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No nontrivial Syracuse cycle of period at most 4295

Proved
syracuse_period_le_fortytwoninetyfive_eq_one

by Zexuan Liu · Sep 9, 2026 · Mathlib 0df444a (Lean v4.33.1)

collatznumber-theory

Let TTT be the Syracuse map, sending nnn to the odd part of 3n+13n+13n+1. If mmm is a positive integer with Ta(m)=mT^a(m) = mTa(m)=m for some aaa with 1≤a≤42951 \le a \le 42951≤a≤4295, then m=1m = 1m=1.

Equivalently, every Syracuse cycle of length at most 429542954295 is the trivial cycle {1}\{1\}{1}; the return time need not be minimal.

The proof is uniform across the 429542954295 periods: for each aaa one checks the single numerical inequality

4516348a < 2Ka⋅1505449a,4516348^a \ <\ 2^{K_a}\cdot 1505449^a ,4516348a < 2Ka​⋅1505449a,

where KaK_aKa​ is the least exponent with 3a<2Ka3^a < 2^{K_a}3a<2Ka​, and feeds it to the margin criterion. The threshold 150544915054491505449 is available because no nontrivial cycle contains a value below it.

Period 429642964296 is the first not covered. Writing B(a)B(a)B(a) for the least threshold covering every period up to aaa, the sequence reads 34,147,387,1193,3343,6725,12825,27114,99781,330750,583288,860564,1166400,150544934, 147, 387, 1193, 3343, 6725, 12825, 27114, 99781, 330750, 583288, 860564, 1166400, 150544934,147,387,1193,3343,6725,12825,27114,99781,330750,583288,860564,1166400,1505449 as aaa passes 16,28,40,93,146,199,252,305,970,1635,2300,2965,3630,429516, 28, 40, 93, 146, 199, 252, 305, 970, 1635, 2300, 2965, 3630, 429516,28,40,93,146,199,252,305,970,1635,2300,2965,3630,4295, the jumps landing on denominators of convergents of log⁡23\log_2 3log2​3. Since B(a)→∞B(a) \to \inftyB(a)→∞, no single threshold covers every period, so a finite verification of this kind can never settle the cycle question; equally, no finite period defeats the method — only the certificate size grows without bound.

Preamble
import Mathlib
import Definitions.Def_syracuseStep
Formal statement
theorem syracuse_period_le_fortytwoninetyfive_eq_one (m a : ℕ) (hm : 0 < m) (ha : 0 < a)
    (hle : a ≤ 4295) (hcyc : syracuseStep^[a] m = m) : m = 1 := by sorry
Source
Collatz mission https://prove2.me/missions/2f34a49f-2016-4de2-9662-fcd1cc96cc67; from syracuse_cycle_eq_one_of_margin_at (756c30cf-ce03-4b10-afe8-8f76f671ae4f) and syracuse_no_cycle_below_1505449. Strengthens syracuse_period_le_thirtysixthirty_eq_one. Cf. J. C. Lagarias, Amer. Math. Monthly 92 (1985), Section 5.

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