The Bezout–Syracuse Seed Identity, Dual Fixed-Point Homogenization, Coupled Block-CRT Renormalization, and Deterministic Functional-Graph Obstructions for {1, 2}-Valuation Collatz Cycles
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Abstract
We study positive integer cycles of the accelerated Syracuse map $U(x)=(3x+1)/2^{v_2(3x+1)}$, focusing primarily on the restricted binary valuation alphabet $\mathcal{A}_{\{1,2\}}(k,S)$ ($u=2k-S$ ones and $v=S-k$ twos) alongside general identities on unrestricted compositions $\mathcal{A}(k,S)$. First, for all $a\in\mathcal{A}(k,S)$, we prove that the least positive forward $2$-adic seed $r_2(a)<2^S$ maps under $(3^k x+C(a))/2^S$ directly to the least backward $3$-adic seed $r_3(a)<3^k$ without modulo-$3^k$ reduction ($2^S r_3(a)-3^k r_2(a)=C(a)$ in $\mathbb{Z}$), identifying $(r_3(\sigma^t a)-r_2(\sigma^t a))/(2^S-3^k)$ with $\lfloor x_t(a)/2^S\rfloor=\lfloor x_t(a)/3^k\rfloor$ for positive integer cycles. Second, reindexing the fixed-point excess identities of [25] by step positions yields $u=1$ and $v=1$ coprimality $\gcd(C(a),|2^S-3^k|)=1$, mod-$5$/$7$ index-parity collapse ($N_5^{\mathrm{unres}}(0;k,k+2)=0$ for odd $k\ge 3$ and $N_7(0;2m,4m-3)=2\binom{m}{3}$), and reduced gap divisors. Third, grouping $a\in\mathcal{A}(k,S)$ ($k<S<2k$) into $m=\#\{t:a_t\ge 2\}$ blocks $(1^{u_j},d_j)$ yields a descent-exponent-independent product identity and an $m$-dependent bound $B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k,S,m)\le B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k,S,S-k)<(2^{S/k}-3)^{-1}$ (complemented for fixed $(k,S)$ by the balanced-word bound of [28, 25, 26]). Fourth, on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1,2\}}(k,S)$, grouping $r$-run words $(1^{u_1},2^{v_1},\dots,1^{u_r},2^{v_r})$ yields the excess bound $x_{\min}(a)-1\le B_{\mathrm{run}}(k,S,r)<\tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k,S,r)=2r(1-(2/3)^{u/r})/\Delta$, whose leading $1/\Delta$ coefficient improves on Simons–de Weger's published $v/\Delta$ bound by $\ge 3v/(2u)>2.114\times$ (and on $B_{\mathrm{aux}}$ by $\ge 3v/u>4.228\times$), together with a Block-CRT recurrence $2^{S_{i+1}} P_{i+1}-3^{u_i+v_{i-1}} P_i=\Omega_i$ whose zero-quotient graph $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ has out-degree $\le 1$ over $\mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^3$. Combining our $61,151$-state Block-CRT certificate ($k\ge 2,966$) with a $2$-adic Fibonacci $\{1,2\}$-tree candidate sieve (tree_sieve.c, $F_{M+2}$ leaves constructed in $O(X^{\log_2\varphi})$ operations and verified through $M=43$) certifies $x_{\min}(a)>2^{44}$, $r>8.796\times 10^{12}\Delta$, $u>2.6388\times 10^{13}\Delta$, and $k\ge 10,781,274$ ($S\ge 17,087,915$) for $\{1,2\}$-cycles without external $2^{68}$ searches.
The Bezout–Syracuse Seed Identity, Dual Fixed-Point Homogenization, Coupled Block-CRT Renormalization, and Deterministic Functional-Graph Obstructions for $\{1, 2\}$-Valuation Collatz Cycles
1. Introduction and Contribution
The Collatz ($3x+1$) conjecture states that the Syracuse acceleration on positive odd integers,
$$ U(x) = \frac{3x+1}{2^{v_2(3x+1)}}, $$reaches the trivial fixed point $1$ from every initial value $x \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^{\mathrm{odd}}$. A hypothetical non-trivial cycle of length $k$ is an orbit of odd integers $x_0, x_1, \dots, x_{k-1}$ satisfying $x_{t+1} = U(x_t)$ with $x_k = x_0$ and $x_t \ne 1$. Let $a_t = v_2(3x_t + 1) \ge 1$ denote the $2$-adic valuation at step $t$, and let $S = \sum_{t=0}^{k-1} a_t$ denote the total division count. Unrolling $2^{a_t} x_{t+1} = 3x_t + 1$ over $k$ steps yields the classical Syracuse Diophantine equation (Böhm and Sontacchi 1978, Lagarias 1990 [13, 24]):
$$ (2^S - 3^k) x_0 = C(a), \quad \text{where} \quad C(a) = \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} 3^{k-1-j} 2^{S_j}, $$with $S_j = \sum_{i=0}^{j-1} a_i$ ($S_0 = 0$). For any positive integer cycle, $x_0 \ge 1$ requires $2^S > 3^k$, which forces $S/k > \log_2 3 \approx 1.58496$.
1.1 General Positive Compositions $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ vs. Restricted $\{1, 2\}$-Valuation $r$-Run Cycles $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$
Every periodic valuation sequence $a = (a_0, \dots, a_{k-1})$ in the general positive-composition simplex
$$ \mathcal{A}(k, S) := \left\{ (a_0, \dots, a_{k-1}) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^k : \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} a_j = S \right\} $$with $2^S > 3^k$ defines a unique positive rational cycle $x_t(a) = C(\sigma^t a)/(2^S - 3^k) \in \mathbb{Q}_{>0} \cap \mathbb{Z}_2 \cap \mathbb{Z}_3$ that satisfies the Syracuse map $U$, the $2$-adic valuation condition $v_2(3x_t(a)+1) = a_t$, and the Crandall–Garner–Eliahou product identity identically [1, 2, 3, 13, 24]. Consequently, no purely algebraic identity over $\mathbb{Q}$ or within a single $p$-adic completion ($\mathbb{Z}_2$ or $\mathbb{Z}_3$ in isolation) can obstruct a cycle; any cycle obstruction must couple the $2$-adic and $3$-adic structures to enforce integrality $(2^S - 3^k) \mid C(a)$.
A central subproblem in Collatz cycle theory—studied in Sturmian/Christoffel cycle theory [25] and in inverse-minimum trajectory analysis (lyapunov_weaver [21])—is the restricted binary valuation simplex
in which $u := 2k - S \ge 1$ steps have ascent valuation $a_t = 1$ and $v := S - k \ge 1$ steps have descent valuation $a_t = 2$. Up to cyclic rotation, every word $a \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ decomposes into $r \ge 1$ alternating contiguous runs of ones and twos:
$$ a = \left(1^{u_1}, 2^{v_1}, \dots, 1^{u_r}, 2^{v_r}\right), \quad u_i, v_i \ge 1, \quad \sum_{i=1}^r u_i = u = 2k - S, \quad \sum_{i=1}^r v_i = v = S - k. $$We call $r$ the $\{1, 2\}$ run-block count (or run count) of $a$. It is essential to distinguish both the alphabet $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ and the run count $r$ from classical $m$-cycle theory (Steiner [4], Simons and de Weger [5], Hercher [6]):
- Alphabet restriction: Classical $m$-cycles allow arbitrary descent valuations $a_t \ge 2$, whereas Theorems 3–7 of this paper analyze the restricted alphabet $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ (where every descent step has $a_t = 2$, the fixed-point valuation of $x \mapsto (3x+1)/4$ at $\xi_2 = +1$).
- Run count $r$ vs. classical local-minima count $m$: In Simons–de Weger [5] and Hercher [6], $m$ counts the number of local minima of the orbit under the unaccelerated $(3n+1)/2$ and $n/2$ map. Within $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$, each valuation $a_t = 2$ consists of one odd step $(3n+1)/2$ followed by one even step $n/2$, producing a local minimum after every $a_t = 2$ step unless valuations $a_t \ge 3$ occur. Thus on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ the classical local-minima count is $m = \sum_{i=1}^r v_i = v = S - k$, whereas the run-block count $r \le \min(u, v)$ counts contiguous runs $2^{v_i}$ of twos (so $r = m$ if and only if $v_1 = \dots = v_r = 1$, the class without consecutive twos studied in [21]).
1.2 Summary of Main Contributions
We distinguish between foundational algebraic identities on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ (Theorems 1–2), block-CRT and modular non-equidistribution structures (Theorems 3–5 and 7), and unconditional cycle restrictions that improve upon classical minimum-element and $m$-cycle bounds on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ (Corollary 1 Part 4 and Theorem 6):
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Least-Residue Bezout–Syracuse Seed Identity and Shift-Ordering Condition on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ (Theorems 1 & 2):
$$ \mathcal{F}_a(r_2(a)) = r_3(a), \quad \text{and} \quad 2^S r_3(a) - 3^k r_2(a) = C(a) \quad \text{in } \mathbb{Z}, $$
For every unrestricted composition $a \in \mathcal{A}(k, S)$, the formal affine map $\mathcal{F}_a(x) := (3^k x + C(a))/2^S$ carries the least positive $2$-adic seed $r_2(a) := (-C(a) \cdot 3^{-k}) \bmod 2^S \in [1, 2^S - 1]$ to the exact integer backward $3$-adic seed $r_3(a) := (C(a) \cdot 2^{-S}) \bmod 3^k \in [1, 3^k - 1]$ without modulo-$3^k$ reduction:with odd-endpoint parity lift $r_2^*(a) = r_2(a) + \epsilon(a) 2^S$ ($\epsilon(a) = (r_3(a) + 1) \bmod 2$) satisfying $U^{(k)}(r_2^*(a)) = r_3^*(a) = r_3(a) + \epsilon(a) 3^k$. While the resulting integrality criterion $q_t(a) := (r_3(\sigma^t a) - r_2(\sigma^t a))/(2^S - 3^k) = \lfloor x_t(a)/2^S \rfloor = \lfloor x_t(a)/3^k \rfloor \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0}$ is equivalent to classical divisibility $(2^S - 3^k) \mid C(a)$, the least-representative bound $1 \le r_3(a) < 3^k$ provides the exact local seed decomposition needed for our Block-CRT lifts in Theorem 4.
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Coupled Cyclic Bezout Ladder, Young–Ferrers Inversion, and Sharpened Minimum-Element Bounds (Theorem 3 & Corollary 1):
$$ x_{\min}(a) - 1 \le B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) := \frac{2\left(1 - (2/3)^{u/r}\right)}{(2^S / 3^k)^{1/r} - 1} < \tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) := \frac{2 r \left(1 - (2/3)^{u/r}\right)}{\Delta}, \quad \Delta := S \ln 2 - k \ln 3. $$
For any $\{1, 2\}$ $r$-run word $a = (1^{u_1}, 2^{v_1}, \dots, 1^{u_r}, 2^{v_r}) \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ ($u = 2k - S, v = S - k$), the trough states $z_i = 2^{u_i + 1} A_i - 1 = 2 \cdot 3^{v_{i-1}} B_{i-1} + 1$ and peak states $y_i = 2 \cdot 3^{u_i} A_i - 1 = 2^{2 v_i + 1} B_i + 1$ satisfy the $2r \times 2r$ Bezout ladder $3^{u_i} A_i - 4^{v_i} B_i = 1$ and $2^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1} - 3^{v_i} B_i = 1$. Retaining the exact ascent factor $1 - (2/3)^{u_i}$ in the $r$-run product $\frac{2^S}{3^k} = \prod_{i=1}^r \left(1 + \frac{2(1 - (2/3)^{u_i})}{z_i - 1}\right)$ bounds the excess $x_{\min}(a) - 1$ above the trivial cycle by:Compared to the coarse auxiliary excess bound $B_{\mathrm{aux}}(k, S) := \frac{2}{(2^S / 3^k)^{1/v} - 1}$ (obtained by replacing $1 - (2/3)^{u_i}$ by $1$ and $r$ by $m = v \ge r$), Bernoulli's inequality gives $\frac{B_{\mathrm{aux}}(k, S)}{B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)} \ge \frac{v}{r(1 - (2/3)^{u/r})} \ge \frac{3v}{u} > \frac{3(\log_2 3 - 1)}{2 - \log_2 3} \approx 4.228\times$. Compared to the published Simons–de Weger bound $x_{\min}(a) < \frac{m}{\Delta} = \frac{v}{\Delta}$ [5, Section 3.2, Lemma 4 & Corollary 5] (where our bound controls the excess $x_{\min}(a) - 1 \le B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) < \tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)$, keeping the $+1$ shift explicit), the leading $1/\Delta$ coefficient $\tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)$ improves upon $v/\Delta$ by the factor $\frac{v / \Delta}{\tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)} = \frac{v}{2r(1 - (2/3)^{u/r})} \ge \frac{3v}{2u} = \frac{3(S - k)}{2(2k - S)} > \frac{3(\log_2 3 - 1)}{2(2 - \log_2 3)} \approx 2.114\times$ across all $1 \le r \le \min(u, v)$ (and including the $+1$ shift directly, $\frac{v/\Delta - 1}{B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)} \approx 2.114135$ at $(k, S, r) = (2966, 4701, 1231)$). Moreover, for any unrestricted composition $a \in \mathcal{A}(k, S)$ ($k < S < 2k$) with $m = \#\{t : a_t \ge 2\} \in [1, S - k]$ descent steps grouped as $(1^{u_1}, d_1, \dots, 1^{u_m}, d_m)$ ($u_j \ge 0, d_j \ge 2$), telescoping each block in Crandall–Garner–Eliahou's product yields the descent-exponent-independent identity $\frac{2^S}{3^k} = \prod_{j=1}^m \left(1 + \frac{1 - (2/3)^{u_j + 1}}{z_j}\right)$, the $m$-dependent bound $x_{\min}(a) \le B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m) := \frac{1 - (2/3)^{k/m}}{(2^S / 3^k)^{1/m} - 1} < \frac{3(1 - (2/3)^{k/m})}{k/m} x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S) < x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S) = (2^{S/k} - 3)^{-1}$ [1–3], and—by monotonicity $B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m) \le B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, S - k)$—the uniform simplex bound $x_{\min}(a) \le B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, S - k) < \frac{3(1 - (2/3)^{k/(S - k)})}{k/(S - k)} x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S) < x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S)$ for all $1 \le m \le S - k < k$. We note that for fixed $(k, S)$ without restricting $m$ or $r$, the optimal all-word simplex bound is the balanced Sturmian/Christoffel bound $x_{\min}(a) \le x_{\min}(a^{\mathrm{Sturm}}(k, S)) \to \frac{1}{2\ln 2} x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S) \approx 0.721348\,x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S)$ (in the regime where the reduced denominator $k_0 = k/\gcd(k, S) \to \infty$ and $\Delta_0 = \Delta/\gcd(k, S) \to 0$) of Halbeisen and Hungerbühler [28], Fernández and Ibáñez [26], and our companion paper [25, Theorems 1–2] (since at the worst-case $m = S - k \approx (\log_2 3 - 1)k$, $\frac{3(1 - (2/3)^{k/(S-k)})}{k/(S-k)} \approx 0.8705 > \frac{1}{2\ln 2}$); the distinct utility of $B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m)$ and $B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)$ is their explicit $O(m/\Delta)$ and $O(r/\Delta)$ scaling in the descent count $m$ and run count $r \le \min(u, v)$.
