sequences

Integer sequences contributed to the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS).

A393810
Expansion of ₂F₁(1/6, 1/2; 1/2; 27x/(1−4x)³)²
A393983
108ⁿ [zⁿ] ₂F₁(1/6, 1/3; 1; z)³ — symmetric-cube coefficients at the mixed CM point (1/6, 1/3; 1)
A394679
Expansion of ₂F₁(1/4, 3/4; 1/2; 4x/(1−x)²)²
A394680
Expansion of ₂F₁(1/3, 2/3; 3/2; 27x/(1−4x)³)²
A395124
Expansion of ₂F₁(1/3, 2/3; 1; 27x/(1−4x)³)²
A395125
Expansion of ₂F₁(1/3, 1/3; 1; 27x/(1−4x)³)²
A395287
27ⁿ [zⁿ] ₂F₁(1/3, 1/3; 1; z)³ — level-3 Apéry-like sequence
A396281
Holomorphic solution of the Calabi–Yau operator AESZ #182 (case 2.64); conjectural Apéry limit (3/11)ζ(3)