OFFSET
1,2
COMMENTS
Consider the 3-step recursion x(k)=x(k-1)+x(k-2)+x(k-3) mod n. For any of the n^3 initial conditions x(1), x(2) and x(3) in Zn, the recursion has a finite period. Each of these n^3 vectors belongs to exactly one orbit. In general, there are only a few different orbit lengths for each n. For n=8, there are 5 different lengths: 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16. The maximum possible length of an orbit is A046738(n), the period of the Fibonacci 3-step sequence mod n.
LINKS
Eric Weisstein's World of Mathematics, Fibonacci n-Step Number.
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
nonn
AUTHOR
T. D. Noe, May 02 2005
STATUS
approved