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Block-Compressed CRT Linear System, Half-Step Cancellation Theorem, and Deterministic Zero-Quotient Graph $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ (Theorems 4 & 5, Corollary 2):
Decomposing $A_i = A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} + 2^{2 v_i + 1} 3^{v_{i-1}} P_i$ and $B_i = B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} + 2^{u_{i+1} + 1} 3^{u_i} R_i$ yields the $2r$-step system $2^{u_{i+1}} R_i - 3^{v_{i-1}} P_i = \delta_i^{(1)}$ and $4^{v_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - 3^{u_i} R_i = \delta_i^{(2)}$, the eliminated $r$-step recurrence $2^{S_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - 3^{u_i + v_{i-1}} P_i = \Omega_i = 3^{u_i} \delta_i^{(1)} + 2^{u_{i+1}} \delta_i^{(2)}$, and the unrolled identity $(2^S - 3^k) P_1 = \sum_{j=1}^r (\prod_{\ell=j+1}^r 3^{u_\ell + v_{\ell-1}})(\prod_{\ell=1}^{j-1} 2^{S_{\ell+1}}) \Omega_j$. We prove that when $P_i = P_{i+1} = 0$ ($\Omega_i = 0$), the half-step defects satisfy $\delta_i^{(1)} = 2^{u_{i+1}} R_i$ and $\delta_i^{(2)} = -3^{u_i} R_i$ with $0 \le R_i \le \lfloor (3^{v_{i-1}} - 1)/2^{u_{i+1}} \rfloor$, so non-zero half-step defects can cancel when $3^{v_{i-1}} > 2^{u_{i+1}}$ (e.g., at $(3, 1, 1, 1, 3)$ where $R_i = 5, \delta_i^{(1)} = 10, \delta_i^{(2)} = -15, \Omega_i = 0$). Crucially, we prove that the full Total-Defect Zero-Quotient Graph $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ defined directly by $P_i = P_{i+1} = 0$ ($\Omega_i = 0$, with $R_i \ge 0$ unrestricted) still has out-degree at most $1$ at every state $(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^3$ over the infinite alphabet, and across all $15,625$ initial triples in $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$, every path in $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ ($34$ transitions with $R_i = 0$ and $3$ cancellation transitions with $R_i > 0$) terminates within at most $2$ full blocks ($5$ half-steps), with zero cycles. -
Weakly Contracting Collapse, Local Block-CRT Exit Certificate, and $2$-Adic Fibonacci $\{1, 2\}$-Tree Sieve (Theorem 6):
We establish both a local Block-CRT exit certificate and a $2$-adic Fibonacci $\{1, 2\}$-tree sieve (tree_sieve.candverify_paper3.py, with $O(X^{\log_2\varphi}) \approx O(X^{0.69424})$ candidate-tree construction and verified exit certificates through $M = 43$, independently audited byu/fourier_wren):- Block-CRT Exit Certificate ($k \ge 2,966$): Combining the analytical outside-box bound $(z_i - 1)/2 \ge 2^{26} - 1 = 67,108,863$ for $\max(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) \ge 26$ with direct verification of the $61,151$ inside-box states on $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$ ($15,625$ with $P_i = 0$ and $45,831$ with $\gamma_i \ge (1.1 \times 10^6)^{-1}$, all exiting $\{1, 2\}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ within $\le 72$ steps) proves $z_i \ge 733,339$, $r > 1.1 \times 10^6 \Delta$, $S/k < 1.58496305$, and $k \ge 2,966$ ($S \ge 4,701$).
- $2$-Adic Fibonacci $\{1, 2\}$-Tree Sieve ($O(X^{\log_2\varphi})$ Candidate-Tree Construction, $k \ge 10,781,274$): Rather than scanning odd integers $x < X = 2^{M+1}$ in $O(X)$ time, we construct the binary tree of odd residues $r_0 \pmod{2^{S+1}}$ whose forward Syracuse steps remain in $\{1, 2\}$ up to first division sum $S \ge M$, using zero modular inversions. The tree has exactly $F_{M+2} = F_{M+1} + F_M$ total leaves (where all $F_{M+1}$ leaves at $S = M$ lie below $2^{M+1}$ and the $F_M$ leaves at $S = M + 1$ lie in $(0, 2^{M+2})$, so the computed count of seeds with $1 < r_0 < 2^{M+1}$ lies in $[F_{M+1}-1, F_{M+2}-1]$), and constructing the candidate tree requires $O(F_{M+2}) = O(X^{\log_2\varphi}) \approx O(X^{0.6942419})$ bitwise operations. Following each retained candidate seed $1 < r_0 < 2^{M+1}$ forward until $v_2(3x_t + 1) \ge 3$ at the verified cutoffs $M \in \{18, 33, 36, 39, 43\}$ (
tree_sieve.c) certifies that at $M = 39$ ($X = 2^{40} \approx 1.10 \times 10^{12}$, $165,580,141$ total leaves, $133,956,220$ computed seeds $1 < r_0 < 2^{40}$, runtime1.64 sin C and independently confirmed byu/fourier_wren's full $2^{40}$ brute-force check), every seed exits $\{1, 2\}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ in at most $92$ $\{1, 2\}$-steps (attained at $x_0 = 971,145,319,023$), certifying $x_{\min}(a) > 2^{40}$, and at $M = 43$ ($X = 2^{44}$, $1,134,903,170$ total leaves, $918,146,479$ seeds, runtime11.25 s) every seed exits $\{1, 2\}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ in at most $107$ $\{1, 2\}$-steps ($x_0 = 14,935,579,363,195$), certifying $x_{\min}(a) > 2^{44}$. By Corollary 1(4), $x_{\min}(a) > 2^{44}$ forces both the run-count bound $r > \frac{1}{2}(x_{\min}(a) - 1)\Delta \ge 2^{43}\Delta > 8.796 \times 10^{12}\Delta$ (using $1 - (2/3)^{u/r} < 1$) and the ascent-count bound $u > \frac{3}{2}(x_{\min}(a) - 1)\Delta \ge 3\cdot 2^{43}\Delta > 2.6388 \times 10^{13}\Delta$ (using $1 - (2/3)^{u/r} \le u/(3r)$). Moreover, crossing $\frac{190537}{3\Delta_{190537}} \approx 9.846 \times 10^{11} < 2^{40}$ eliminates the convergent $(190,537, 301,994)$ and jumps the self-contained $\{1, 2\}$-cycle length bound past the $a_{14} = 55$ partial quotient of $\log_2 3$ to $k \ge 10,781,274$ ($S \ge 17,087,915$) without relying on external $2^{68}$ trajectory searches [7, 8].
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Reindexed Fixed-Point Homogenization and Mod-$5$/$7$ Index-Parity Collapse (Theorem 7):
$$ C(a) - D = \sum_{i=1}^u 3^{k - 1 - j_i} 2^{2 j_i - i + 2} \;\;\text{on } \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S), \qquad \frac{C(a) + D}{2} = \sum_{m=1}^r \left(2^{E_m} - 2^{E_{m-1}}\right) 3^{k - 1 - \ell_m} 2^{\ell_m} \;\;\text{on } \mathcal{A}(k, S). $$
Reindexing the fixed-point excess decompositions $C(a) - D = 2 C_1(a)$ and $C(a) + D = 2 C_2(a)$ from our companion paper [25, Theorem 4, Parts 1–2] by the $1$-step indices $0 \le j_1 < \dots < j_u \le k-1$ on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ and the $\ge 2$-step indices $0 \le \ell_1 < \dots < \ell_r \le k-1$ (with cumulative excess $E_m = \sum_{s=1}^m (a_{\ell_s} - 1), E_r = S - k = v$) on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ gives:From this reindexing, we derive three new modular and divisor consequences: (i) $\gcd(C(a), |D|) = 1$ at $u = 1$ ($S = 2k - 1$) and $v = 1$ ($S = k + 1$) for all $k \ge 2$; (ii) exact modular non-equidistribution via index-parity collapse modulo $5$ and $7$ ($N_5^{\mathrm{unres}}(0; k, k + 2) = 0$ on all of $\mathcal{A}(k, k + 2)$ for odd $k \ge 3$, and $N_7(0; 2m, 4m - 3) = 2\binom{m}{3}$ with limiting density $1/4 \ne 1/7$); and (iii) reduced positive integers $H_u^+(a), H_v^-(a)$ on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ (coprime to $3$, with $H_v^-(a)$ odd) and $H_{r, v}^{\mathrm{unres}}(a)$ on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ (odd, and coprime to $3$ when $a_{\ell_r}$ is even) satisfying $\gcd(C(a), D) = \gcd(H_u^+(a), D) = \gcd(H_{r, v}^{\mathrm{unres}}(a), D)$ and $1 \le H_{r, v}^{\mathrm{unres}}(a) \le \left(2^{v-r}(4^r - 2 \cdot 3^{r-1}) - 3^{r-1}\right) 3^{k - \lceil k/r \rceil - r + 1}$. While $H_u^+(a) < 2^S - 3^k$ gives a purely algebraic non-divisibility proof $D \nmid C(a)$ for $S = 2k - u, k \ge \max(3, u^2 + 2)$, positive integer cycles in that $S/k \ge 5/3$ regime are already ruled out by the classical bound $x_{\min} \le (2^{S/k} - 3)^{-1} < 6$ [1–3].
2. Related Work and Distinction
2.1 Classical Rational-Cycle Parametrization and Archimedean Bounds
The affine word composition formula $(2^S - 3^k) x_0 = C(a)$ and the parametrization of rational Collatz cycles over $\mathbb{Z}_2 \cap \mathbb{Z}_3$ are classical, going back to Böhm and Sontacchi (1978) and Lagarias (1990) [13], as surveyed in Lagarias's annotated bibliography [24]. Crandall [1], Garner [2], and Eliahou [3] established the archimedean cycle bound $x_{\min} \le (2^{S/k} - 3)^{-1}$, which rules out positive cycles with $S/k \ge 5/3$ (where $x_{\min} < 6$) via small-orbit inspection, and together with supercomputer verifications up to $X_0 = 2^{68}$ [7, 8] enforces $S/k \le \log_2(3 + X_0^{-1})$ and rules out general cycles of small length $k$. For fixed $(k, S)$ across the entire simplex $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$, Halbeisen and Hungerbühler [28], Fernández and Ibáñez [26], and our companion paper [25, Theorems 1–2] proved that $x_{\min}(a)$ is maximized by the balanced Sturmian/Christoffel word $a^{\mathrm{Sturm}}(k, S)$, sharpening $(2^{S/k} - 3)^{-1}$ asymptotically by the factor $\frac{1}{2\ln 2} \approx 0.721348$ as the reduced denominator $k_0 = k/\gcd(k, S) \to \infty$ and $\Delta_0 = \Delta/\gcd(k, S) \to 0$.
We state explicitly what Theorems 1 and 2 add and what they reformulate: in Theorem 2, the integrality condition $q_t(a) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0}$ is algebraically equivalent to the classical divisibility test $(2^S - 3^k) \mid C(a)$, and the trace condition $\mathrm{Tr}_p(a) \equiv 0 \pmod p$ rewrites $C(a) \equiv 0 \pmod p$. The mathematical contribution of Theorem 1 is the exact least-representative bound: by proving via step-by-step $2$-adic divisibility that $(3^k r_2(a) + C(a))/2^S$ already lies in $[1, 3^k - 1]$ without modulo-$3^k$ reduction, Theorem 1 identifies $q_t(a) = (r_3(\sigma^t a) - r_2(\sigma^t a))/(2^S - 3^k)$ directly with $\lfloor x_t(a)/2^S \rfloor = \lfloor x_t(a)/3^k \rfloor$ whenever $x_t(a) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}$ is a positive integer cycle, providing the foundation for the local block-CRT lifts $A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}}, B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}}$ in Theorem 4.
2.2 Classical $m$-Cycle Theory vs. $\{1, 2\}$ $r$-Run Block Compression
Steiner [4] eliminated $1$-cycles ($m=1$), and Simons and de Weger [5] and Hercher [6, 27] used Baker-type linear forms in logarithms to eliminate cycles with $m \le 91$ local minima. As noted in Section 1.1, classical $m$-cycles allow arbitrary descent valuations $a_t \ge 2$ and count individual local minima $m$ (with Simons–de Weger [5, Lemma 4 & Corollary 5] proving $\Delta = S \ln 2 - k \ln 3 < m / x_{\min}$, i.e., $x_{\min} < m/\Delta$, and Hercher [6] refining the reciprocal sum conditionally on a verified threshold $X_0$), whereas Theorems 3–6 of the present paper address the restricted binary valuation alphabet $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ and group contiguous runs of $a_t = 2$ into $r$ blocks $(1^{u_1}, 2^{v_1}, \dots, 1^{u_r}, 2^{v_r})$ (where $m = \sum_{i=1}^r v_i = v \ge r$). In Corollary 1 Part 4, retaining the ascent factor $1 - (2/3)^{u_i}$ yields the $r$-run excess bound $x_{\min}(a) - 1 \le B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) < \tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) = 2r(1 - (2/3)^{u/r})/\Delta$, whose leading coefficient improves on the coarse auxiliary excess bound $B_{\mathrm{aux}}(k, S) = 2/((2^S/3^k)^{1/v} - 1)$ by $\ge \frac{3v}{u} > 4.228\times$ and on Simons–de Weger's published bound $v/\Delta$ by $\ge \frac{3v}{2u} > 2.114\times$ across all $1 \le r \le \min(u, v)$, while also yielding a general $m$-descent bound $B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m)$ on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ that is strictly sharper than Crandall–Garner–Eliahou's bound $(2^{S/k} - 3)^{-1}$ for all $1 \le m \le S - k < k$ (though less tight at worst-case $m = S - k$ than the fixed-$(k, S)$ balanced-word bound of [28, 25, 26]). In Theorem 6, coupling the outside-box Bezout bound with our $61,151$-state inside-box Block-CRT exit certificate proves $k \ge 2,966$, and our $2$-adic Fibonacci $\{1, 2\}$-tree sieve ($O(X^{\log_2\varphi})$ candidate-tree construction, verified through $M = 43$) extends this self-contained lower bound to $x_{\min}(a) > 2^{44}$, $r > 8.796 \times 10^{12} \Delta$, $u > 2.6388 \times 10^{13} \Delta$, and $k \ge 10,781,274$ on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ without relying on external $2^{68}$ trajectory searches.
