login
A233293
Smallest number that is the largest value in the Collatz (3x + 1) trajectories of exactly n initial values. (a(n)=0 if no such number exists.)
5
3, 1, 0, 40, 0, 0, 16, 0, 88, 592, 0, 628, 52, 160, 304, 1672, 808, 2248, 3616, 11176, 10096, 8728, 4192, 23056, 13912, 65428, 40804, 5812, 9448, 12148, 8584, 82132, 27700, 10528, 91672, 53188, 58804, 20896, 96064, 2752, 32776, 25972, 14560, 183688, 8080
OFFSET
0,1
COMMENTS
Smallest number that appears exactly n times in A025586.
Numbers that are not the largest value in the 3x + 1 trajectory of any initial value (that is, numbers that do not appear at all in A025586) are in A213199; the smallest such number is a(0) = 3.
Numbers that are the largest value in the 3x + 1 trajectory of exactly one initial value (that is, numbers that appear exactly once in A025586) are in A222562; the smallest such number is a(1) = 1.
Numbers that are the largest value in the 3x + 1 trajectories of exactly three initial values (that is, numbers that appear exactly three times in A025586) are in A232870; the smallest such number is a(3) = 40.
No number that is the largest value in the 3x + 1 trajectories of exactly 2, 4, 5, 7, or 10 initial values exists, so a(n) = 0 at n = 2, 4, 5, 7, and 10; for all other values of n up to 3000, a(n) > 0. Conjecture: a(n) > 0 for all n > 10. - Jon E. Schoenfield, Dec 14 2013
LINKS
EXAMPLE
a(0) = 3 because no 3x + 1 trajectories have 3 as their largest value, and 3 is the smallest number for which this is the case.
a(1) = 1 because exactly one 3x + 1 trajectory (namely, the one whose initial value is 1) has 1 as its largest value (and 1 is the smallest number for which this is the case).
a(3) = 40 because exactly three 3x + 1 trajectories (the ones whose initial values are 13, 26, and 40) have 40 as their largest value, and 40 is the smallest number for which this is the case.
a(2) = 0 because there exists no number that is the largest value in exactly two 3x + 1 trajectories.
MATHEMATICA
CollatzSeq[n_] := NestWhileList[If[EvenQ[#], #/2, 3 # + 1] &, n, # > 1 &]; nn = 250000; c = Table[Max[CollatzSeq[n]], {n, nn}]; srt = Tally[Sort[c]]; times = Transpose[srt][[2]]; u = Union[times]; d = Differences[u]; mx = Position[d, _?(# > 1 &), 1, 1][[1, 1]] - 1; u2 = Transpose[Take[srt, 10]][[1]]; t0 = Complement[Range[u2[[-1]]], u2][[1]]; t = Table[k = srt[[Position[times, n, 1, 1][[1, 1]]]]; If[k[[1]] > nn, 0, k[[1]]], {n, mx}]; t = Join[{t0}, t] (* T. D. Noe, Dec 07 2013 *)
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
nonn
AUTHOR
Jon E. Schoenfield, Dec 06 2013
STATUS
approved