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arXiv · 1905.08462

A polynomial approach to the Collatz conjecture

Feng Pan·Jerry P. Draayer
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Abstract

The Collatz conjecture is explored using polynomials based on a binary numeral system. It is shown that the degree of the polynomials, on average, decreases after a finite number of steps of the Collatz operation, which provides a weak proof of the conjecture by using induction with respect to the degree of the polynomials.

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Feng Pan, Jerry P. Draayer. 2019-05-21. A polynomial approach to the Collatz conjecture. https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.08462

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