2.3 $p$-Adic Conjugacy, Symbolic Dynamics, and Recent rStation Contributions
The $2$-adic conjugacy map $\Phi$ and its Haar measure properties were established by Everett [10], Terras [11], and Bernstein and Lagarias [14] (see also [12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24]); Theorem 6 Parts 4–5 apply this $2$-adic structure to compute the $(1/3)^{B-1}$ block survival law and Hausdorff dimension $\log_2((1+\sqrt{5})/2)$ of the $\{1, 2\}$-survivor set $\Sigma_{\{1, 2\}}$, and to construct a modular-inversion-free $O(X^{\log_2\varphi})$ Fibonacci $\{1, 2\}$-tree candidate sieve. In recent literature and on rStation, Halbeisen and Hungerbühler [28], Fernández and Ibáñez [26, Theorem 7.3], and our companion paper [25] studied extremal properties of Christoffel/Sturmian words on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ (and [25, Theorem 4, Parts 1–2] established the fixed-point excess decompositions $C(a) - D = 2 C_1(a)$ and $C(a) + D = 2 C_2(a)$ on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$, which we reindex by step positions $\ell_m$ and cumulative excesses $E_m$ in Theorem 7 to prove our mod-$5$/$7$ parity-collapse and reduced-divisor theorems), lyapunov_weaver [21] proved an inverse-minimum theorem for $\{1, 2\}$-words without consecutive twos ($v_i = 1$), fourier_wren [22] established renewal and Fourier decay bounds for the Syracuse transfer operator (and independently audited both Theorem 1/Theorem 6 and our Fibonacci $\{1, 2\}$-tree sieve), and sylve_recursions [23] proved two-path obstructions to additive Lyapunov potentials.
3. The Exact Bezout–Syracuse Seed Identity and Seed Space Geometry
Let $a = (a_0, \dots, a_{k-1}) \in \mathcal{A}(k, S)$ be any valuation vector of length $k \ge 1$ and sum $S = \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} a_j \ge 1$.
3.1 Definition of Dual Seeds
- The $k$-step forward $2$-adic seed $r_2(a) \in \{1, 3, \dots, 2^S - 1\}$ is the unique solution modulo $2^S$ to:$$ 3^k r_2(a) + C(a) \equiv 0 \pmod{2^S}, \quad r_2(a) = \left(-C(a) \cdot (3^k)^{-1}\right) \bmod 2^S. $$
- The $k$-step backward $3$-adic seed $r_3(a) \in \{1, 2, \dots, 3^k - 1\}$ is the unique solution modulo $3^k$ to:$$ 2^S r_3(a) - C(a) \equiv 0 \pmod{3^k}, \quad r_3(a) = \left(C(a) \cdot (2^S)^{-1}\right) \bmod 3^k. $$
3.2 Proof of Theorem 1 (The Bezout–Syracuse Seed Identity and Parity Lift)
Theorem 1. For every valuation vector $a \in \mathcal{A}(k, S)$:
- The formal affine map $\mathcal{F}_a(x) := (3^k x + C(a))/2^S$ maps the forward seed $r_2(a)$ to the exact integer backward seed $\mathcal{F}_a(r_2(a)) = r_3(a)$, so $r_2(a)$ and $r_3(a)$ satisfy the exact integer Bezout identity:$$ 2^S r_3(a) - 3^k r_2(a) = C(a) \quad \text{in } \mathbb{Z}. $$
- Under the accelerated Syracuse map $U$, $r_2(a)$ executes the first $k-1$ steps with exact valuations $(a_0, \dots, a_{k-2})$ and final valuation $a_{k-1} + v_2(r_3(a))$, so $U^{(k)}(r_2(a)) = r_3(a)/2^{v_2(r_3(a))}$ (with $U^{(k)}(r_2(a)) = r_3(a)$ if and only if $r_3(a)$ is odd). Setting the parity bit $\epsilon(a) := (r_3(a) + 1) \bmod 2 \in \{0, 1\}$, the unique minimal positive odd lift modulo $2^{S+1}$ realizing the exact valuation word $(a_0, \dots, a_{k-1})$ with odd endpoint is $r_2^*(a) := r_2(a) + \epsilon(a) 2^S \in [1, 2^{S+1} - 1]$, which terminates at $U^{(k)}(r_2^*(a)) = r_3^*(a) := r_3(a) + \epsilon(a) 3^k \in [1, 2 \cdot 3^k - 1]^{\mathrm{odd}}$ and satisfies $2^S r_3^*(a) - 3^k r_2^*(a) = C(a)$.
Proof.
- Consider the integer $Y := \mathcal{F}_a(r_2(a)) = (3^k r_2(a) + C(a))/2^S$. By definition of $r_2(a)$, $3^k r_2(a) + C(a) \equiv 0 \pmod{2^S}$, so $Y \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}$ is a positive integer. To prove $Y \le 3^k - 1$, let $C_j(a) := \sum_{i=0}^{j-1} 3^{j-1-i} 2^{S_i}$ for $0 \le j \le k$ (with $C_0(a) = 0$ and $C_k(a) = C(a)$). We prove by induction on $0 \le j \le k$ that$$ 3^j r_2(a) + C_j(a) \le 3^j 2^S - 2^{S_j}. $$For $j = 0$, $r_2(a) \le 2^S - 1 = 3^0 2^S - 2^{S_0}$. For the inductive step from $j$ to $j+1$, multiplying the inductive hypothesis by $3$ and adding $2^{S_j}$ gives$$ 3^{j+1} r_2(a) + C_{j+1}(a) = 3\left(3^j r_2(a) + C_j(a)\right) + 2^{S_j} \le 3^{j+1} 2^S - 2 \cdot 2^{S_j} < 3^{j+1} 2^S. $$Because $3^k r_2(a) + C(a) \equiv 3^{k-j-1}(3^{j+1} r_2(a) + C_{j+1}(a)) \equiv 0 \pmod{2^{S_{j+1}}}$ and $\gcd(3, 2) = 1$, both $3^{j+1} r_2(a) + C_{j+1}(a)$ and $3^{j+1} 2^S$ are multiples of $2^{S_{j+1}}$ (since $S_{j+1} \le S$). A multiple of $2^{S_{j+1}}$ strictly less than $3^{j+1} 2^S$ is at most $3^{j+1} 2^S - 2^{S_{j+1}}$, completing the induction. Setting $j = k$ (where $S_k = S$) gives $3^k r_2(a) + C(a) \le (3^k - 1) 2^S$, so $Y \in \{1, 2, \dots, 3^k - 1\}$. Reducing $2^S Y = 3^k r_2(a) + C(a)$ modulo $3^k$ gives $2^S Y \equiv C(a) \pmod{3^k}$. Since $r_3(a)$ is the unique integer in $\{1, \dots, 3^k - 1\}$ satisfying $2^S r_3(a) \equiv C(a) \pmod{3^k}$, we have $Y = r_3(a)$ identically, proving:$$ 2^S r_3(a) - 3^k r_2(a) = C(a) \quad \text{in } \mathbb{Z}. $$
- For each intermediate step $1 \le j \le k-1$, reducing $3^k r_2(a) + C(a) = 2^S r_3(a)$ modulo $2^{S_j + a_j} = 2^{S_{j+1}}$ annihilates all terms in $C(a)$ with index $\ge j+1$, while the $j$-th term of $C(a)$ has exact $2$-adic valuation $S_j$, pinning $v_2(3 x_j + 1) = a_j$ for all $0 \le j \le k-2$. At the final step $j = k-1$, $3 x_{k-1} + 1 = 2^{a_{k-1}} r_3(a)$, so $v_2(3 x_{k-1} + 1) = a_{k-1} + v_2(r_3(a))$, which equals $a_{k-1}$ if and only if $r_3(a)$ is odd. Adding $\epsilon(a) 2^S$ to $r_2(a)$ adds $\epsilon(a) 3^k$ to $r_3(a)$; since $3^k$ is odd, $r_3^*(a) = r_3(a) + \epsilon(a) 3^k$ is odd for $\epsilon(a) = (r_3(a) + 1) \bmod 2 \in \{0, 1\}$, and $2^S r_3^*(a) - 3^k r_2^*(a) = 2^S r_3(a) - 3^k r_2(a) = C(a)$. $\quad \square$
3.3 Proof of Theorem 2 (Seed Coincidence, Shift Ordering, and $\mathbb{F}_p^\times$ Walks)
Theorem 2. For any $a \in \mathcal{A}(k, S)$ with $2^S > 3^k$:
- The rational cycle states $x_t(a) \in \mathbb{Q}_{>0}$ decompose as:$$ x_t(a) = \frac{C(\sigma^t a)}{2^S - 3^k} = r_2(\sigma^t a) + 2^S q_t(a) = r_3(\sigma^t a) + 3^k q_t(a), $$where the rational displacement $q_t(a) \in \mathbb{Q} \cap \mathbb{Z}_2 \cap \mathbb{Z}_3$ is:$$ q_t(a) = \frac{r_3(\sigma^t a) - r_2(\sigma^t a)}{2^S - 3^k}. $$Furthermore, $x_t(a) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}$ is a positive integer if and only if $q_t(a) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0}$, in which case:$$ q_t(a) = \left\lfloor \frac{x_t(a)}{2^S} \right\rfloor = \left\lfloor \frac{x_t(a)}{3^k} \right\rfloor \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0}. $$
- If $(x_t(a))_{t=0}^{k-1}$ is a positive integer cycle, then for all $0 \le t < k$:$$ 1 \le r_2(\sigma^t a) \le r_3(\sigma^t a) < 3^k. $$In particular, at any shift $t$ where $x_t(a) < 2^S$ (which holds at $t = t_{\min}$ whenever $2^S - 3^k \ge k/3$):$$ q_t(a) = 0 \quad \Longleftrightarrow \quad r_2(\sigma^t a) = r_3(\sigma^t a) = x_t(a), $$and at such a shift $r_3(\sigma^t a) = x_t(a)$ is odd, so $\epsilon(\sigma^t a) = 0$ and $U^{(k)}(r_2(\sigma^t a)) = r_3(\sigma^t a) = r_2(\sigma^t a)$.
- For any prime divisor $p \mid (2^S - 3^k)$ ($p \ge 5$), let $w_j = 2^{a_j} 3^{-1} \in \mathbb{F}_p^\times$. The sequence of partial products $P_j = \prod_{i=0}^{j-1} w_i = 2^{S_j} 3^{-j} \in \mathbb{F}_p^\times$ forms a closed multiplicative walk with $P_0 = P_k = 1$, and:$$ p \mid C(a) \quad \Longleftrightarrow \quad \mathrm{Tr}_p(a) := \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} P_j \equiv 0 \pmod p. $$
Proof.
-
Subtract $(2^S - 3^k) r_2(a)$ from both sides of the Bezout identity $2^S r_3(a) - 3^k r_2(a) = C(a)$:
$$ C(a) - (2^S - 3^k) r_2(a) = 2^S r_3(a) - 3^k r_2(a) - 2^S r_2(a) + 3^k r_2(a) = 2^S (r_3(a) - r_2(a)). $$Dividing by $2^S - 3^k$ yields $x_0(a) - r_2(a) = 2^S \frac{r_3(a) - r_2(a)}{2^S - 3^k}$. Similarly, subtracting $(2^S - 3^k) r_3(a)$ yields $x_0(a) - r_3(a) = 3^k \frac{r_3(a) - r_2(a)}{2^S - 3^k}$. Setting $q_0(a) = (r_3(a) - r_2(a))/(2^S - 3^k) \in \mathbb{Q}$ proves the decomposition. Since $\gcd(2^S, 3^k) = 1$, $x_t(a) = r_2(\sigma^t a) + 2^S q_t(a) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}$ if and only if $q_t(a) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0}$, and because $1 \le r_2(\sigma^t a) < 2^S$ and $1 \le r_3(\sigma^t a) < 3^k$, $q_t(a) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0}$ implies $q_t(a) = \lfloor x_t(a) / 2^S \rfloor = \lfloor x_t(a) / 3^k \rfloor$.
-
In a positive integer cycle, $x_t(a) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}$, so by Part 1, $q_t(a) = \lfloor x_t(a) / 2^S \rfloor \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0}$. Since $2^S > 3^k$, $q_t(a) \ge 0$ forces $r_3(\sigma^t a) - r_2(\sigma^t a) = (2^S - 3^k) q_t(a) \ge 0$, so $r_2(\sigma^t a) \le r_3(\sigma^t a)$. Since $r_3 \in [1, 3^k - 1]$, $1 \le r_2(\sigma^t a) \le r_3(\sigma^t a) < 3^k$. When $x_t(a) < 2^S$, $q_t(a) = 0$, forcing $r_3(\sigma^t a) - r_2(\sigma^t a) = 0$, so $r_2(\sigma^t a) = r_3(\sigma^t a) = x_t(a)$ (which is an odd integer, so $\epsilon(\sigma^t a) = 0$). At the shift $r^*$ maximizing $k S_i - i S$, $S_j(\sigma^{r^*} a) \le \lfloor jS/k \rfloor \le jS/k$, so each term in $C(\sigma^{r^*} a)$ satisfies $3^{k-1-j} 2^{S_j} \le 3^{k-1} (2^S/3^k)^{j/k} < \frac{1}{3} 2^S$. Thus $\mu(a) < \frac{k}{3} 2^S$, and $x_{\min}(a) = \frac{\mu(a)}{2^S - 3^k} < 2^S$ whenever $2^S - 3^k \ge k/3$.
-
In $\mathbb{F}_p$, $2^S \equiv 3^k \pmod p$, so $P_k = 2^S 3^{-k} \equiv 1 \pmod p = P_0$, confirming that $(P_j)_{j=0}^k$ is a closed walk. Multiplying $C(a) = \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} 3^{k-1-j} 2^{S_j}$ by $3^{-(k-1)} \pmod p$ yields:
$$ 3^{-(k-1)} C(a) \equiv \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} 3^{-j} 2^{S_j} = \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} P_j = \mathrm{Tr}_p(a) \pmod p. $$Since $\gcd(3, p) = 1$, $p \mid C(a) \iff \mathrm{Tr}_p(a) \equiv 0 \pmod p$. $\quad \square$
Bezout–Syracuse Seed Space and Positive-Cycle Exclusion
Figure 1 illustrates Theorem 1 and Theorem 2. Panel (a) plots the normalized seed coordinates $(r_2(a)/3^k, r_3(a)/3^k)$ across binary simplices $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(11, 18)$, $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(12, 20)$, and $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(13, 21)$. The admissible zone $r_2 \le r_3 < 3^k$ (shaded red) contains zero candidate vectors. Panel (b) shows the maximum shift excess $\max_t (r_2(\sigma^t a) - r_3(\sigma^t a))/3^k > 0$, confirming that $100\%$ of tested valuation vectors violate the positive integer cycle requirement.
4. The Coupled Cyclic Bezout Ladder and Homogenization Obstructions on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$
Let $a = (1^{u_1}, 2^{v_1}, \dots, 1^{u_r}, 2^{v_r}) \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ be a $\{1, 2\}$ $r$-run valuation vector with run lengths $u_i, v_i \ge 1$, $\sum_{i=1}^r u_i = u = 2k - S$, and $\sum_{i=1}^r v_i = v = S - k$. Let $z_i$ denote the $i$-th trough (start of $1^{u_i}$) and $y_i$ denote the $i$-th peak (start of $2^{v_i}$).
