The Ultimate Challenge: The 3x+1 Problem (Miscellaneous Book Series) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1470472899 ISBN 13: 9781470472894

Verlag: American Mathematical Society, 2023

Inhaltsangabe

The $3x+1$ problem, or Collatz problem, concerns the following seemingly innocent arithmetic procedure applied to integers: If an integer $x$ is odd then ``multiply by three and add one'', while if it is even then ``divide by two''. The $3x+1$ problem asks whether, starting from any positive integer, repeating this procedure over and over will eventually reach the number 1. Despite its simple appearance, this problem is unsolved. Generalizations of the problem are known to be undecidable, and the problem itself is believed to be extraordinarily difficult.

This book reports on what is known on this problem. It consists of a collection of papers, which can be read independently of each other. The book begins with two introductory papers, one giving an overview and current status, and the second giving history and basic results on the problem. These are followed by three survey papers on the problem, relating it to number theory and dynamical systems, to Markov chains and ergodic theory, and to logic and the theory of computation. The next paper presents results on probabilistic models for behavior of the iteration. This is followed by a paper giving the latest computational results on the problem, which verify its truth for $x < 5.4 \cdot 10^{18}$. The book also reprints six early papers on the problem and related questions, by L. Collatz, J. H. Conway, H. S. M. Coxeter, C. J. Everett, and R. K. Guy, each with editorial commentary. The book concludes with an annotated bibliography of work on the problem up to the year 2000.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Jeffrey C. Lagarias, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: American Mathematical Society
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1470472899
• ISBN 13: 9781470472894
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 344
• Herausgeber: Lagarias Jeffrey C.
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Mare Nostrum Group B.V.; gpsr@mare-nostrum.co.uk; ; Doelen 72; Breda; 4831 GR; Niederlande