| t(x) | = | 2x | if 3 divides x, |
| t(x) | = | (7x+2)/3 | if 3 divides x-1, |
| t(x) | = | (x-2)/3 | if 3 divides x+1, |
It is conjectured by Keith Matthews (who offers a $100 Australian prize for a resolution of this conjecture) that every trajectory will either find its way into the zero residue class (mod 3), or else will eventually fall into one of the cycles -1,-1 or -2,-4,-2. (See online survey on generalized 3x+1 mappings.)
On entering an integer M, the algorithm is run for y= 3M+1 and y=3M-1.
Last modified 24th February 2006
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