Related papers: There are no cycles in the $3n+1$ sequence

The $3x+1$ Problem asks if whether for every natural number $n$, there exists a finite number of iterations of the piecewise function $$f(2n)=n, \quad f(2n-1)=6n-2, $$ with an iterate equal to the number $1$, or in other words, every…

It is well known that the Collatz Conjecture can be reinterpreted as the Collatz Graph with root vertex 1, asking whether all positive integers are within the tree generated. It is further known that any cycle in the Collatz Graph can be…

Lothar Collatz had proposed in 1937 a conjecture in number theory called Collatz conjecture. Till today there is no evidence of proving or disproving the conjecture. In this paper, we propose an algorithmic approach for verification of the…

The Collatz problem is generalized into $3n + 3^k$ problem. It is shown that as long as the Collatz function iterates converge to the cycle passing through the number 1, the $3n + 3^k$ sequence converges to the cycle passing through the…

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 $m \equiv 3 \pmod{4}$ arises uniquely and derive new bounds for…

The Collatz conjecture asserts that repeatedly iterating $f(x) = (3x + 1)/2^{a(x)}$, where $a(x)$ is the highest exponent for which $2^{a(x)}$ exactly divides $3x+1$, always lead to $1$ for any odd positive integer $x$. Here, we present an…

The famous (3n + 1) or Collatz conjecture has admitted some progress over the last several decades towards the conclusion that the conjecture is true (i.e. that all Collatz sequences will eventually reach a value of one), but has stubbornly…

This paper studies certain trajectories of the Collatz function. I show that if for each odd number $n$, $n\sim 3n+2$ then every positive integer $n \in \mathbb{N}\setminus 2^{\mathbb{N}}$ has the representation…

Exploring the Collatz Conjecture and changing the expression from 3n + 1 to 5n + 1, we found patterns in different sets of numbers. Some numbers reduce to one (as stated in the Collatz Conjecture), some might escape to infinity, and some…

The Collatz conjecture states that repeated steps of $n\mathrm{\to }\mathrm{3}n\mathrm{+1}$ at odd numbers and $n\mathrm{\to }n\mathrm{/2}$ at even numbers amount to walks over root paths to the branching number $c=4$ in the `trivial'…

A mapping conjugate to the Collatz mapping seems to imply that $\N=\{1,2,3,\ldots\}$ is partitioned in a trivial loop $\{1\}$ and `strings' that are ordered subsets of $\{\N \setminus 1\}$ that run from an element of $\{2+3\0\}$ to an…

We explore the cycles and convergence of Generalized Collatz Sequence, where $3n+1$ in original collatz function is replaced with $3n+k$. We present a generating function for cycles of GCS and show a particular inheritance structure of…

In this paper we introduce and discuss the sequence of \emph{real numbers} defined as $u_0 \in \mathbb R$ and $u_{n+1} = \Delta(u_n)$ where \begin{equation*} \Delta(x) = \begin{cases} \frac{x}{2} &\text{if }…

Let $g$ be a map from the set of positive integers into itself defined as follows: Let $x$ be a positive integer. If $x$ is odd, then $g(x)=3x+1$, and if $x$ is even, then $g(x)=x/2$. The $3x+1$ conjecture, also called the Collatz…

The document tries to put focus on sequences with certain properties and periods leading to the first value smaller than the starting value in the Collatz problem. With the idea that, if all starting numbers lead ultimately to a smaller…

In this paper; we prove that all sequences can be broken up in cycles. Each cycle follows the same pattern: 1) Upward trajectory. Odd and even numbers alternate until the cycle reaches an upper bound 2) Downward trajectory. Two or more…

The 3x+ 1 problem concerns iteration of the map on the integers given by T(n) = (3n+1)/2 if n is odd; T(n) = n/2 if n is even. The 3x+1 Conjecture asserts that for every positive integer n > 1 the forward orbit of n under iteration by T…

The Collatz Conjecture (also known as the 3x+1 Problem) proposes that the following algorithm will, after a certain number of iterations, always yield the number 1: given a natural number, multiply by three and add one if the number is odd,…

Define the following order among all natural numbers except for 2 and 1: \[ 4\gg 6\gg 3\gg \dots \gg 4n\gg 4n+2\gg 2n+1\gg 4n+4\gg\dots \] Let $f$ be a continuous interval map. We show that if $m\gg s$ and $f$ has a cycle with no division…

In this article, we reduce the unsolved problem of convergence of Collatz sequences to convergence of Collatz sequences of odd numbers that are divisible by 3. We give an elementary proof of the fact that a Collatz sequence does not…