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No nontrivial Syracuse cycle of period at most 1635

Proved
syracuse_period_le_sixteenthirtyfive_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≤16351 \le a \le 16351≤a≤1635, then m=1m = 1m=1.

Equivalently, every Syracuse cycle of length at most 163516351635 is the trivial cycle {1}\{1\}{1}. The return time need not be minimal.

The proof is uniform across the 163516351635 periods: for each aaa one checks the single numerical inequality

992251a < 2Ka⋅330750a,992251^a \ <\ 2^{K_a}\cdot 330750^a ,992251a < 2Ka​⋅330750a,

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 330750330750330750 is available because no nontrivial cycle contains a value below it. At a=1635a = 1635a=1635 one has Ka=2592K_a = 2592Ka​=2592 and the comparison is between integers of about 900090009000 digits.

Period 163616361636 is the first not covered. Writing B(a)B(a)B(a) for the least threshold covering every period up to aaa, the sequence runs 34,147,387,1193,3343,6725,12825,27114,99781,33075034, 147, 387, 1193, 3343, 6725, 12825, 27114, 99781, 33075034,147,387,1193,3343,6725,12825,27114,99781,330750 as aaa passes 16,28,40,93,146,199,252,305,970,163516, 28, 40, 93, 146, 199, 252, 305, 970, 163516,28,40,93,146,199,252,305,970,1635, with jumps at denominators of convergents of log⁡23\log_2 3log2​3. Since B(a)→∞B(a) \to \inftyB(a)→∞, no single threshold covers all periods, so this argument cannot settle the cycle question — but no finite period defeats it either; only the certificate size grows without bound.

Preamble
import Mathlib
import Definitions.Def_syracuseStep
Formal statement
theorem syracuse_period_le_sixteenthirtyfive_eq_one (m a : ℕ) (hm : 0 < m) (ha : 0 < a)
    (hle : a ≤ 1635) (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_330750. Strengthens syracuse_period_le_ninehundredseventy_eq_one (e3051e5b-8f44-4f00-8e6c-0286199106f2). Cf. J. C. Lagarias, Amer. Math. Monthly 92 (1985), Section 5; Simons and de Weger, Acta Arith. 117 (2005) 51-70.

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