| t(x) | = | x/3 | if x ≡ 0 (mod 3) |
| t(x) | = | (4x-1)/3 | if x ≡ 1 (mod 3) |
| t(x) | = | (4x+1)/3 | if x ≡ -1 (mod 3) |
This remarkable phenomenon was discovered by Lu Pei and communicated to Keith Matthews in November 1997.
We remark that the iterates of -x are the negative of the iterates of x, so it is enough to consider positive starting values x.
Also see a generalization to d branches.
Last modified 10th January 2011
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