English

On the Collatz general problem $qn+1$

General Mathematics 2021-01-08 v3

Abstract

In this work the generalized Collatz problem qn+1qn+1 (qq odd) is studied. As a natural generalization of the original 3n+13n+1 problem, it consists of a discrete dynamical system of an arithmetical kind. Using standard methods of number theory and dynamical systems, general properties are established, such as the existence of finitely many periodic sequences for each qq. In particular, when qq is a Mersenne number, q=2p1q=2^p-1, there only exists one such cycle, known as the trivial one. Further analysis based on a probabilistic model shows that for q=3q=3 the asymptotic behavior of all sequences is always convergent, whereas for q5q\geq 5 the asymptotic behavior of the sequences is divergent for almost all numbers (for a set of natural density one). This leads to the conclusion that the so called Collatz Conjecture is true, and that q=3q=3 is a very special case among the others (Crandall conjecture). Indeed, it is conjectured that the general problem qn+1qn+1 is undecidable.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2005.00346,
  title  = {On the Collatz general problem $qn+1$},
  author = {Robert Santos},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.00346},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

26 pages. Preprint. Submitted for a peer-review process. Comments on v3: Theorem 4 has been updated from q-1 possible cycles to finitely many possible cycles. The proof follows a new argument. Theorem 5 has a shorter proof and a separated lemma, and the proof of proposition 14 (now proposition 16) has been fixed. It is also included a new reference

R2 v1 2026-06-23T15:14:21.781Z