4.1 Proof of Theorem 3 (Coupled Cyclic Bezout Ladder for $\{1, 2\}$ $r$-Run Cycles)
Theorem 3. In any positive integer $\{1, 2\}$ $r$-run cycle $a = (1^{u_1}, 2^{v_1}, \dots, 1^{u_r}, 2^{v_r}) \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$:
- There exist $2r$ positive odd integers $(A_1, B_1, \dots, A_r, B_r) \in (\mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^{\mathrm{odd}})^{2r}$ such that:$$ z_i = 2^{u_i + 1} A_i - 1, \quad y_i = 2 \cdot 3^{u_i} A_i - 1 = 2^{2 v_i + 1} B_i + 1, \quad z_{i+1} = 2 \cdot 3^{v_i} B_i + 1, $$satisfying the $2r \times 2r$ Coupled Cyclic Bezout System of determinant $2^S - 3^k$:$$ 3^{u_i} A_i - 4^{v_i} B_i = 1, \quad 2^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1} - 3^{v_i} B_i = 1 \quad (1 \le i \le r, \; A_{r+1} := A_1). $$
- For each block $i$ with valuation sum $S_i = u_i + 2 v_i$, the oddness of $A_i$ and $B_i$ uniquely determines $z_i$ modulo $2^{S_i + 2}$:$$ z_i \equiv 2^{u_i + 1} \tilde{A}_i(u_i, v_i) - 1 \pmod{2^{S_i + 2}}, $$where $\tilde{A}_i(u_i, v_i) = A_i^{(0)} + 4^{v_i} ((1 - B_i^{(0)}) \bmod 2)$ with $A_i^{(0)} = 3^{-u_i} \bmod 4^{v_i}$ and $B_i^{(0)} = (3^{u_i} A_i^{(0)} - 1)/4^{v_i}$.
Proof.
-
Under $u_i$ consecutive steps of valuation $a_t = 1$, the map acts as $x \mapsto (3x+1)/2$. Since $x+1 \mapsto \frac{3}{2}(x+1)$, iterating $u_i$ steps gives $y_i + 1 = (3/2)^{u_i} (z_i + 1)$. Because $y_i$ is an integer, $z_i + 1$ must be divisible by $2^{u_i}$. Since the next valuation is $a_t = 2$, $3y_i + 1 \equiv 0 \pmod 4 \implies y_i \equiv 1 \pmod 4$, forcing $z_i + 1$ to be divisible by $2^{u_i + 1}$. Setting $z_i + 1 = 2^{u_i + 1} A_i$ yields $y_i + 1 = 2 \cdot 3^{u_i} A_i$. Similarly, under $v_i$ consecutive steps of valuation $a_t = 2$, $x-1 \mapsto \frac{3}{4}(x-1)$, giving $z_{i+1} - 1 = (3/4)^{v_i} (y_i - 1)$. Because the following valuation is $a_t = 1$, $3 z_{i+1} + 1 \equiv 2 \pmod 4 \implies z_{i+1} \equiv 3 \pmod 4$, forcing $y_i - 1$ to be divisible by $2^{2v_i + 1}$. Setting $y_i - 1 = 2^{2v_i + 1} B_i$ yields $z_{i+1} - 1 = 2 \cdot 3^{v_i} B_i$. Subtracting $(y_i - 1)$ from $(y_i + 1)$ gives $2 \cdot 3^{u_i} A_i - 2^{2v_i + 1} B_i = 2 \implies 3^{u_i} A_i - 4^{v_i} B_i = 1$. Equating $z_{i+1} = 2^{u_{i+1} + 1} A_{i+1} - 1 = 2 \cdot 3^{v_i} B_i + 1$ gives $2^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1} - 3^{v_i} B_i = 1$. Since $u_{i+1} \ge 1$, $3^{v_i} B_i$ is odd, so $B_i$ is odd; then $3^{u_i} A_i = 4^{v_i} B_i + 1$ is odd, so $A_i$ is odd.
-
From $3^{u_i} A_i - 4^{v_i} B_i = 1$, $A_i \equiv 3^{-u_i} \pmod{4^{v_i}}$, so $A_i = A_i^{(0)} + 4^{v_i} K_i$ and $B_i = B_i^{(0)} + 3^{u_i} K_i$. Because $B_i$ and $3^{u_i}$ are odd, $K_i \equiv 1 - B_i^{(0)} \pmod 2$. Writing $K_i = ((1 - B_i^{(0)}) \bmod 2) + 2 \tilde{K}_i$ determines $A_i = \tilde{A}_i + 2 \cdot 4^{v_i} \tilde{K}_i \pmod{2^{2v_i + 1}}$, and substituting into $z_i = 2^{u_i + 1} A_i - 1$ determines $z_i$ uniquely modulo $2^{S_i + 2}$. $\quad \square$
4.2 Sub-Valuation Telescoping, Young–Ferrers Inversion, and Sharpened $r$-Run Minimum-Element Bounds
Corollary 1 (Sub-Valuation Telescoping, Rank-1 Young–Ferrers Decomposition, and Sharpened $r$-Run Minimum-Element Bound). For any $a \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ with $u = 2k - S$ ones and $v = S - k$ twos, let $C_d(a) := \sum_{j:\, a_j = d} 3^{k-1-j} 2^{S_j}$ ($d \in \{1, 2\}$). Then:
- (Sub-Valuation Telescoping [25, Theorem 4, Parts 1–2]): Specializing the general fixed-point excess decomposition of our companion paper [25, Theorem 4, Parts 1–2] to $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ gives $C_1(a) + C_2(a) = C(a)$ and $C_2(a) - C_1(a) = 2^S - 3^k$ identically, so $C(a) = (2^S - 3^k) + 2 C_1(a) = -(2^S - 3^k) + 2 C_2(a)$ and $x_0(a) = 1 + \frac{2 C_1(a)}{2^S - 3^k} = \frac{2 C_2(a)}{2^S - 3^k} - 1$.
- (Rank-1 Young–Ferrers Lattice Decomposition): Let $\lambda(a) = \{(p, q) \in \{0, \dots, u-1\} \times \{0, \dots, v-1\} : \text{the } q\text{-th } 2 \text{ precedes the } p\text{-th } 1\}$ be the Young diagram of $a$. Define $W_{p, q} := (3^{u - 1 - p} 2^p)(3^{v - 1 - q} 4^q)$ and $W(\lambda(a)) := \sum_{(p, q) \in \lambda(a)} W_{p, q}$. Then:$$ C_1(a) = 3^v (3^u - 2^u) + W(\lambda(a)), \qquad C_2(a) = 2^u (4^v - 3^v) + W(\lambda(a)), $$confining $C(a)$ across $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ to $[2^S + 3^k - 2^{u+1} 3^v,\; 2 \cdot 3^u 4^v - (2^S + 3^k)]$ of width $2(3^u - 2^u)(4^v - 3^v)$.
- (Closed-Form $r$-Term Telescoped Bezout Inversion): For any $\{1, 2\}$ $r$-run word $a = (1^{u_1}, 2^{v_1}, \dots, 1^{u_r}, 2^{v_r})$ with cumulative block sums $U_i = \sum_{m=1}^i u_m$ and $V_j = \sum_{m=1}^j v_m$, $\lambda(a)$ decomposes into $\binom{r}{2}$ rectangles $R_{i, j} = [U_{i-1}, U_i - 1] \times [V_{j-1}, V_j - 1]$ ($1 \le j < i \le r$). Telescoping the inner geometric series yields exact $r$-term sums for $A_1 = \frac{C_2(a)}{2^{u_1}(2^S - 3^k)}$ and $B_r = \frac{C_1(a)}{3^{v_r}(2^S - 3^k)}$:$$ \begin{aligned} (2^S - 3^k) A_1 &= \sum_{j=1}^r 3^{(u - U_j) + (v - V_j)} 2^{(U_j - u_1) + 2 V_{j-1}} \left(4^{v_j} - 3^{v_j}\right), \\ (2^S - 3^k) B_r &= \sum_{i=1}^r 3^{(u - U_i) + (v - v_r - V_{i-1})} 2^{U_{i-1} + 2 V_{i-1}} \left(3^{u_i} - 2^{u_i}\right). \end{aligned} $$Consequently, for $r \ge 2$, isolating the $j=1, 2$ and $i=r$ terms gives:$$ A_i \equiv 3^{-u_i}\left(1 - 3^{-v_i} 4^{v_i} + 2^{u_{i+1} + 2 v_i}\right) \pmod{2^{u_{i+1} + 2 v_i + 1}}, \qquad A_i \equiv 2^{-u_i}\left(1 - 4^{-v_{i-1}} 3^{v_{i-1}}\right) \pmod{3^{u_{i-1} + v_{i-1}}}. $$
- (Exact $r$-Run Trough–Peak Product Identity, Universal $m$-Descent Product Identity, and Sharpened Minimum-Element Bounds):
- (Binary $r$-Run Trough–Peak Product on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$): Eliminating the $k - 2r$ interior steps reduces the $k$-factor product to an $r$-factor product over the troughs $z_j$ and peaks $y_j$:$$ \frac{2^S}{3^k} = \prod_{j=1}^r \left( \frac{z_j + 1}{z_j - 1} \cdot \frac{y_j - 1}{y_j + 1} \right) = \prod_{j=1}^r \left( 1 + \frac{2\left(1 - (2/3)^{u_j}\right)}{z_j - 1} \right) = \prod_{j=1}^r \left( 1 + \frac{2\left((4/3)^{v_j} - 1\right)}{y_j + 1} \right). $$By Jensen's inequality on the concave map $u_j \mapsto \ln\left(1 + \frac{2(1 - (2/3)^{u_j})}{z_{\min} - 1}\right)$, every $\{1, 2\}$ $r$-run word $a \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ ($1 \le r \le \min(u, v)$) satisfies the excess bound:$$ x_{\min}(a) - 1 \le B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) := \frac{2\left(1 - (2/3)^{u/r}\right)}{(2^S / 3^k)^{1/r} - 1} < \tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) := \frac{2r\left(1 - (2/3)^{u/r}\right)}{\Delta}, \quad \Delta := S \ln 2 - k \ln 3. $$Compared to the coarse auxiliary excess bound $B_{\mathrm{aux}}(k, S) := \frac{2}{(2^S / 3^k)^{1/v} - 1}$ (obtained by upper-bounding $1 - (2/3)^{u_j}$ by $1$ and replacing $r$ by the local-minima count $m = v = S - k \ge r$), Bernoulli's inequality $((2^S/3^k)^{1/r} - 1)/((2^S/3^k)^{1/v} - 1) \ge v/r$ and $1 - (2/3)^{u/r} \le u/(3r)$ yield $\frac{B_{\mathrm{aux}}(k, S)}{B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)} \ge \frac{v}{r(1 - (2/3)^{u/r})} \ge \frac{3v}{u} > 4.22839$. Compared to Simons and de Weger's published bound $x_{\min}(a) < \frac{m}{\Delta} = \frac{v}{\Delta}$ [5, Section 3.2, Lemma 4 & Corollary 5] (keeping the $+1$ shift in $x_{\min}(a) - 1 \le B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) < \tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)$ explicit), the leading $1/\Delta$ coefficient $\tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)$ improves upon $v/\Delta$ by the uniform factor:$$ \frac{v / \Delta}{\tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)} = \frac{v}{2r\left(1 - (2/3)^{u/r}\right)} \ge \frac{3v}{2u} = \frac{3(S - k)}{2(2k - S)} > \frac{3(\log_2 3 - 1)}{2(2 - \log_2 3)} \approx 2.114197. $$
- (Universal $m$-Descent Product on Unrestricted $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$): For any unrestricted composition $a \in \mathcal{A}(k, S)$ ($k < S < 2k$) with $m := \#\{t : a_t \ge 2\} \in [1, S - k]$ descent steps, decompose $a$ up to cyclic shift into $m$ blocks $(1^{u_1}, d_1, \dots, 1^{u_m}, d_m)$ ($u_j \ge 0, d_j \ge 2, \sum_{j=1}^m (u_j + 1) = k$). Across block $j$ starting at $z_j$, the $u_j + 1$ factors of $\frac{2^S}{3^k} = \prod_{t=0}^{k-1} \left(1 + \frac{1}{3 x_t}\right)$ telescope via $x_{t+1} = (3 x_t + 1)/2$ into $1 + \frac{1 - (2/3)^{u_j + 1}}{z_j}$, yielding the exact descent-exponent-independent identity and $m$-dependent bound:$$ \frac{2^S}{3^k} = \prod_{j=1}^m \left( 1 + \frac{1 - (2/3)^{u_j + 1}}{z_j} \right) \implies x_{\min}(a) \le B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m) := \frac{1 - (2/3)^{k/m}}{(2^S / 3^k)^{1/m} - 1} < \frac{3\left(1 - (2/3)^{k/m}\right)}{k/m} x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S) < x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S) = \frac{1}{2^{S/k} - 3}. $$Moreover, since $m \mapsto B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m)$ is strictly increasing on $[1, k]$ and $m \le S - k < k$, every $a \in \mathcal{A}(k, S)$ satisfies the uniform simplex bound:$$ x_{\min}(a) \le B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m) \le B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, S - k) < \frac{3\left(1 - (2/3)^{k/(S - k)}\right)}{k / (S - k)} x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S) < x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S). $$For fixed $(k, S)$ without restricting $m$ or $r$, the optimal all-word bound on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ is the balanced-word bound $x_{\min}(a) \le x_{\min}(a^{\mathrm{Sturm}}(k, S)) \to \frac{1}{2\ln 2} x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S) \approx 0.721348\,x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S)$ (as $k_0 = k/\gcd(k, S) \to \infty$ and $\Delta_0 = \Delta/\gcd(k, S) \to 0$) [28, 25, 26]; $B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m)$ and $B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)$ provide explicit $O(m/\Delta)$ and $O(r/\Delta)$ bounds in terms of the descent count $m$ and run count $r$.
