Graph-based lemma retrieval that follows dependency chains improves theorem proving success rates by up to 40%, showing that understanding how mathematical concepts depend on each other is more powerful than keyword matching alone.
This paper presents LeanGraphSearch, a retrieval system for formal theorem proving that uses dependency graphs to find relevant lemmas. Instead of just matching keywords, it traces multi-hop connections between mathematical declarations in Lean's Mathlib library, uncovering supporting lemmas that help prove theorems more effectively.