English

Ducci on $\mathbb{Z}_m^n$ and the Maximum Length for $n$ Odd

Number Theory 2024-08-30 v2 Group Theory

Abstract

Define the Ducci function D:ZmnZmnD: \mathbb{Z}_m^n \to \mathbb{Z}_m^n so D(x1,x2,...,xn)=(x1+x2  mod  m,x2+x3  mod  m,...,xn+x1  mod  m).D(x_1,x_2, ...,x_n)=(x_1+x_2 \;\text{mod} \; m, x_2+x_3 \; \text{mod} \; m, ..., x_n+x_1 \; \text{mod} \; m). Call {Dα(u)}α=0\{D^{\alpha}(\mathbf{u})\}_{\alpha=0}^{\infty} the Ducci sequence of u\mathbf{u}. Because Zmn\mathbb{Z}_m^n is finite, every Ducci sequence will enter a cycle. In this paper, we will prove that if nn is odd and m=2lm1m=2^lm_1 where m1m_1 is odd, then the longest it will take for a Ducci sequence to enter its cycle is ll iterations. Furthermore, we will prove the set of all tuples in a cycle for Zmn\mathbb{Z}_m^n is {(x1,x2,...,xn)Zmn    x1+x2++xn0  mod  2l}\{(x_1, x_2, ..., x_n) \in \mathbb{Z}_m^n \; \mid \; x_1+x_2+ \cdots +x_n \equiv 0 \; \text{mod} \; 2^l\}.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2403.05319,
  title  = {Ducci on $\mathbb{Z}_m^n$ and the Maximum Length for $n$ Odd},
  author = {Mark L. Lewis and Shannon M. Tefft},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.05319},
  year   = {2024}
}