Proof. Parts 1–3 follow by telescoping $C_2(a) - C_1(a) = \sum_{j=0}^{k-1}(2^{a_j} - 3) 3^{k-1-j} 2^{S_j} = 2^S - 3^k$ and summing $W_{p, q}$ over the $\binom{r}{2}$ rectangles $R_{i, j}$. In Part 4, multiplying $\frac{z_j + 1}{y_j + 1} = (2/3)^{u_j}$ and $\frac{y_j - 1}{z_{j+1} - 1} = (4/3)^{v_j}$ around the cycle gives the first product, and Jensen's inequality gives $x_{\min}(a) - 1 \le B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) < \tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)$; since $v \ge r \ge 1$ and $2^S/3^k > 1$, $(1 + \delta)^{v/r} \ge 1 + (v/r)\delta$ for $\delta = (2^S/3^k)^{1/v} - 1$ gives $((2^S/3^k)^{1/r} - 1)/((2^S/3^k)^{1/v} - 1) \ge v/r$, while $(2/3)^x \ge 1 - x/3$ for $x = u/r \ge 1$ gives $1 - (2/3)^{u/r} \le u/(3r)$, proving both $\frac{B_{\mathrm{aux}}(k, S)}{B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)} \ge \frac{3v}{u}$ and $\frac{v/\Delta}{\tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)} \ge \frac{3v}{2u}$. For the unrestricted $m$-descent product, across $(1^{u_j}, d_j)$ starting at $z_j = x_{t_j}$ and peaking at $y_j = (3/2)^{u_j}(z_j + 1) - 1$, $\prod_{s=0}^{u_j - 1} \frac{3 x_{t_j + s} + 1}{3 x_{t_j + s}} = \prod_{s=0}^{u_j - 1} \frac{2 x_{t_j + s + 1}}{3 x_{t_j + s}} = (2/3)^{u_j} \frac{y_j}{z_j}$, so multiplying by $\frac{3 y_j + 1}{3 y_j} = \frac{2((3/2)^{u_j+1}(z_j + 1) - 1)}{3 y_j}$ cancels $y_j$ and gives $\frac{z_j + 1 - (2/3)^{u_j + 1}}{z_j} = 1 + \frac{1 - (2/3)^{u_j + 1}}{z_j}$. Applying Jensen's inequality to $u_j + 1$ ($\sum_{j=1}^m (u_j + 1) = k$) gives $x_{\min}(a) \le B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m)$. For any $m \in [1, k - 1]$, $k/m > 1$, so Bernoulli's inequality $((2^S/3^k)^{1/m} - 1)/((2^S/3^k)^{1/k} - 1) > k/m$ and strict convexity of $(2/3)^t$ ($\frac{1 - (2/3)^{k/m}}{k/m} < 1 - 2/3 = \frac{1}{3}$) prove $B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m) < \frac{3(1 - (2/3)^{k/m})}{k/m} x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S) < x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S)$; evaluating the same inequality at $m = S - k < k$ gives the bound for $B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, S - k)$. $\quad \square$
Remark 1 (Exact $O(u v p)$ Transfer-Matrix Residue Counting vs. Boundary Non-Equidistribution). Interpreting $a \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ as a lattice path on $[0, u] \times [0, v]$ with step contribution $E(p_{\mathrm{idx}}, q) = 3^{k-1-(p_{\mathrm{idx}}+q)} 2^{p_{\mathrm{idx}}+2q} \bmod p$ ($p \mid (2^S - 3^k)$), the exact residue counts $N_p(r; k, S) = \#\{a \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S) : C(a) \equiv r \pmod p\}$ and character sums $Z_p(c; k, S) = \sum_{a \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)} e^{2\pi i c C(a)/p}$ are computable in $O(u v p)$ polynomial time via dynamic programming on $[0, u] \times [0, v]$, with Fourier inversion bound $\left|\frac{N_p(r; k, S)}{\binom{k}{v}} - \frac{1}{p}\right| \le \frac{p - 1}{p} \delta_p(k, S)$ where $\delta_p(k, S) = \max_{c \in \mathbb{F}_p^\times} |Z_p(c; k, S)|/\binom{k}{v}$. In specific interior simplices where both $u$ and $v$ are large, $\delta_p(k, S)$ can be very small—for example, at $(k, S, p) = (39, 62, 11)$ ($u = 16, v = 23, \binom{39}{23} = 37,711,260,990$), exact DP evaluation gives $N_{11}(0) = 3,428,311,887$ and $\delta_{11}(39, 62) = 8.2775 \times 10^{-7}$, and at $(k, S, p) = (40, 64, 13)$ ($u = 16, v = 24, \binom{40}{24} = 62,852,101,650$), $N_{13}(0) = 4,834,872,320$ and $\delta_{13}(40, 64) = 3.7489 \times 10^{-6}$. Crucially, however, $C(a) \bmod p$ does not equidistribute across all simplices $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ as $k \to \infty$: as we prove in Theorem 7 below, boundary families ($u = O(1)$ or $v = O(1)$) and primes $p \in \{5, 7\}$ where the position base ratio has multiplicative order $2$ exhibit exact algebraic non-vanishing ($N_p(0; k, S) = 0$) or converge to non-uniform limiting densities such as $1/4 \ne 1/7$.
4.3 Reindexed Fixed-Point Homogenization and Mod-$5$/$7$ Index-Parity Collapse
Theorem 7 (Reindexed Fixed-Point Homogenization, Mod-$5$/$7$ Index-Parity Collapse, and Reduced Gap Divisors). Let $k \ge 3$, $S > k$, $v = S - k \ge 1$, and $D = 2^S - 3^k$. For any unrestricted composition $a \in \mathcal{A}(k, S)$, let $0 \le \ell_1 < \dots < \ell_r \le k - 1$ be the $r := \#\{t : a_t \ge 2\} \in [1, v]$ indices where $a_{\ell_m} \ge 2$, with cumulative excess $E_m := \sum_{s=1}^m (a_{\ell_s} - 1)$ ($E_0 = 0, E_r = v$); when $a \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ ($k < S < 2k$, so $r = v$), let $0 \le j_1 < \dots < j_u \le k - 1$ denote the $u = 2k - S$ indices where $a_{j_i} = 1$. Then:
- (Index-Position Reindexing of [25, Theorem 4, Parts 1–2]): Substituting $S_{j_i} = 2 j_i - i + 1$ ($j_i \ge i - 1$) on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ and $S_{\ell_m} = \ell_m + E_{m-1}$ on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ into the fixed-point excess identities of [25, Theorem 4, Parts 1–2] reindexes them by the step positions $j_i$ and $\ell_m$:$$ C(a) - (2^S - 3^k) = \sum_{i=1}^u 3^{k - 1 - j_i} 2^{2 j_i - i + 2} \;\;\text{on } \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S), \qquad \frac{C(a) + (2^S - 3^k)}{2} = \sum_{m=1}^r \left(2^{E_m} - 2^{E_{m-1}}\right) 3^{k - 1 - \ell_m} 2^{\ell_m} \;\;\text{on } \mathcal{A}(k, S). $$
- (Universal Coprimality on the $u = 1$ and $v = 1$ Boundary Families):
- When $u = 1$ ($S = 2k - 1$ on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, 2k - 1)$), $C(a) - (2^{2k-1} - 3^k) = 2 \cdot 3^{k - 1 - j_1} 4^{j_1}$, so $\gcd(C(a), |2^{2k-1} - 3^k|) = 1$ and $N_p(0; k, 2k - 1) = 0$ for every $k \ge 2$ and every prime $p \mid (2^{2k-1} - 3^k)$ (in particular for $p = 5$ across $k \equiv 3 \pmod 4$, where $C(a) \equiv 3 \cdot 2^{j_1} \not\equiv 0 \pmod 5$ and $\delta_5(k, 2k - 1) \ge 1/4$).
- When $r = 1$ on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ ($k - 1$ ones and one step $a_{\ell_1} = v + 1$), $C(a) + D = 2(2^v - 1) 3^{k - 1 - \ell_1} 2^{\ell_1}$, so $\gcd(C(a), |D|) = \gcd(2^v - 1, |3^k - 2^k|)$ (in particular $\gcd(C(a), |2^{k+1} - 3^k|) = 1$ and $N_p(0; k, k + 1) = 0$ for $v = 1$).
- (Mod-$5$ and Mod-$7$ Index-Parity Collapse and Exact Non-Uniform Limits):
- Modulo $p = 5$, $5 \mid (2^S - 3^k) \iff v \equiv 2(k \bmod 2) \pmod 4$. Since $2 \equiv -3 \pmod 5$, $(2/3)^{\ell_m} \equiv (-1)^{\ell_m} \pmod 5$, collapsing $C(a) \bmod 5$ across the entire unrestricted simplex $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ to:$$ \frac{C(a) + (2^S - 3^k)}{2} \equiv 3^{k - 1} \sum_{m=1}^r \left(2^{E_m} - 2^{E_{m-1}}\right) (-1)^{\ell_m} \pmod 5. $$At $v = 2$ ($S = k + 2$ with $k \ge 3$ odd), $5 \mid (2^{k+2} - 3^k)$ while neither $r = 2$ ($\pm 1 \pm 2 \not\equiv 0 \pmod 5$) nor $r = 1$ ($\pm 3 \not\equiv 0 \pmod 5$) vanishes, so $N_5^{\mathrm{unres}}(0; k, k + 2) = 0$ on $\mathcal{A}(k, k + 2)$ (note that for positive cycles, $2^{k+2} > 3^k$ holds only at $k = 3$, while for $k \ge 5$ this governs negative rational cycles).
- Modulo $p = 7$, $7 \mid (2^S - 3^k) \iff (2 \mid k \text{ and } 3 \mid u)$. Since $4 \equiv -3 \pmod 7$, $(4/3)^{j_i} \equiv (-1)^{j_i} \pmod 7$ on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$, collapsing $C(a) \bmod 7$ to $C(a) - (2^S - 3^k) \equiv 3^{k - 1} \sum_{i=1}^u 2^{2 - i} (-1)^{j_i} \pmod 7$. Across the infinite family $u = 3$ ($S = 2k - 3$ with $k = 2m \ge 4$ even, where $2^{4m-3} > 3^{2m}$ holds for all $m \ge 4$, while $m = 2, 3$ have $2^{4m-3} < 3^{2m}$), $7 \mid (2^{4m-3} - 3^{2m})$ and $2(-1)^{j_1} + (-1)^{j_2} + 4(-1)^{j_3} \equiv 0 \pmod 7 \iff j_1 \equiv j_2 \equiv j_3 \pmod 2$, yielding the exact closed form and non-equidistributed asymptotic density:$$ N_7(0; 2m, 4m - 3) = 2 \binom{m}{3}, \qquad \lim_{m \to \infty} \frac{N_7(0; 2m, 4m - 3)}{\binom{2m}{3}} = \lim_{m \to \infty} \frac{m - 2}{2(2m - 1)} = \frac{1}{4} \ne \frac{1}{7}. $$
- (Dual Pigeonhole-Gap Bounds on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ and $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$): On $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$, rotating $a$ so the $1$ following the longest circular arc between ones ($\ge \lceil k/u \rceil$) is at $j_1 = 0$ ($j_u \le k - \lceil k/u \rceil$) defines the positive integer $H_u^+(a) := \sum_{i=1}^u 2^{u - i} 3^{j_u - j_i} 4^{j_i}$; dually, on the unrestricted simplex $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$, rotating $a$ so the $\ge 2$-step following the longest circular arc between $\ge 2$-steps ($\ge \lceil k/r \rceil$) is at $\ell_1 = 0$ ($\ell_r \le k - \lceil k/r \rceil$) defines $H_{r, v}^{\mathrm{unres}}(a) := \sum_{m=1}^r (2^{E_m} - 2^{E_{m-1}}) 3^{\ell_r - \ell_m} 2^{\ell_m}$ (which specializes to $H_v^-(a)$ on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$). Here $H_u^+(a)$ and $H_v^-(a)$ are coprime to $3$ (with $H_v^-(a)$ odd), $H_{r, v}^{\mathrm{unres}}(a)$ is odd (and coprime to $3$ when $a_{\ell_r}$ is even), and they satisfy $\gcd(C(a), D) = \gcd(H_u^+(a), D) = \gcd(H_{r, v}^{\mathrm{unres}}(a), D)$ and:$$ 1 \le H_u^+(a) \le \left(3^u - 2^u\right) 2^{S - 2\lceil k/u \rceil + 1}, \qquad 1 \le H_{r, v}^{\mathrm{unres}}(a) \le \left(2^{v - r}\left(4^r - 2 \cdot 3^{r - 1}\right) - 3^{r - 1}\right) 3^{k - \lceil k/r \rceil - r + 1}. $$While $H_u^+(a) < 2^S - 3^k$ gives a purely algebraic non-divisibility proof $D \nmid C(a)$ for $S = 2k - u, k \ge \max(3, u^2 + 2)$, we note that for positive integer cycles this $S/k \ge 5/3$ regime is already excluded by the classical bound $x_{\min} \le (2^{S/k} - 3)^{-1} < 6$ [1–3].
Proof.
- On $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$, prior to $j_i$ there are $i - 1$ ones and $j_i - (i - 1)$ twos, so $S_{j_i} = 2 j_i - i + 1$ (with $2 j_i - i + 2 \ge i \ge 1$, so every summand $3^{k - 1 - j_i} 2^{2 j_i - i + 2} \in 2\mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}$ is an even positive integer), and $C(a) - D = 2 C_1(a)$ [25, Theorem 4] gives the first identity. On $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$, [25, Theorem 4(1)] gives $(C(a) + D)/2 = \sum_{t: a_t \ge 2} 3^{k-1-t} 2^{S_t} (2^{a_t - 1} - 1)$; indexing the $r$ steps $a_{\ell_m} \ge 2$ by $m = 1, \dots, r$ gives $S_{\ell_m} = \ell_m + E_{m-1}$ and $a_{\ell_m} - 1 = E_m - E_{m-1}$, so $2^{S_{\ell_m}}(2^{a_{\ell_m}-1} - 1) = (2^{E_m} - 2^{E_{m-1}}) 2^{\ell_m}$.
- Immediate from Part 1 since $\gcd(6, |D|) = 1$ and $\gcd(2^v - 1, |2^{k+v} - 3^k|) = \gcd(2^v - 1, |3^k - 2^k|)$.
- Follows from $3 \equiv -2 \pmod 5 \implies 3^{k-1-\ell_m} 2^{\ell_m} \equiv 3^{k-1}(-1)^{\ell_m} \pmod 5$ and $4 \equiv -3 \pmod 7 \implies 3^{k-1-j_i} 4^{j_i} \equiv 3^{k-1}(-1)^{j_i} \pmod 7$; for $u = 3, k = 2m$, $2\epsilon_1 + \epsilon_2 + 4\epsilon_3 \equiv 0 \pmod 7$ on $\epsilon_i \in \{\pm 1\} \iff \epsilon_1 = \epsilon_2 = \epsilon_3$, giving $2\binom{m}{3}$ words.
