The Dynamical System Generated by the 3n+1 Function

• Main Author: Wirsching, Günther J. (Author, http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut)
• Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
• Format: Electronic eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg : Imprint: Springer, 1998.
• Edition: 1st ed. 1998.
• Series: Lecture Notes in Mathematics, 1681
• Subjects: Number theory.; Computers.; Number Theory.; Theory of Computation.
• Physical Description: VIII, 164 p. online resource.
• ISBN: 9783540696773
• ISSN: 0075-8434 ;
• DOI: 10.1007/BFb0095985

The 3n+1 function T is defined by T(n)=n/2 for n even, and T(n)=(3n+1)/2 for n odd. The famous 3n+1 conjecture, which remains open, states that, for any starting number n>0, iterated application of T to n eventually produces 1. After a survey of theorems concerning the 3n+1 problem, the main focus of the book are 3n+1 predecessor sets. These are analyzed using, e.g., elementary number theory, combinatorics, asymptotic analysis, and abstract measure theory. The book is written for any mathematician interested in the 3n+1 problem, and in the wealth of mathematical ideas employed to attack it.