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Related papers: Paradoxical behavior in Collatz sequences

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The sequence starts with a(1) = 1; to extend it one writes the sequence so far as XY^k, where X and Y are strings of integers, Y is nonempty and k is as large as possible: then the next term is k. The sequence begins 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2,…

The Collatz conjecture, also known as the 3n+1 problem, is one of the most popular open problems in number theory. In this note, an algorithm for the verification of the Collatz conjecture is presented that works on a standard PC for…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2025-02-25 Andreas-Stephan Elsenhans

Collatz Conjecture is one of the most famous, for its simple form, proposed more than eighty years ago. This paper presents a full attempt to prove the affirmative answer to the question proposed by the conjecture. In the first section, we…

General Mathematics · Mathematics 2019-11-12 Agelos Kratimenos

In his book "Mathematics Rhyme and Reason," Currie discusses what he calls a $mysterious$ $pattern$ involving the sequence $ a_{n} = 2^n \sqrt{2 - \sqrt{2 + \sqrt{2 + \cdots + \sqrt{2}}}},$ where $n$ is the number of radicals. Part of the…

General Mathematics · Mathematics 2025-09-29 Dan Kalman

Consider n unit intervals, say [1,2], [3,4], ..., [2n-1,2n]. Identify their endpoints in pairs at random, with all (2n-1)!! = (2n-1) (2n-3) ... 3 1 pairings being equally likely. The result is a collection of cycles of various lengths, and…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2007-05-23 Nicholas Pippenger

In this paper, we will introduce an extension to the Collatz's conjecture. This conjecture may be seen as a general conjecture that unifies the Collatz one together with many other similar conjectures. For instance, we propose our new…

General Mathematics · Mathematics 2026-01-13 Abderrahman Bouhamidi

The Collatz problem with $3x+k$ is revisited. Positive and negative limit cycles are given up to k=9997 starting with $x_0=-2\cdot10^7...+2\cdot10^7$. A simple relation between the probability distribution for the Syracuse iterates for…

Dynamical Systems · Mathematics 2021-01-21 Franz Wegner

It is well-known that for a quickly increasing sequence $(n_k)_{k \geq 1}$ the functions $(\cos 2 \pi n_k x)_{k \geq 1}$ show a behavior which is typical for sequences of independent random variables. If the growth condition on $(n_k)_{k…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2014-03-10 Christoph Aistleitner , Katusi Fukuyama

We prove moderate deviations bounds for the lower tail of the number of odd cycles in a $\calG(n, m)$ random graph. We show that the probability of decreasing triangle density by $t^3$, is $\exp(-\Theta(n^2 t^2))$ whenever $n^{-3/4} \ll t^3…

Probability · Mathematics 2022-01-07 Joe Neeman , Charles Radin , Lorenzo Sadun

We introduce an explicit logarithmic transformation $T(x) = \{\log_6(x + 1/5)\}$ under which the Collatz map becomes a rigid circle rotation by the irrational angle \(\alpha = \log_6 3\), perturbed by a uniformly bounded error term. We…

General Mathematics · Mathematics 2026-01-09 Barmak Honarvar Shakibaei Asli

For all natural numbers a,b and d > 0, we consider the function f_{a,b,d} which associates n/d to any integer n when it is a multiple of d, and an + b otherwise; in particular f_{3,1,2} is the Collatz function. Coding in base a > 1 with b <…

Formal Languages and Automata Theory · Computer Science 2022-05-30 Didier Caucal , Chloé Rispal

The purpose of this study is to show how to get a necessary criterion for prime numbers with the help of special matrices. My special interest lies in the empirical research of these matrices and their patterns, structures and symmetries.…

General Mathematics · Mathematics 2016-08-09 Jonas Kaiser

Given a map f:Z-->Z and an initial argument alpha, we can iterate the map to get a finite set of iterates modulo a prime p. In particular, for a quadratic map f(z)=z^2 +c, c constant, work by Pollard suggests that this set should have…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2012-01-26 William Worden

In this study, several interesting iterative sequences were investigated. First, we define the iterative sequences. We fix function f(n). An iterative sequence starts with a natural number n, and calculates the sequence f(n),f(f(n)),…

General Mathematics · Mathematics 2023-08-15 Shoei Takahashi , Unchone Lee , Hikaru Manabe , Aoi Murakami , Daisuke Minematsu , Kou Omori , Ryohei Miyadera

Consider the sequence $\mathcal{V}(2,n)$ constructed in a greedy fashion by setting $a_1 = 2$, $a_2 = n$ and defining $a_{m+1}$ as the smallest integer larger than $a_m$ that can be written as the sum of two (not necessarily distinct)…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2018-04-26 Borys Kuca

We give a short proof of Belaga's result on bounds to perigees of $(3x+d)$-cycles of a given oddlength. We also reformulate the Collatz cycle conjecture which is rather a algorithmic problem into a purely arithmetic problem.

Number Theory · Mathematics 2014-09-23 Masayoshi Kaneda

We obtain a complete characterization of all orbits of a quadratic Collatz-type recursion called the divide-or-choose-2 rule. Each orbit either ends in a cycle whose period depends on the initial value or it goes to infinity. We specify…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2020-05-22 Hassan Sedaghat

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

We report a rigorous theory to show the origin of the unexpected periodic behavior seen in the consecutive differences between prime numbers. We also check numerically our findings to ensure that they hold for finite sequences of primes,…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2007-05-23 Saul Ares , Mario Castro

In this paper, we study the three-term nested recurrence relation $B(n)=B(n-B(n-1))+B(n-B(n-2))+B(n-B(n-3))$ subject to initial conditions where the first $N$ terms are the integers $1$ through $N$. This recurrence is the three-term analog…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2024-06-04 Nathan Fox