Observations on cycles in a variant of the Collatz Graph

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Publication date: 2 September 2021

Abstract: It is well known that the Collatz Conjecture can be reinterpreted as the Collatz Graph with root vertex 1, asking whether all positive integers are within the tree generated. It is further known that any cycle in the Collatz Graph can be represented as a tuple, given that inputting them into a function outputs an odd positive integer; yet, it is an open question as to whether there exist any tuples not of the form

(2, 2, ..., 2)

, thus disproving the Collatz Conjecture. In this paper, we explore a variant of the Collatz Graph, which allows the 3x+1 operation to be applied to both even and odd integers. We prove an analogous function for this variant, called the Loosened Collatz Function (LCF), and observe various properties of the LCF in relation to tuples and outputs. We then analyse data on the numbers that are in cycles and the length of tuples that represent circuits. We prove a certain underlying unique factorisation monoid structure for tuples to the LCF and provide a geometric interpretation of satisfying tuples in higher dimensions. Research into this variant of the Collatz Graph may provide reason as to why there exist no cycles in the Collatz Graph.

Has companion code repository: https://github.com/quangvietle/lcc

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