Related papers: The Real 3x+1 Problem
It is well known that the Collatz Conjecture can be reinterpreted as the Collatz Graph with root vertex 1, asking whether all positive integers are within the tree generated. It is further known that any cycle in the Collatz Graph can be…
The infamous 3x+1 conjecture spread by Lothar Collatz in 1952, despite its elementary formulation, remained unproved for over 60 years. From the heuristical probabilistic approach to the complex mapping of the algorithm, the scientific…
The Collatz conjecture states that repeated steps of $n\mathrm{\to }\mathrm{3}n\mathrm{+1}$ at odd numbers and $n\mathrm{\to }n\mathrm{/2}$ at even numbers amount to walks over root paths to the branching number $c=4$ in the `trivial'…
In the paper, some special linear combinations of the terms of rational cycles of generalized Collatz sequences are studied. It is proved that if the coefficients of the linear combinations satisfy some conditions then these linear…
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…
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…
This paper gives a simple proof of the Wirsching-Goodwin representation of integers connected to 1 in the $3x+1$ problem (see \cite{Wirsching} and \cite{Goodwin}). This representation permits to compute all the ascending Collatz sequences…
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…
We study variants of the well-known Collatz graph, by considering the action of the 3n+1 function on congruence classes. For moduli equal to powers of 2, these graphs are shown to be isomorphic to binary De Bruijn graphs. Unlike the Collatz…
We explore the cycles and convergence of Generalized Collatz Sequence, where $3n+1$ in original collatz function is replaced with $3n+k$. We present a generating function for cycles of GCS and show a particular inheritance structure of…
On the set of positive integers, we consider the iterative process that maps $n$ to either $\frac{3n+1}{2}$ or $\frac{n}{2}$ depending on the parity of $n$. The Collatz conjecture states that all such sequences eventually enter the trivial…
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…
We propose the existence of an infinite class of exact analogues of the 3x+1 conjecture for rational numbers with fixed denominators. For some other denominators, there are several attracting cycles, which exhibit scaling and covariance…
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.…
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…
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…
The $3x+k$ function $T_{k}(n)$ sends $n$ to $(3n+k)/2$ resp. $n/2,$ according as $n$ is odd, resp. even, where $k \equiv \pm 1~(\bmod \, 6)$. The map $T_k(\cdot)$ sends integers to integers, and for $m \ge 1$ let $n \rightarrow m$ mean that…
We will prove that there are trajectories generated by the function at the origin of the 5x+1 problem which are divergent. The iterative application of this function on the set of positive integers allows us to determine that more than 17%…
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.
Considering all possible paths that a natural number can take following the rules of the algorithm proposed in the Collatz conjecture we construct a graph that can be interpreted as an infinite network that contemplates all possible paths…