English
Related papers

Related papers: A Refinement of the $3x+1$ Conjecture

200 papers

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…

History and Overview · Mathematics 2020-05-19 Roy Burson

In this paper, we convert Collatz map into a simple conjugate iterative maps defined in [0,1]. Such maps are more familiar to us and easier to deal with. Some new features of this map are observed by this method. An interesting heuristic…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2007-05-23 Wang Liang

The $3x+1$ Conjecture asserts that the $T$-orbit of every positive integer $x$ contains $1$, where $T$ maps $x$ to $x/2$ for $x$ even and to $(3x+1)/2$ for $x$ odd. Several authors have studied the analogous map, $T_q$, which maps $x\in…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2025-11-19 Kenneth G. Monks

A structured approach for the Collatz conjecture is presented using just the odd integers that are, in turn, divided into categories based on the roles they play such as Starter, Intermediary and Terminal. The expression 4x+1 is used as a…

General Mathematics · Mathematics 2020-08-21 Ken Surendran , Desarazu Krishna Babu

The 3x+1 Conjecture asserts that the T-orbit of every positive integer contains 1, where T maps x\mapsto x/2 for x even and x\mapsto (3x+1)/2 for x odd. A set S of positive integers is sufficient if the orbit of each positive integer…

Dynamical Systems · Mathematics 2012-04-23 Keenan Monks , Kenneth G. Monks , Kenneth M. Monks , Maria Monks

This paper is an overview and survey of work on the 3x+1 problem, also called the Collatz problem, and generalizations of it. It gives a history of the problem. It addresses two questions: (1) What can mathematics currently say about this…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2021-11-05 Jeffrey C. Lagarias

The $3x+1$ problem, also called the Collatz conjecture, is a very interesting unsolved mathematical problem related to computer science. This paper generalized this problem by relaxing the constraints, i.e., generalizing this deterministic…

Computational Complexity · Computer Science 2013-11-25 Bojin Zheng , Yangqian Su , Hongrun Wu , Li Kuang

We here elaborate on a quantitative argument to support the validity of the Collatz conjecture, also known as the (3x + 1) or Syracuse conjecture. The analysis is structured as follows. First, three distinct fixed points are found for the…

Dynamical Systems · Mathematics 2016-12-28 Timoteo Carletti , Duccio Fanelli

We formulate some refinements of Goldbach's conjectures based on heuristic arguments and numerical data. For instance, any even number greater than 4 is conjectured to be a sum of two primes with one prime being 3 mod 4. In general, for…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2022-05-05 Kimball Martin

The Collatz conjecture can be stated in terms of the reduced Collatz function R(x) = (3x+1)/2^m (where 2^m is the larger power of 2 that divides 3x+1). The conjecture is: Starting from any odd positive integer and repeating R(x) we…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2017-03-14 Livio Colussi

The $3x+1$ map $T$ is defined on the $2$-adic integers $\mathbb{Z}_2$ by $T(x)=x/2$ for even $x$ and $T(x)=(3x+1)/2$ for odd $x$. It is still unproved that under iteration of $T$ the trajectory of any rational $2$-adic integer is eventually…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2021-02-01 Josefina López , Peter Stoll

This paper discusses stochastic models for predicting the long-time behavior of the trajectories of orbits of the 3x+1 problem and, for comparison, the 5x+1 problem. The stochastic models are rigorously analyzable, and yield heuristic…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2011-06-22 Alex V. Kontorovich , Jeffrey C. Lagarias

Repeatedly adding or subtracting the digital reversal to or from an integer, depending on which one is larger, can be treated as a dynamical system. On one hand, a three-digit version of this map running only two steps is the 1089…

Chaotic Dynamics · Physics 2026-03-16 Yannis Almirantis , Wentian Li

Sequence of numbers generated by the recurrence relation based on the Collatz conjecture is investigated. An arithmetic operation on the Collatz conjecture is called descending operation, and ascending operation is carried out reversely to…

General Mathematics · Mathematics 2023-11-22 Kyo Jin Ihn

Take an odd number x >0. Then 3x+1 is even and one can find an integer k> 0 so that y= 3x+1/2^k is again odd. We get in this way the mapping T, Tx=y. The paper contains two theorems describing statistical properties of T. The first…

Dynamical Systems · Mathematics 2007-05-23 Yakov Sinai

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…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2019-08-06 Maarten J. Wensink

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,…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2020-01-28 Matt Hohertz , Bahman Kalantari

We characterise the modular behaviour of (generalised) Ap\'ery number modulo $9$, thereby in particular establishing two conjectures in "A method for determining the mod-$3^k$ behaviour of recursive sequences" [arXiv:1308.2856].

Number Theory · Mathematics 2014-12-30 C. Krattenthaler , Thomas W. Müller

Paul Erdos claimed that mathematics is not yet ready to settle the 3x+1 conjecture. I agree, but very soon it will be! With the exponential growth of computer-generated mathematics, we (or rather our silicon brethrern) would have a shot at…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2009-03-25 Doron Zeilberger

We propose Reduced Collatz Conjecture that is equivalent to Collatz Conjecture, which states that every positive integer can return to an integer less than it, instead of 1. Reduced Collatz Conjecture is easier to explore because certain…

General Mathematics · Mathematics 2023-04-25 Wei Ren