Related papers: A Refinement of the $3x+1$ Conjecture
In probabilistic logic entailments, even moderate size problems can yield linear constraint systems with so many variables that exact methods are impractical. This difficulty can be remedied in many cases of interest by introducing a three…
We discuss the recently developed method of refined absorption and how it is used to provide a new proof of the Existence Conjecture for combinatorial designs. This method can also be applied to resolve open problems in extremal and…
It is well known that the repeated square and multiply algorithm is an efficient way of modular exponentiation. The obvious question to ask is if this algorithm has an inverse which would calculate the discrete logarithm efficiently. The…
Let $T(n)=\left\{\begin{array}{ll}3n+1&(n\hbox{ odd})\frac n2&(n\hbox{ even})\end{array}\right.$ ($n\in\mathbb Z$). We call "the orbit of the integer $n$", the set $$ \mathcal O_n:=\{m\in\mathbb Z\;:\;\exists k\ge0,\ m=T^k(n)\} $$ and we…
This paper proposes a formula expression for the well-known Collatz conjecture (or 3x+1 problem), which can pinpoint all the growth points in the orbits of the Collatz map for any natural numbers. The Collatz map $Col: \mathcal{N}+1…
We study an extension to the uniqueness conjecture for Markov numbers. For any three positive integers $m\geq a$ and $m\geq b$ satisfying $a^2+b^2+m^2=3abm$, this conjecture states that the triple $(a,m,b)$ is uniquely determined by the…
We present a method for obtaining congruences modulo powers of 3 for sequences given by recurrences of finite depth with polynomial coefficients. We apply this method to Catalan numbers, Motzkin numbers, Riordan numbers, Schr\"oder numbers,…
It has become standard for empirical studies to conduct inference robust to cluster dependence and heterogeneity. With a small number of clusters, the normal approximation for the $t$-statistics of regression coefficients may be poor. This…
We introduce a very natural generalization of the well-known problem of simultaneous congruences. Instead of searching for a positive integer $s$ that is specified by $n$ fixed remainders modulo integer divisors $a_1,\dots,a_n$ we consider…
We produce congruences modulo a prime $p>3$ for sums $\sum_k\binom{3k}{k}x^k$ over ranges $0\le k<q$ and $0\le k<q/3$, where $q$ is a power of $p$. Here $x$ equals either $c^2/(1-c)^3$, or $4s^2/\bigl(27(s^2-1)\bigr)$, where $c$ and $s$ are…
This paper gives an heuristic lower bound for the number of integers connected to 1 and less than $x$, $\theta(x) > 0.9x,$ in the context of the $3n+1$ problem.
Many of the 2-adic properties of the 3x+1 map generalize to the analogous mx+r map, where m and r are odd integers. We introduce the corresponding autoconjugacy map, prove some simple properties of it and make some further conjectures in…
We show that well-posed, conformally-decomposed formulations of the 3+1 Einstein equations can be obtained by densitizing the lapse and by combining the constraints with the evolution equations. We compute the characteristics structure and…
In this work the generalized Collatz problem $qn+1$ ($q$ odd) is studied. As a natural generalization of the original $3n+1$ problem, it consists of a discrete dynamical system of an arithmetical kind. Using standard methods of number…
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…
For any odd positive integer $x$, define $(x_n)_{n\geqslant 0} $ and $(a_n )_{n\geqslant 1} $ by setting $x_{0}=x, \,\, x_n =\cfrac{3x_{n-1} +1}{2^{a_n }}$ such that all $x_n $ are odd. The 3x+1 problem asserts that there is an $x_n =1$ for…
Binomial coefficients and central trinomial coefficients play important roles in combinatorics. Let $p>3$ be a prime. We show that $$T_{p-1}\equiv\left(\frac p3\right)3^{p-1}\ \pmod{p^2},$$ where the central trinomial coefficient $T_n$ is…
In its usual form, Freiman's 3k-4 theorem states that if A and B are subsets of the integers of size k with small sumset (of size close to 2k) then they are very close to arithmetic progressions. Our aim in this paper is to strengthen this…
It is conjectured that for any fixed relatively prime positive integers $a,b$ and $c$ all greater than 1 there is at most one solution to the equation $a^x+b^y=c^z$ in positive integers $x,y$ and $z$, except for specific cases. We develop…
We consider a variant of the ABC Conjecture, attempting to count the number of solutions to $A+B+C=0$, in relatively prime integers $A,B,C$ each of absolute value less than $N$ with $r(A)<|A|^a, r(B)<|B|^b, r(C)<|C|^c.$ The ABC Conjecture…