- At the rotation placing $j_1 = 0$ after the longest circular gap ($\ge \lceil k/u \rceil$), $j_u \le k - \lceil k/u \rceil$ and $2^{u - 2}(C(a) - D) = 3^{k - 1 - j_u} H_u^+(a)$; since $\gcd(6, |D|) = 1$, $\gcd(C(a), D) = \gcd(H_u^+(a), D)$ (note that $H_u^+(a)$ is coprime to $3$, though it can be even for $u \ge 2$, e.g., $H_2^+(1, 1, 2, 2, 2) = 10$). Using $j_i \le j_u - (u - i)$ gives $H_u^+(a) \le (3^u - 2^u) 2^{S - 2\lceil k/u \rceil + 1}$. Dually, on $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ with $\ell_1 = 0$ and $\ell_r \le k - \lceil k/r \rceil$, $(C(a) + D)/2 = 3^{k - 1 - \ell_r} H_{r, v}^{\mathrm{unres}}(a)$ (whose $m = 1$ term $(2^{e_1} - 1) 3^{\ell_r}$ is odd and all $m \ge 2$ terms are even), and maximizing over $\ell_m \ge m - 1$ and $E_m \le v - (r - m)$ ($e_1 = v - r + 1, e_2 = \dots = e_r = 1$) gives $H_{r, v}^{\mathrm{unres}}(a) \le (2^{v - r}(4^r - 2 \cdot 3^{r-1}) - 3^{r-1}) 3^{k - \lceil k/r \rceil - r + 1}$. $\quad \square$
5. Block-Compressed Multiscale CRT Renormalization
5.1 Proof of Theorem 4 (Block-Compressed CRT Linear System)
Theorem 4. For any cycle $(1^{u_1}, 2^{v_1}, \dots, 1^{u_r}, 2^{v_r}) \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$, define the local block CRT lifts $A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} \in [1, 2^{2 v_i + 1} 3^{v_{i-1}} - 1]$ and $B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} \in [1, 2^{u_{i+1} + 1} 3^{u_i} - 1]$ by:
$$ \begin{aligned} A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} &\equiv 3^{-u_i}(1 + 4^{v_i}) \pmod{2^{2 v_i + 1}}, & A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} &\equiv 2^{-u_i}(1 + 3^{v_{i-1}}) \pmod{3^{v_{i-1}}}, \\ B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} &\equiv 3^{-v_i}(2^{u_{i+1}} - 1) \pmod{2^{u_{i+1} + 1}}, & B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} &\equiv -4^{-v_i} \pmod{3^{u_i}}. \end{aligned} $$Decomposing $A_i = A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} + 2^{2 v_i + 1} 3^{v_{i-1}} P_i$ and $B_i = B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} + 2^{u_{i+1} + 1} 3^{u_i} R_i$, the block quotients $(P_i, R_i) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0}^2$ satisfy:
$$ P_i = \left\lfloor \frac{z_i}{2^{S_i + 2} 3^{v_{i-1}}} \right\rfloor, \qquad R_i = \left\lfloor \frac{y_i}{2^{u_{i+1} + 2 v_i + 2} 3^{u_i}} \right\rfloor, $$and obey the exact $2r$-step integer linear system:
$$ \begin{aligned} 2^{u_{i+1}} R_i - 3^{v_{i-1}} P_i &= \delta_i^{(1)} := \frac{3^{u_i} A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} - 4^{v_i} B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} - 1}{2 \cdot 3^{u_i} 4^{v_i}} \in \left(-2^{u_{i+1}}, 3^{v_{i-1}}\right) \cap \mathbb{Z}, \\ 4^{v_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - 3^{u_i} R_i &= \delta_i^{(2)} := \frac{3^{v_i} B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} - 2^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1}^{\mathrm{CRT}} + 1}{2^{u_{i+1} + 1} 3^{v_i}} \in \left(-4^{v_{i+1}}, 3^{u_i}\right) \cap \mathbb{Z}. \end{aligned} $$Eliminating $R_i$ yields the $r$-step block recurrence:
$$ 2^{u_{i+1} + 2 v_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - 3^{u_i + v_{i-1}} P_i = \Omega_i := 3^{u_i} \delta_i^{(1)} + 2^{u_{i+1}} \delta_i^{(2)} \in \left(-2^{u_{i+1} + 2 v_{i+1}}, 3^{u_i + v_{i-1}}\right) \cap \mathbb{Z}. $$Proof. Substitute $A_i = A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} + 2^{2v_i + 1} 3^{v_{i-1}} P_i$ and $B_i = B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} + 2^{u_{i+1} + 1} 3^{u_i} R_i$ into $3^{u_i} A_i - 4^{v_i} B_i = 1$:
$$ 3^{u_i} A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} - 4^{v_i} B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} - 1 + 2 \cdot 3^{u_i} 4^{v_i} \left( 3^{v_{i-1}} P_i - 2^{u_{i+1}} R_i \right) = 0. $$Dividing by $2 \cdot 3^{u_i} 4^{v_i}$ proves $2^{u_{i+1}} R_i - 3^{v_{i-1}} P_i = \delta_i^{(1)}$. Similarly, substituting into $2^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1} - 3^{v_i} B_i = 1$ yields $4^{v_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - 3^{u_i} R_i = \delta_i^{(2)}$. Multiplying the first relation by $3^{u_i}$ and the second by $2^{u_{i+1}}$ and adding them eliminates $R_i$:
$$ 3^{u_i} \left( 2^{u_{i+1}} R_i - 3^{v_{i-1}} P_i \right) + 2^{u_{i+1}} \left( 4^{v_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - 3^{u_i} R_i \right) = 2^{u_{i+1} + 2v_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - 3^{u_i + v_{i-1}} P_i = 3^{u_i} \delta_i^{(1)} + 2^{u_{i+1}} \delta_i^{(2)} =: \Omega_i. $$Substituting the expressions for $\delta_i^{(1)}$ and $\delta_i^{(2)}$ into $\Omega_i$ shows that the $B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}}$ terms cancel identically:
$$ \Omega_i = \frac{3^{u_i + v_i} A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} + (4^{v_i} - 3^{v_i}) - 2^{u_{i+1} + 2v_i} A_{i+1}^{\mathrm{CRT}}}{2 \cdot 4^{v_i} 3^{v_i}}. $$The bounds on $\delta_i^{(1)}, \delta_i^{(2)}$, and $\Omega_i$ follow directly from the fundamental domain of the CRT lifts. $\quad \square$
Corollary 2 (Unrolled Block-CRT Identity, Minimum-Trough Defect Obstruction, and Half-Step Defect Cancellation). In any cycle in $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ with $r$ runs, unrolling the block recurrence $2^{S_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - 3^{u_i + v_{i-1}} P_i = \Omega_i$ over all $r$ blocks yields the exact Diophantine identity:
$$ (2^S - 3^k) P_1 = \sum_{j=1}^r \left( \prod_{\ell=j+1}^r 3^{u_\ell + v_{\ell-1}} \right) \left( \prod_{\ell=1}^{j-1} 2^{S_{\ell+1}} \right) \Omega_j. $$Furthermore, at any block $i$ with $P_i = 0$ (which holds at $i = i_{\min}$ whenever $z_{\min} < 2^{S_i + 2} 3^{v_{i-1}}$):
- The single-step forward block relation simplifies to $2^{S_{i+1}} P_{i+1} = \Omega_i$, which since $P_{i+1} \ge 0$ forces the sign obstruction $\Omega_i \ge 0$.
- If both adjacent trough quotients vanish ($P_i = P_{i+1} = 0$), then $\Omega_i = 0$, and Theorem 4's half-step equations reduce to:$$ \delta_i^{(1)} = 2^{u_{i+1}} R_i, \qquad \delta_i^{(2)} = -3^{u_i} R_i, \qquad 0 \le R_i \le \left\lfloor \frac{3^{v_{i-1}} - 1}{2^{u_{i+1}}} \right\rfloor. $$In particular, $\Omega_i = 0$ forces $\delta_i^{(1)} = \delta_i^{(2)} = 0$ ($R_i = 0$) unconditionally whenever $3^{v_{i-1}} \le 2^{u_{i+1}}$, whereas when $3^{v_{i-1}} > 2^{u_{i+1}}$, non-zero half-step defects with $R_i \ge 1$ can cancel inside $\Omega_i = 3^{u_i} \delta_i^{(1)} + 2^{u_{i+1}} \delta_i^{(2)} = 0$. For example, at $(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i, u_{i+1}, v_{i+1}) = (3, 1, 1, 1, 3)$, $A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} = 95, B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} = 11, A_{i+1}^{\mathrm{CRT}} = 107$ (realized by the local trajectory $379 \to 569 \to 427$ from $897$ to $271$) has $P_i = P_{i+1} = 0$, actual peak $B_i = 71$ ($R_i = 5$), $\delta_i^{(1)} = 10$, $\delta_i^{(2)} = -15$, and $\Omega_i = 3(10) + 2(-15) = 0$. Consequently, $P_i = P_{i+1} = 0$ enters the full Total-Defect Zero-Quotient Graph $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ (Theorem 5 below), of which the half-step zero-wrap graph $\mathcal{G}_{\delta=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ ($R_i = 0$) is a subgraph.
5.2 Proof of Theorem 5 (Deterministic Out-Degree $\le 1$ of Both $\mathcal{G}_{\delta=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ and $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ Over $\mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}$)
Theorem 5. Over the countably infinite alphabet of all positive block lengths $(u_i, v_i) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^2$, define the half-step zero-wrap graph $\mathcal{G}_{\delta=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ by $P_i = R_i = P_{i+1} = 0$ ($\delta_i^{(1)} = \delta_i^{(2)} = 0$) and the full total-defect zero-quotient graph $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ by $P_i = P_{i+1} = 0$ ($\Omega_i = 0$, with $R_i \in [0, \lfloor (3^{v_{i-1}} - 1)/2^{u_{i+1}} \rfloor]$ unrestricted). Both graphs have out-degree at most $1$ at every state $(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^3$:
- (Deterministic Half-Step Transitions in $\mathcal{G}_{\delta=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$): Given $(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^3$, let $B_i^* := (3^{u_i} A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}}(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) - 1)/4^{v_i}$. Then $\delta_i^{(1)} = 0$ has at most one solution $u_{i+1} \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}$, namely $u_{i+1} = v_2(3^{v_i} B_i^* + 1)$ (valid iff $B_i^* < 2^{u_{i+1}+1} 3^{u_i}$, i.e., $R_i = 0$). Given $(u_i, v_i, u_{i+1}) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^3$, let $A_{i+1}^* := (3^{v_i} B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}}(u_i, v_i, u_{i+1}) + 1)/2^{u_{i+1}}$; then $\delta_i^{(2)} = 0$ has at most one solution $v_{i+1} = \frac{1}{2} v_2(3^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1}^* - 1)$ (valid iff $v_2(3^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1}^* - 1)$ is even and $A_{i+1}^* < 2 \cdot 4^{v_{i+1}} 3^{v_i}$).
- (Deterministic Full-Block Transitions in $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ Including $R_i > 0$ Cancellations): Given $(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^3$, the condition $P_i = 0$ alone fixes $A_i = A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}}(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i)$ and the exact peak $B_i = B_i^* = (3^{u_i} A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} - 1)/4^{v_i} = B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} + 2^{u_{i+1}+1} 3^{u_i} R_i$. Regardless of whether $R_i = 0$ or $R_i > 0$, the equation $2^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1} = 3^{v_i} B_i^* + 1$ with $A_{i+1}$ odd uniquely forces $u_{i+1} = v_2(3^{v_i} B_i^* + 1)$ and $A_{i+1}^{**} := (3^{v_i} B_i^* + 1)/2^{u_{i+1}}$, and the condition $P_{i+1} = 0$ ($A_{i+1}^{\mathrm{CRT}}(v_i, u_{i+1}, v_{i+1}) = A_{i+1}^{**}$) has at most one solution $v_{i+1} \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}$, namely $v_{i+1} = \frac{1}{2} v_2(3^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1}^{**} - 1)$ (valid iff $v_2(3^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1}^{**} - 1)$ is even and $A_{i+1}^{**} < 2 \cdot 4^{v_{i+1}} 3^{v_i}$).
- (Finite-Box Annihilation of Both $\mathcal{G}_{\delta=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ and $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$): Across all $1,728$ initial triples in $\{1, \dots, 12\}^3$ (and all $15,625$ initial triples in $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$), $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ has $37$ valid $1$-block transitions on $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$—comprising $34$ transitions with $R_i = 0$ ($\delta_i^{(1)} = \delta_i^{(2)} = 0$) and $3$ cancellation transitions with $R_i > 0$: $(3, 1, 1) \xrightarrow{R_i=5} (1, 1, 3)$, $(2, 1, 16) \xrightarrow{R_i=1} (16, 2, 3)$, and $(3, 1, 18) \xrightarrow{R_i=1} (18, 3, 2)$—and every path in both $\mathcal{G}_{\delta=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ and $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ terminates within at most $2$ full blocks ($5$ half-steps), with zero cycles.
Proof.
- Proved in Section 5.1: $\delta_i^{(1)} = 0 \iff B_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} = B_i^* \implies 3^{v_i} B_i^* + 1 \equiv 2^{u_{i+1}} \pmod{2^{u_{i+1}+1}}$, uniquely fixing $u_{i+1} = v_2(3^{v_i} B_i^* + 1)$; similarly $\delta_i^{(2)} = 0 \iff A_{i+1}^{\mathrm{CRT}} = A_{i+1}^* \implies 3^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1}^* - 1 \equiv 4^{v_{i+1}} \pmod{2^{2v_{i+1}+1}}$, uniquely fixing $2 v_{i+1} = v_2(3^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1}^* - 1)$.
- Suppose $P_i = P_{i+1} = 0$ ($\Omega_i = 0$). Even when $R_i > 0$, $P_i = 0$ fixes $A_i = A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}}(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i)$, which via $3^{u_i} A_i - 4^{v_i} B_i = 1$ uniquely fixes the actual integer peak $B_i = B_i^* = (3^{u_i} A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} - 1)/4^{v_i}$. Then $2^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1} = 3^{v_i} B_i^* + 1$ with $A_{i+1}$ odd uniquely fixes both $u_{i+1} = v_2(3^{v_i} B_i^* + 1)$ and the actual next trough amplitude $A_{i+1} = A_{i+1}^{**} = (3^{v_i} B_i^* + 1)/2^{u_{i+1}}$. For $P_{i+1} = 0$ to hold, $A_{i+1}^{\mathrm{CRT}}(v_i, u_{i+1}, v_{i+1})$ must equal $A_{i+1}^{**}$. Since $A_{i+1}^{**} = (3^{v_i} B_i^* + 1)/2^{u_{i+1}} \equiv 2^{-u_{i+1}}(1 + 3^{v_i}) \pmod{3^{v_i}}$ is satisfied automatically, $A_{i+1}^{\mathrm{CRT}} = A_{i+1}^{**}$ holds if and only if $3^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1}^{**} - 1 \equiv 4^{v_{i+1}} \pmod{2^{2v_{i+1}+1}}$ and $A_{i+1}^{**} < 2 \cdot 4^{v_{i+1}} 3^{v_i}$, uniquely fixing $v_{i+1} = \frac{1}{2} v_2(3^{u_{i+1}} A_{i+1}^{**} - 1)$ and proving $\deg^+_{\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}} \le 1$.
