Related papers: A Fractional $3n+1$ Conjecture

For any positive integer $n$, define an iterated function $$ f(n)=\left\{\begin{array}{ll} n/2, & \mbox{$n$ even,} \\ 3n+1, & \mbox{$n$ odd.} \end{array} \right. $$ Suppose $k$ (if it exists) is the lowest number such that $f^{k}(n)<n$, and…

On the 3x+1 problem, given a positive integer $N$, let $D\left( N \right) $, $O\left( N \right) $, $E\left( N \right) $ be the total iteration steps, the odd iteration steps and the even iteration steps when $N$ iterates to 1(except 1)…

The present work focuses on the study of the renowned Collatz conjecture, also known as the $3x +1$ problem. The distinguished analysis approach lies on the dynamics of an iterative map in binary form. A new estimation of the enlargement of…

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…

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…

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 prove a conjecture that classifies exceptional numbers. This conjecture arises in two different ways, from cryptography and from coding theory. An odd integer $t\geq 3$ is said to be exceptional if $f(x)=x^t$ is APN (Almost Perfect…

Define $\theta(x)=(x-1)/3$ if $x\geq 1$, and $\theta(x)=2x/(1-x)$ if $x<1$. We conjecture that the orbit of every positive rational number ends in 0. In particular, there does not exist any positive rational fixed point for a map in the…

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…

Let $T \colon \mathbb{N} \to \mathbb{N}$ denote the $3x+1$ function, where $T(n)=n/2$ if $n$ is even, $T(n)=(3n+1)/2$ if $n$ is odd. As an accelerated version of $T$, we define a jump at $n \ge 1$ by jp$(n) = T^{(\ell)}(n)$, where $\ell$ is…

We study a certain class of arithmetic functions that appeared in Klurman's classification of $\pm 1$ multiplicative functions with bounded partial sums, c.f., Comp. Math. 153 (8), 2017, pp. 1622-1657. These functions are periodic and…

We call an integer a \emph{near-square} if its absolute value is a square or a prime times a square. We investigate such near-squares in the binary recurrence sequences defined for integers $a \geq 3$ by $u_{0}(a)=0$, $u_{1}(a)=1$ and…

A number of the form $x(x+1)/2$ where $x$ is an integer is called a triangular number. Suppose, $N(a_1,\cdots,a_k;n)$ and $T(a_1,\cdots,a_k;n)$ denote the number of ways $n$ can be expressed as $\sum_{i=1}^k a_ix_i^2$ and $\sum_{i=1}^k…

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…

A famous conjecture of Erd\H os and Straus is that for every integer $n\ge2$, $4/n$ can be represented as $1/x+1/y+1/z$, where $x,y,z$ are positive integers. This conjecture was generalized to $5/n$ by Sierpi\'nski, and then Schinzel…

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…

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…

Let $(U_n)_{n\geq 0}$ be a fixed linear recurrence sequence of integers with order at least two, and for any positive integer $\ell$, let $\ell \cdot 2^{\ell} + 1$ be a Cullen number. Recently in \cite{bmt}, generalized Cullen numbers in…

In this paper, we study the partition theory over totally real number fields. Let $K$ be a totally real number field. A partition of a totally positive algebraic integer $\delta$ over $K$ is $\lambda=(\lambda_1,\lambda_2,\ldots,\lambda_r)$…

We present some interesting observations on the 3x+1 problem. We propose a new algorithm which eliminates certain steps while we check the action of 3x+1 procedure on a number. Also, we propose a reason why many numbers follow a similar…