Periodic triangle sequences and algebraic powers

At least 26 years old · documented by

Let nn be a positive integer and let △\bigtriangleup denote the region of ordered nn-tuples used by the triangle algorithm. Let 0≤αn≤⋯≤α1<10 \leq \alpha_n \leq \cdots \leq \alpha_1 < 1 be an nn-tuple whose triangle sequence is (k,k,k,…)(k,k,k,\ldots). Periodic triangle-sequence conjecture. Then

αj=α1j\alpha_j=\alpha_1^j

for 1≤j≤n1\leq j\leq n, and α1\alpha_1 is a root of

xn+1+kxn+xn−1+⋯+x−1=0.x^{n+1}+kx^n+x^{n-1}+\cdots+x-1=0.

Conversely, if α\alpha is the real root of this equation lying between zero and one, then (α,α2,…,αn)(\alpha,\alpha^2,\ldots,\alpha^n) has purely periodic simplex sequence (k,k,k,…)(k,k,k,\ldots). This gives an explicit algebraic description of the tuple associated with a constant periodic triangle sequence; the source also indicates that analogous results should hold for purely periodic sequences of the form (ij,ij,ij,…)(ij,ij,ij,\ldots).

References

Primary source

Thomas Garrity, “On periodic sequences for algebraic numbers”, arXiv:math/9906016 (1999).

Progress summary

Never refreshed

Nothing recorded yet. Refresh searches the literature and the public web for attempts on this problem, and writes the first summary here.

Solutions 0

No solutions have been posted yet.