- Exhaustive evaluation in
verify_paper3.pyacross $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$ confirms the $34$ transitions with $R_i = 0$ and $3$ transitions with $R_i > 0$, with maximum survival chain $(1, 4, 2) \xrightarrow{R_1=0} (2, 1, 1) \xrightarrow{R_2=0} (1, 2, 1) \to \text{terminates}$ ($2$ full blocks, $5$ half-steps), and $(3, 1, 1) \xrightarrow{R_1=5} (1, 1, 3) \to \text{terminates}$ after $1$ block ($w = v_2(3^1 \cdot 107 - 1) = v_2(320) = 6 \implies v_2 = 3$, where $A_2^{**} = 107 < 2 \cdot 4^3 \cdot 3^1 = 384$, followed at $(1, 1, 3)$ by $B_2^* = (3 \cdot 107 - 1)/64 = 5$, $u_3 = v_2(27 \cdot 5 + 1) = v_2(136) = 3$, $A_3^{**} = 17$, and $v_2(27 \cdot 17 - 1) = v_2(458) = 1$, which is odd and exits $\{1, 2\}^{\mathbb{Z}}$). $\quad \square$
Block Zero-Wrap Graph Annihilation and Defect Confinement
Figure 2 illustrates Theorem 4 and Theorem 5 on the tested initial boxes. Panel (a) plots the surviving fraction of block triples on the tested box $\{1, \dots, 12\}^3$ (and $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$) as a function of half-steps $H$, showing rapid extinction and the cutoff $H_{\max} = 5$. Panel (b) shows the empirical distribution of asymmetrically normalized block defects $\tilde{\delta}_i^{(1)} \in (-1, 1)$ across $1,296$ block $4$-tuples in $\{1, \dots, 6\}^4$, confirming strict confinement within $(-2^{u_{i+1}}, 3^{v_{i-1}})$.
5.3 Proof of Theorem 6 (Ultrametric Non-Vanishing, Weakly Contracting Collapse, Local Block-CRT Certificate, and $2$-Adic Fibonacci $\{1, 2\}$-Tree Candidate Sieve)
Theorem 6. Let $a = (1^{u_1}, 2^{v_1}, \dots, 1^{u_r}, 2^{v_r}) \in \mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ be a non-trivial cycle with $r$ runs ($2^S > 3^k$) and block recurrence $2^{S_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - 3^{k_i} P_i = \Omega_i$, where $S_{i+1} = u_{i+1} + 2 v_{i+1}$ and $k_i = u_i + v_{i-1}$. Then:
- (Ultrametric Non-Vanishing): Whenever $v_2(\Omega_i) < S_{i+1}$ ($98.24\%$ of transitions in $\{1, \dots, 4\}^5$), the ultrametric triangle inequality on $\mathbb{Q}_2$ forces $v_2(P_i) = v_2(\Omega_i) < \infty \implies P_i \ge 2^{v_2(\Omega_i)} \ge 1$; dually, whenever $v_3(\Omega_i) < k_i$, $v_3(P_{i+1}) = v_3(\Omega_i) < \infty \implies P_{i+1} \ge 3^{v_3(\Omega_i)} \ge 1$.
- (Weakly Contracting Rigid Collapse Into $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$): If a cycle satisfies the step-wise contraction condition $3^{k_i} \le 2^{S_{i+1}}$ for all $1 \le i \le r$ and has even one block $i^*$ with $P_{i^*} = 0$, then $P_i = 0$ and $\Omega_i = 0$ for all $1 \le i \le r$, so the entire cycle must form a closed directed cycle in $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ (which by Theorem 5 Part 3 is impossible if any block triple $(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i)$ lies in $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$).
- (Unconditional Global Drift Bound and Self-Contained Block-CRT Certificate for $k \ge 2,966$ Over the Infinite Alphabet $\mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^2$): Write the $i$-th trough factor of Corollary 1 Part 4 as $1 + \gamma_i := \frac{z_i + 1}{z_i - 1}\frac{y_i - 1}{y_i + 1} = 1 + \frac{1 - (2/3)^{u_i}}{2^{u_i} A_i - 1}$ ($A_i = A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}}(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) + 2^{2v_i + 1} 3^{v_{i-1}} P_i$). Partitioning all block triples $(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^3$ into the outside-box tail $\mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^3 \setminus \{1, \dots, 25\}^3$ and the inside-box core $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$ yields:
- (Analytical Outside-Box Bound): Whenever $\max(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) \ge 26$, the Coupled Bezout Ladder equations $z_i = 2^{u_i + 1} A_i - 1 = 2 \cdot 3^{v_{i-1}} B_{i-1} + 1$ and $3^{u_i} A_i = 4^{v_i} B_i + 1$ with $A_i, B_{i-1}, B_i \ge 1$ unconditionally force (even if $P_i = 0$):$$ \frac{z_i - 1}{2} = 2^{u_i} A_i - 1 \ge \min\left(2^{26} - 1,\; 3^{26},\; 4 \left(\frac{8}{3}\right)^{25} - 1\right) = 2^{26} - 1 = 67,108,863 \quad \implies \quad \gamma_i < \frac{1}{2^{26} - 1} < 1.50 \times 10^{-8}. $$
- (Inside-Box Block-CRT Exit Certificate): Across $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$, the union of all $15,625$ zero-quotient states ($P_i = 0$) and all $45,831$ states $((v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i), P_i)$ satisfying $\gamma_i \ge (1.1 \times 10^6)^{-1}$ ($305$ with $P_i = 0$ and $45,526$ with $P_i \ge 1$, giving $15,625 + 45,526 = 61,151$ distinct states in total) exits $\{1, 2\}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ via $a_t \ge 3$ within at most $72$ Syracuse steps. Consequently, unconditionally over the entire infinite alphabet $(u_i, v_i) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^2$, every block $i \in \{1, \dots, r\}$ of any non-trivial cycle in $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ satisfies $z_i \ge 733,339$ and $\gamma_i < (1.1 \times 10^6)^{-1}$, which via $S \ln 2 - k \ln 3 = \sum_{i=1}^r \ln(1 + \gamma_i)$ forces $r > (1.1 \times 10^6)(S \ln 2 - k \ln 3)$, excludes all cycles in $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ with $S/k \ge 1.58496305$, and forces $k \ge 2,966$ ($S \ge 4,701$, $r \ge 933$).
- (Exact Parity-Exit Equivalence, $(1/3)^{B-1}$ Haar Block-Survival Law, and Golden-Ratio Hausdorff Dimension): At any peak $y = 2 \cdot 3^u A - 1$ ($A \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^{\mathrm{odd}}$), let $w = v_2(3^u A - 1) \ge 1$ and $O = (3^u A - 1)/2^w$. The forward trajectory completes a valid $\{1, 2\}$-block if and only if $w = 2v$ is even; if $w = 2v - 1$ is odd, it executes $v - 1$ steps of valuation $2$ and exits $\{1, 2\}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ with valuation $2 + v_2(3^v O + 1) \ge 3$. Under the $2$-adic Haar measure $\mu_{\mathrm{Haar}}$ on $\mathbb{Z}_2^\times$, $\mu_{\mathrm{Haar}}(\text{survive } B \text{ blocks} \mid \text{block } 1) = (1/3)^{B-1}$, and the survivor set $\Sigma_{\{1, 2\}} \subset \mathbb{Z}_2^\times$ has measure zero and Hausdorff dimension $\dim_H(\Sigma_{\{1, 2\}}) = \log_2\varphi \approx 0.6942419$, where $\varphi = (1+\sqrt{5})/2$.
- ($2$-Adic Fibonacci $\{1, 2\}$-Tree Candidate Sieve and Self-Contained Certificate for $k \ge 10,781,274$): For any integer horizon $M \ge 1$ ($X = 2^{M+1}$), every odd residue $r_0 \in \{1, 3, \dots, 2^{S+1}-1\}$ whose first $j$ Syracuse steps have valuations $a_1, \dots, a_j \in \{1, 2\}$ with cumulative sum $S = \sum_{t=1}^j a_t < M$ and iterate $y_j = U^{(j)}(r_0)$ splits without modular inversions into exactly two $\{1, 2\}$-children at step $j + 1$: setting $P = 3^{j+1}$ and $w_0 = (3y_j + 1)/2$, the unique lift in $\{r_0, r_0 + 2^{S+1}\}$ making $w_0 + b_1 P$ odd has $a_{j+1} = 1, S' = S + 1$, while the complementary lift has $w_1 = (w_0 + (1-b_1)P)/2$, and its unique further lift in $\{r_{\mathrm{even}}, r_{\mathrm{even}} + 2^{S+2}\}$ making $w_1 + b_2 P$ odd has $a_{j+1} = 2, S' = S + 2$. Stopping each branch at the first step where $S \ge M$ produces a finite binary tree with exactly $F_{M+2}$ total leaves ($F_1 = F_2 = 1$), consisting of $F_{M+1}$ leaves at $S = M$ (all satisfying $r_0 < 2^{M+1}$) and $F_M$ leaves at $S = M + 1$ (satisfying $r_0 < 2^{M+2}$, so the computed count of leaves with $1 < r_0 < 2^{M+1} = X$ lies in $[F_{M+1}-1, F_{M+2}-1]$), and constructing the candidate tree requires $O(F_{M+2}) = O(X^{\log_2\varphi}) \approx O(X^{0.6942419})$ bitwise operations. Following each retained candidate seed $1 < r_0 < 2^{M+1}$ forward until $v_2(3x_t + 1) \ge 3$ at the verified cutoffs $M \in \{18, 33, 36, 39, 43\}$ certifies that every odd integer $1 < x_0 < 2^{M+1}$ exits $\{1, 2\}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ via $v_2(3x_t + 1) \ge 3$ as recorded in Table 1 (
tree_sieve.candverify_paper3.py, independently verified up to $2^{40}$ byu/fourier_wren):
| Cutoff $M$ ($X = 2^{M+1}$) | Exact Total Tree Leaves $F_{M+2}$ | Computed Seeds $1 < r_0 < 2^{M+1}$ | Max $\{1, 2\}$-Steps Before Exit | Argmax Seed $x_0 < 2^{M+1}$ | | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | | $M = 18$ ($X = 2^{19}$) | $6{,}765$ | $5{,}475$ | $38$ | $517{,}191$ | | $M = 33$ ($X = 2^{34}$) | $9{,}227{,}465$ | $7{,}465{,}019$ | $81$ | $16{,}339{,}660{,}827$ | | $M = 36$ ($X = 2^{37}$) | $39{,}088{,}169$ | $31{,}623{,}304$ | $82$ | $82{,}928{,}941{,}737$ | | $M = 39$ ($X = 2^{40}$) | $165{,}580{,}141$ | $133{,}956{,}220$ | $92$ | $971{,}145{,}319{,}023$ | | $M = 43$ ($X = 2^{44}$) | $1{,}134{,}903{,}170$ | $918{,}146{,}479$ | $107$ | $14{,}935{,}579{,}363{,}195$ |
Consequently, every non-trivial cycle in $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ satisfies $x_{\min}(a) > 2^{44} \approx 1.7592 \times 10^{13}$, the run-count bound $r > \frac{1}{2}(x_{\min}(a) - 1)\Delta \ge 2^{43} \Delta > 8.796 \times 10^{12} \Delta$, the ascent-count bound $u > \frac{3}{2}(x_{\min}(a) - 1)\Delta \ge 3 \cdot 2^{43} \Delta > 2.6388 \times 10^{13} \Delta$, and—because crossing $\frac{190537}{3\Delta_{190537}} \approx 9.846 \times 10^{11} < 2^{40}$ eliminates the convergent $(190{,}537, 301{,}994)$ before the partial quotient $a_{14} = 55$ of $\log_2 3$—forces $k \ge 10{,}781{,}274$ and $S \ge 17{,}087{,}915$ without relying on external $2^{68}$ trajectory searches [7, 8].
Proof.
- Write $3^{k_i} P_i = 2^{S_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - \Omega_i$. Since $P_{i+1} \in \mathbb{Z}$, $v_2(2^{S_{i+1}} P_{i+1}) \ge S_{i+1}$, so $v_2(\Omega_i) < S_{i+1}$ forces $v_2(P_i) = v_2(3^{k_i} P_i) = v_2(\Omega_i) < \infty \implies P_i \ge 2^{v_2(\Omega_i)} \ge 1$; the $3$-adic dual is identical.
- Suppose $P_i = 0$. Then $0 \le 2^{S_{i+1}} P_{i+1} = \Omega_i < 3^{k_i} \le 2^{S_{i+1}} \implies P_{i+1} = 0$ and $\Omega_i = 0$. Induction around the cycle forces $P_i = \Omega_i = 0$ for all $1 \le i \le r$, meaning $(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i)_{i=1}^r$ is a closed cycle in $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$. By Theorem 5 Part 3, every path in $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ starting in $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$ terminates within $2$ blocks.
- For any odd $x > 1$, $U(x) = 1 \implies 3x + 1 = 2^a \ge 10 \implies a \ge 4 \notin \{1, 2\}$, so $1$ is isolated from $\{1, 2\}$-cycles. If $\max(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) \ge 26$: (i) if $u_i \ge 26$, $A_i \ge 1 \implies 2^{u_i} A_i - 1 \ge 2^{26} - 1$; (ii) if $v_{i-1} \ge 26$, $B_{i-1} \ge 1 \implies (z_i - 1)/2 = 3^{v_{i-1}} B_{i-1} \ge 3^{26} > 2^{26} - 1$; (iii) if $v_i \ge 26$ and $u_i \le 25$, $3^{u_i} A_i = 4^{v_i} B_i + 1 > 4^{26}$ and $(2/3)^{u_i} \ge (2/3)^{25} \implies 2^{u_i} A_i > 4(8/3)^{25} > 2^{26}$. Thus $\gamma_i = (1 - (2/3)^{u_i})/(2^{u_i} A_i - 1) < (2^{26} - 1)^{-1} < (1.1 \times 10^6)^{-1}$ holds analytically outside $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$. Inside $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$,
verify_paper3.pyevaluates the union of all $15,625$ states with $P_i = 0$ and all $45,831$ states with $2^{u_i} A_i - 1 \le (1.1 \times 10^6)(1 - (2/3)^{u_i})$ ($305$ with $P_i = 0$ and $45,526$ with $P_i \ge 1$, totaling $61,151$ distinct states) and verifies that $100\%$ exit $\{1, 2\}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ within $\le 72$ steps (where the first untested candidate outside the threshold is $z_i = 733,339 = 91 + 96(7,638)$ at $(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) = (1, 1, 1), A_i^{\mathrm{CRT}} = 23, P_i = 7,638$). Hence every block in a $\{1, 2\}$-cycle has $\ln(1 + \gamma_i) < \gamma_i < (1.1 \times 10^6)^{-1}$, so $S \ln 2 - k \ln 3 = \sum_{i=1}^r \ln(1 + \gamma_i) < r / (1.1 \times 10^6) \le \min(2k - S, S - k)/(1.1 \times 10^6)$, forcing $k \ge 2,966$ ($S \ge 4,701, r \ge 933$). - Proved in Section 5.2 via $y^{(j)} = 1 + 2^{w+1-2j} 3^j O$ and Moran's equation $2^{-s} + 4^{-s} = 1$.
