English

Minimum Steps to reach to a Smaller Number in 3n+1/Collatz Process

General Mathematics 2026-01-28 v16

Abstract

We analyze the stopping-time and cycle structure of the normalized Collatz iteration. Using a recursive description of admissible binary sequences, we show that every integer m3(mod4)m \equiv 3 \pmod{4} arises uniquely and derive new bounds for the associated stopping and cycle numbers. These bounds imply that Fq(m)/m1F_{q}(m)/m \to 1 as the sequence length increases, while equality is impossible for any finite sequence. Consequently, no finite nontrivial cycle is compatible with the iteration, and the trivial cycle at 11 is the only admissible periodic orbit.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2112.12962,
  title  = {Minimum Steps to reach to a Smaller Number in 3n+1/Collatz Process},
  author = {Daohang Sha},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2112.12962},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

15 pages, 3 table, 3 figures