English

A simple proof for generalized Fibonacci numbers with dying rabbits

History and Overview 2025-04-10 v4

Abstract

We consider the generalized Fibonacci counting problem with rabbits that become fertile at age ff and die at age dd, with 1<=f<=d1<=f<=d and dd finite or infinite. We provide a simple proof, based exclusively on a counting argumentation, for a recursive formula that gives the nnth generalized Fibonacci number as a function of at most 3 previous numbers. The formula generalizes both the original Fibonacci sequence, for f=2f=2 and d=d=\infty (or f=1f=1 and d=2d=2), and other Fibonacci-related sequences, such as the Padovan sequence, for f=2f=2 and d=3d=3, the Tribonacci, for f=1f=1 and d=3d=3, Tetranacci, for f=1f=1 and d=4d=4, and alike sequences, for f=1f=1 and finite values of dd.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2312.13098,
  title  = {A simple proof for generalized Fibonacci numbers with dying rabbits},
  author = {Roberto De Prisco},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2312.13098},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T13:57:39.411Z