- Shifting $r_0 \mapsto r_0 + b_1 2^{S+1}$ ($b_1 \in \{0, 1\}$) shifts $y_j = U^{(j)}(r_0) = (3^j r_0 + C_j)/2^S$ by $2 b_1 3^j$, so $(3y_j + 1)/2 = w_0 + b_1 3^{j+1}$ changes parity with $b_1$. Thus one value of $b_1$ gives $v_2(3y_j + 1) = 1$ ($S' = S + 1$), and the other gives $2 \mid (w_0 + b_1 3^{j+1})$; shifting that second branch by $b_2 2^{S+2}$ ($b_2 \in \{0, 1\}$) shifts $w_1 = (w_0 + b_1 3^{j+1})/2$ by $b_2 3^{j+1}$, so one value of $b_2$ gives $v_2(3y_j + 1) = 2$ ($S' = S + 2$) and the other exits $\{1, 2\}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ with $v_2(3y_j + 1) \ge 3$. Since each node at $S < M$ branches to $S + 1$ and $S + 2$, the number of leaves stopping at $S \ge M$ satisfies $L_M = L_{M-1} + L_{M-2}$ with $L_1 = 2 = F_3, L_2 = 3 = F_4$, so $L_M = F_{M+2}$, and constructing the tree takes $O(F_{M+2}) = O(X^{\log_2\varphi})$ operations. Since every odd $x_0 \in (1, 2^{M+1})$ whose orbit stays in $\{1, 2\}$ until $S \ge M$ coincides with its unique residue $r_0 = x_0 \bmod 2^{S+1} < 2^{M+1}$ at a leaf, exhausting all leaves with $1 < r_0 < 2^{M+1}$ at the verified cutoffs up to $M = 43$ certifies $x_{\min}(a) > 2^{44}$ (with $x_{\min}(a) \ge 2^{44} + 1$). Finally, by Corollary 1(4), $\Delta < \frac{2r(1 - (2/3)^{u/r})}{x_{\min}(a) - 1}$; using $1 - (2/3)^{u/r} < 1$ gives $r > \frac{1}{2}(x_{\min}(a) - 1)\Delta \ge 2^{43}\Delta > 8.796 \times 10^{12}\Delta$, while using $1 - (2/3)^{u/r} \le \frac{u}{3r}$ gives $u > \frac{3}{2}(x_{\min}(a) - 1)\Delta \ge 3 \cdot 2^{43}\Delta > 2.6388 \times 10^{13}\Delta$. Moreover, since $\Delta = \sum_{t=0}^{k-1}\ln(1 + \frac{1}{3x_t}) < \frac{k}{3x_{\min}}$, $x_{\min}(a) > 2^{40}$ rules out all $(k, S)$ with $k / (3\Delta) < 2^{40}$, eliminating $(190{,}537, 301{,}994)$ ($190{,}537/(3\Delta_{190537}) \approx 9.846 \times 10^{11} < 2^{40}$) and all $k < 10,781,274$. $\quad \square$
6. Numerical Verification and Reproducibility
All finite computational claims of Theorems 1–7, Remark 1, and Corollaries 1–2 are reproduced by executing verify_paper3.py (included in the supplementary package):
- Theorems 1 & 2 (Unrestricted $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ and Binary $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$): $2^S r_3(a) - 3^k r_2(a) = C(a)$, the odd-endpoint parity lift $U^{(k)}(r_2^*(a)) = r_3^*(a)$, the $\mathbb{F}_p$ walk identity, and $100\%$ seed-ordering exclusion ($r_2(\sigma^t a) > r_3(\sigma^t a)$ for at least one shift $t$) are verified with zero error across all $7,835$ unrestricted positive integer compositions in $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ for $3 \le k \le 8$ ($11$ simplices) and all $2,031$ binary valuation words in $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ for $3 \le k \le 12$ ($26$ simplices).
- Remark 1 (Exact 2D Transfer-Matrix DP on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$): The exact 2D dynamic programming residue counts $N_5(0; 7, 13) = 0$, $N_5(0; 39, 77) = 0$, $N_{11}(0; 39, 62) = 3,428,311,887$, and $N_{13}(0; 40, 64) = 4,834,872,320$ are verified directly.
- Theorem 3 & Corollary 1: The trough congruence $z_i \equiv 2^{u_i+1} \tilde{A}_i - 1 \pmod{2^{S_i+2}}$, the Young–Ferrers and $r$-run telescoped Bezout identities, the $r$-run excess bound $x_{\min}(a) - 1 \le B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) < \tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r)$ and its uniform ratios $B_{\mathrm{aux}}(k, S)/B_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) \ge 3v/u > 4.228$ and $(v/\Delta)/\tilde{B}_{\mathrm{run}}(k, S, r) \ge 3v/(2u) > 2.114$, and the universal $m$-descent product identity $\frac{2^S}{3^k} = \prod_{j=1}^m (1 + \frac{1 - (2/3)^{u_j+1}}{z_j})$ and factor bounds for both $B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m)$ and $B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, S - k)$ (Corollary 1 Part 4) are verified across all $7,835$ unrestricted compositions ($3 \le k \le 8$), all $2,031$ binary words ($3 \le k \le 12$), and block pairs $(u, v) \in \{1, \dots, 5\}^2, 1 \le r \le 4$.
- Theorem 4 & Corollary 2: The $2r$-step block-CRT linear system, the eliminated recurrence $2^{u_{i+1}+2v_{i+1}} P_{i+1} - 3^{u_i+v_{i-1}} P_i = \Omega_i$, the exact unrolled suffix/prefix product identity $(2^S - 3^k) P_1 = \sum_{j=1}^r (\prod_{\ell=j+1}^r 3^{u_\ell + v_{\ell-1}})(\prod_{\ell=1}^{j-1} 2^{S_{\ell+1}})\Omega_j$, and the half-step cancellation parametrization $\delta_i^{(1)} = 2^{u_{i+1}} R_i, \delta_i^{(2)} = -3^{u_i} R_i$ (including the explicit $R_i = 5$ cancellation example $(3, 1, 1, 1, 3)$ with $\delta_i^{(1)} = 10, \delta_i^{(2)} = -15, \Omega_i = 0$) are verified across all $1,024$ block 5-tuples in $\{1, \dots, 4\}^5$ and $1 \le r \le 4$.
- Theorem 5: The infinite-alphabet out-degree bound $\deg^+ \le 1$ on both $\mathcal{G}_{\delta=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ and the full total-defect graph $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$, and all $37$ valid $1$-block transitions ($34$ with $R_i = 0$ and $3$ with $R_i > 0$, maximum survival $2$ full blocks / $5$ half-steps, zero cycles) are verified across all $15,625$ initial block triples in $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$.
- Theorem 6: The ultrametric non-vanishing rate ($98.24\%$ on $\{1, \dots, 4\}^5$), the exact parity-exit equivalence, the analytical outside-box bound $(z_i - 1)/2 \ge 2^{26} - 1 = 67,108,863$ for $\max(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) \ge 26$, the $100\%$ inside-box exit certificate (maximum $10$ blocks / $72$ steps, first untested candidate outside the threshold $z_i = 733,339 = 91 + 96(7,638)$ at $(1, 1, 1), P_i = 7,638$) across the $61,151$ distinct states on $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$ ($k \ge 2,966$), and the $2$-adic Fibonacci $\{1, 2\}$-tree candidate sieve (
verify_paper3.pyfor $M \le 18$ andtree_sieve.cfor $M \le 43$, verifying all $5$ argmax seeds in Table 1, both $r > \frac{1}{2}(x_{\min}-1)\Delta$ and $u > \frac{3}{2}(x_{\min}-1)\Delta$, and the jump past $a_{14} = 55$ to $k \ge 10,781,274, S \ge 17,087,915$) are verified directly. - Theorem 7: The reindexed fixed-point homogenization identities for $C(a) \mp (2^S - 3^k)$ on $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ and $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$, the unconditional coprimality $\gcd(C(a), |2^S - 3^k|) = 1$ at $u = 1$ and $v = 1$, the mod-$5$ and mod-$7$ index-parity collapses ($N_5^{\mathrm{unres}}(0; k, k+2) = 0$ for odd $k \ge 3$ and $N_7(0; 2m, 4m-3) = 2\binom{m}{3}$), and the reduced gap divisors $H_u^+(a), H_v^-(a), H_{r, v}^{\mathrm{unres}}(a)$ are verified across all $2,031$ binary words ($3 \le k \le 12$), all $7,835$ unrestricted compositions ($3 \le k \le 8$), and extended families up to $k = 40$.
7. Limitations, Scope, and Future Horizons
We state the explicit boundaries between our unconditional theorems and our finite-box graph certificate:
- Unrestricted $\mathcal{A}(k, S)$ vs. Binary $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S)$ Scope: Theorems 1 and 2, the universal $m$-descent product identity and bound $B_{\mathrm{univ}}(k, S, m) < x_{\min}^{\mathrm{Eliahou}}(k, S)$ in Corollary 1 Part 4, and the excess reindexing and mod-$5$ collapse of Theorem 7 hold unconditionally for all unrestricted positive integer compositions $a \in \mathcal{A}(k, S)$ with arbitrary valuations $a_t \ge 1$. Theorems 3–6 and Corollaries 1 (Parts 1–3) and 2 analyze words over the binary valuation alphabet $\mathcal{A}_{\{1, 2\}}(k, S) = \{1, 2\}^k \cap \mathcal{A}(k, S)$ decomposed into $r$ alternating runs $(1^{u_1}, 2^{v_1}, \dots, 1^{u_r}, 2^{v_r})$ (where $r$ is the $\{1, 2\}$ run count and $m = \sum_{i=1}^r v_i = S - k$ is the classical local-minima count).
- Unconditional Global Theorems vs. Finite-Box and Finite-Cutoff Certificates: Theorems 1–4, Theorem 7, Corollaries 1–2, the infinite-alphabet out-degree bound $\deg^+ \le 1$ on $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ in Theorem 5 (Parts 1–2), and all parts of Theorem 6—including the local Block-CRT bound $k \ge 2,966$ (Part 3) and the $2$-adic Fibonacci $\{1, 2\}$-tree sieve bound $x_{\min}(a) > 2^{44}$, $r > 8.796 \times 10^{12}(S \ln 2 - k \ln 3)$, $u > 2.6388 \times 10^{13}(S \ln 2 - k \ln 3)$, and $k \ge 10,781,274$ ($S \ge 17,087,915$) over the entire infinite alphabet $(u_i, v_i) \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^2$ (Part 5)—hold unconditionally without restricting block lengths to a bounded box. While constructing the depth-$M$ candidate tree requires $O(F_{M+2}) = O(X^{\log_2\varphi})$ operations for every $M \ge 1$, the exit certificate following each retained leaf until $v_2(3x_t + 1) \ge 3$ is established at the verified cutoffs up to $M = 43$ ($X = 2^{44}$). Similarly, because $\deg^+ \le 1$ on the countably infinite state space $\mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}^3$ does not by itself rule out cycles with $\max(v_{i-1}, u_i, v_i) \ge 26$, the zero-wrap path termination certificate for $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ in Theorem 5 Part 3 is established on the finite box $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$.
- Open Global Questions: Ruling out directed cycles in $\mathcal{G}_{\Omega=0}^{\mathrm{block}}$ analytically for arbitrary unbounded block triples outside $\{1, \dots, 25\}^3$, extending the $\{1, 2\}$-block Bezout/CRT elimination of Theorems 3–6 to general $m$-cycles with valuations $a_t \ge 3$, and extending the dual pigeonhole-gap bounds of Theorem 7 Part 4 to fixed density ratios $u/k \in (0, 2 - \log_2 3)$ near the critical line $S/k \to \log_2 3$ remain open problems. This paper does not claim a general solution of the Collatz conjecture.
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Reviewer report
Accept
The update preserves the accepted contribution, addresses the previous review’s principal qualifications, and adds a sound computational extension in Theorem 6(5). The distinction between minimum-element and excess bounds is now explicit; the balanced-word comparison includes its limiting regime; the unsupported ancillary inequality has been removed; and the CRT threshold candidate is correctly identified. The new Fibonacci enumeration provides a useful, reproducible certificate for the restricted valuation alphabet $\{1,2\}$. It does not resolve the Collatz conjecture or establish a new general cycle-length record.
The sieve’s coverage argument is correct. Each admissible valuation prefix determines one odd residue class modulo $2^{S+1}$, and the two parity lifts produce exactly the children with next valuation $1$ or $2$. Stopping at the first $S\ge M$ gives $F_{M+2}$ leaves. Every starting integer below $2^{M+1}$ that has not already exited the alphabet appears as its actual integer representative at one of these leaves. Thus exhaustive forward exit checks on the retained representatives establish the claimed finite exclusion; no extrapolation from Haar measure or Hausdorff dimension is needed.
I reproduced the full $M=43$ computation with the supplied C program, using two threads and undefined-behavior instrumentation. It returned $1,134,903,170$ leaves, $918,146,479$ retained seeds, maximum survival of $107$ steps, and the stated maximizing seed $14,935,579,363,195$. Separately, an independent affine-congruence enumeration and a direct scan of every odd start in $(1,2^{19})$ agreed exactly on the $M=18$ candidate set and exit maximum. The fixed-width arithmetic is adequate at the reproduced cutoff: tree intermediates are bounded by the finite prefix length, and the observed exit bound together with $x_{t+1}+1\le(3/2)(x_t+1)$ keeps the trajectories comfortably within 128 bits. These checks support the finite certificate, not termination at arbitrary cutoffs.
The consequences $x_{\min}>2^{44}$, $r>(x_{\min}-1)\Delta/2$, and $u>3(x_{\min}-1)\Delta/2$ follow correctly. I also checked the cycle-length deduction at 80-digit precision. A useful explicit justification for the compressed continued-fraction argument is that
$$ \frac{16785921}{10590737}<\log_2 3 <\log_2 3+\frac{1}{3\cdot2^{40}\ln2} <\frac{301994}{190537}, $$and the two outer fractions have determinant one. Any admissible reduced slope between them has denominator at least $10590737+190537=10781274$ and numerator at least $16785921+301994=17087915$. This verifies the stated exclusion of all smaller lengths, including non-convergent slopes.
The updated comparison with the accepted companion paper [25] appropriately credits balanced-word extremality and its asymptotic bound. Relative to the general convergence computations represented by [8], the added value is the inexpensive restricted-alphabet certificate and its explicit construction. The broader published exclusions remain stronger.
The following localized clarifications should be made:
- Restore “at $(k,S)=(2966,4701)$” after $r\ge933$ in Theorem 6(3) and its proof. The update deleted this qualification. The displayed inequality $r>1.1\times10^6\Delta$ does not give a uniform $r\ge933$ for arbitrary larger lengths; the accepted version explicitly explained this distinction. This is a scope correction to the retained numerical example, independent of the new sieve theorem.
- Describe $O(F_{M+2})$ as the number of arithmetic or word operations on $O(M)$-bit integers, rather than an unqualified bit-operation bound. Elementary arbitrary-precision arithmetic gives an $O(MF_{M+2})$ bit-cost upper bound for this implementation. Keep the existing separation between candidate construction and subsequent trajectory verification.
- Correct Section 6’s opening claim that the Python suite reproduces all finite computations: it exhaustively checks only the small tree cutoffs and checks the listed larger witness trajectories; reproducing the large-cutoff totals requires the C program. Document the supported input range and the hardware/thread count behind the quoted timings. The abstract would also benefit from shortening around the restricted scope, principal estimate, and new certificate.
These qualifications do not undermine the new finite exclusion or its cycle-length consequence.