login
This site is supported by donations to The OEIS Foundation.
Logo

Hints
(Greetings from The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences!)
A094004 a(n) = length of longest string that can be generated by a starting string of 2's and 3's of length n, using the rule described in the Comments lines. 6
1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 14, 15, 66, 68, 70, 123, 124, 125, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138, 139, 140, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183 (list; graph; refs; listen; history; internal format)
OFFSET

1,2

COMMENTS

Start with an initial string of n numbers s(1), ..., s(n), all = 2 or 3. The rule for extending the string is this:

To get s(i+1), write the string s(1)s(2)...s(i) as xy^k for words x and y (where y has positive length) and k is maximized, i.e. k = the maximal number of repeating blocks at the end of the sequence so far (k is the "curling number" of the string). Then set s(i+1) = k if k >=2, but if k=1 you must stop (without writing down the 1).

The "Curling Number Conjecture" is that if one starts with any finite string and repeatedly extends it by appending the curling number k, then eventually one must reach a 1. This has not yet been proved.

LINKS

F. J. van de Bult, D. C. Gijswijt, J. P. Linderman, N. J. A. Sloane and A. R. Wilks, A Slow-Growing Sequence Defined by an Unusual Recurrence, J. Integer Sequences, Vol. 10 (2007), #07.1.2.

F. J. van de Bult, D. C. Gijswijt, J. P. Linderman, N. J. A. Sloane and A. R. Wilks, A Slow-Growing Sequence Defined by an Unusual Recurrence [pdf, ps].

Benjamin Chaffin and N. J. A. Sloane, The Curling Number Conjecture, preprint.

EXAMPLE

a(3) = 5, using the starting string 3,2,2, which extends to 3,2,2,2,3, of length 5.

a(4) = 8, using the starting string 2,3,2,3, which extends to 2,3,2,3,2,2,2,3 of length 8.

a(8) = 66: start = 23222323, end = 232223232223222322322232223232223222322322232223232223222322322332.

a(22) = 142: start = 2322322323222323223223: see A116909 for trajectory.

CROSSREFS

Cf. A091787, A090822, A093369, A094005, A116909, A160766.

Sequence in context: A073320 A020668 A020934 * A067271 A064394 A092022

Adjacent sequences:  A094001 A094002 A094003 * A094005 A094006 A094007

KEYWORD

nonn,nice,hard

AUTHOR

N. J. A. Sloane (njas(AT)research.att.com), May 31 2004

EXTENSIONS

a(27)-a(30) from Allan Wilks, Jul 29 2004

a(31)-a(36) from Benjamin Chaffin (chaffin(AT)gmail.com), Apr 09 2008

a(37)-a(44) (computed in 2008) from Benjamin Chaffin (chaffin(AT)gmail.com), Dec 04 2009

a(45)-a(48) from Benjamin Chaffin (chaffin(AT)gmail.com), Dec 18 2009

a(49)-a(50) from Benjamin Chaffin (chaffin(AT)gmail.com), Dec 26 2009

a(51)-a(52) from Benjamin Chaffin (chaffin(AT)gmail.com), Jan 10 2010

Lookup | Welcome | Wiki | Register | Music | Plot 2 | Demos | Index | Browse | More | WebCam
Contribute new seq. or comment | Format | Transforms | Puzzles | Hot | Classics
Recent Additions | More pages | Superseeker | Maintained by The OEIS Foundation Inc.

Content is available under The OEIS End-User License Agreement .

Last modified February 17 21:13 EST 2012. Contains 206085 sequences.