Related papers: The 3x+1 and 5x+1 Problems

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…

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…

In this note we are interested in the problem of whether or not every increasing sequence of positive integers $x_1x_2x_3...$ with bounded gaps must contain a double 3-term arithmetic progression, i.e., three terms $x_i$, $x_j$, and $x_k$…

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…

Let f(1)=1, and let f(n+1)=2^{2^{f(n)}} for every positive integer n. We conjecture that if a system S \subseteq {x_i \cdot x_j=x_k: i,j,k \in {1,...,n}} \cup {x_i+1=x_k: i,k \in {1,...,n}} has only finitely many solutions in non-negative…

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 }…

We show an iterated function of which iterates oscillate wildly and grow at a dizzying pace. We conjecture that the orbit of arbitrary positive integer always returns to 1, as in the case of Collatz function. The conjecture is supported by…

I show that a trivial modification of a standard proof of the Roth's Theorem on triples in arithmetic progression would lead to the following Theorem: If A is a "large set" that is its elements are monotone increasing integers and the sum…

In this article I present results from a statistical study of prime numbers that shows a behaviour that is not compatible with the thesis that they are distributed randomly. The analysis is based on studying two arithmetical progressions…

In a previous paper, the authors proved that in any system of three linear forms satisfying obvious necessary local conditions, there are at least two forms that infinitely often assume $E_2$-values; i.e., values that are products of…

In this paper we establish some new results similar to Lagrange's four-square theorem. For example, we prove that any integer $n>1$ can be written as $w(5w+1)/2+x(5x+1)/2+y(5y+1)/2+z(5z+1)/2$ with $w,x,y,z\in\mathbb Z$. Let $a$ and $b$ be…

Set out here are some fundamental theories that may be regarded as newly discovered metamathematics of the odd integers in relation to the Collatz conjecture (also called the 3x+1 problem). Originally motivated by the requirement to invent…

We have found maximum possible runs of consecutive positive integers each having exactly $k$ divisors for some fixed values of $k$. In addition, we exhibit the run of 10 consecutive positive integers each having exactly 12 divisors and two…

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…

Fundamental to the theory of continued fractions is the fact that every infinite continued fraction with positive integer coefficients converges; however, it is unknown precisely which continued fractions with integer coefficients (not…

The clustering of integers with equal total stopping times has long been observed in the 3x + 1 Problem, and a number of elementary results about it have been used repeatedly in the literature. In this paper we introduce a simple…

Consider the recursive relation generating a new positive integer $n_{\ell +1}$ from the positive integer $n_{\ell }$ according to the following simple rules: if the integer $n_{\ell }$ is odd, $n_{\ell +1}=3n_{\ell }+1$; if the integer…

We look at sequences of positive integers that can be realized as degree sequences of iterates of rational dominant maps of smooth projective varieties over arbitrary fields. New constraints on the degree growth of endomorphisms of the…

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…

Two permutations of the natural numbers diverge if the absolute value of the difference of their elements in the same position goes to infinity. We show that there exists an infinite number of pairwise divergent permutations of the…