OFFSET
0,1
COMMENTS
A cycle is the orbit of an element x of Z/(2^n-1), i.e., { x, LL(x), ..., LL^c(x)=x } for some positive integer c.
LINKS
Troy Vasiga and Jeffrey Shallit, On the iteration of certain quadratic maps over GF(p), Discrete Math. 277 (2004) 219-240 (see also doi).
FORMULA
If p=2^n-1 is prime, then a(n) = 1/2 + Sum_{d|2^(n-1)-1} eulerphi(d)/ordp(2,d)/2, where ordp(2,d) = min { e in N* | 2^e == 1 (mod d) or 2^e == -1 (mod d) }
EXAMPLE
a(0)=2 since fixed points 2 and -1 are the only cycles for LL on Z/(0) = Z;
a(1)=1 since Z/(1) = {0};
a(2)=1 since 2=-1 is a cycle of length 1 (fixed point) for LL on Z/(3) and LL(0)=-2=1, LL(1)=-1;
a(3)=2 since 3,4(=-3) -> 0 -> 5(=-2) -> {2} and 1 -> {6(=-1)} for LL acting on Z/(7);
a(5)=4 since {2}, {30}, {12,18} and {3,7,16,6} are the cycles for LL acting on Z/(31).
PROG
(PARI) numcycles(q) = { my(Mq=2^q-1, v=vector(Mq+1), c=1, i, start, cyc=0); if(q<2, return(1+!q)); for( j=1, #v, if(v[j], next); i=j; start=c; until(v[i=1+((i-1)^2-2)%Mq], v[i]=c++); if(v[i]>start, cyc++)); cyc; }
A128976=vector(20, i, numcycles(i-1))
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
more,nonn
AUTHOR
M. F. Hasler, Apr 29 2007, corrected May 19 2007
EXTENSIONS
a(20)-a(31) from Max Alekseyev, Aug 25 2023
STATUS
approved