A059933 Goodstein sequence starting with 16: to calculate a(n+1), write a(n) in the hereditary representation in base n+2, then bump the base to n+3, then subtract 1.

16, 7625597484986, 50973998591214355139406377, 53793641718868912174424175024032593379100060, 19916489515870532960258562190639398471599239042185934648024761145811, 5103708485122940631839901111036829791435007685667303872450435153015345686896530517814322070729709

Offset: 0

Author

Henry Bottomley, Feb 12 2001

Keywords

• nonn
• hard
• fini

Comments

See A266201 for definitions of and key links for hereditary representation and Goodstein sequences.

Goodstein's theorem shows that the Goodstein sequence G_n(k) eventually stabilizes and then decreases by 1 at each step until it reaches 0. Thereafter the values of G_n(k) < 0 are not part of the sequence. By Goodstein's theorem we conclude that G_n(k) is a finite sequence.

In this case when a(0) = G_0(16) = 16, there seems little possibility of describing how incredibly large n must be for a(n) to reach 0.

Examples

			a(0) = 16 = 2^(2^2) so a(1) = 3^(3^3)-1 = 7625597484986.
So a(1) = 2*3^(2*3^2 + 2*3 + 2) + 2*3^(2*3^2 + 2*3 + 1) + 2*3^(2*3^2 + 2*3) + 2*3^(2*3^2 + 1*3 + 2) + 2*3^(2*3^2 + 1*3 + 1) + 2*3^(2*3^2 + 1*3) + 2*3^(2*3^2 + 2) + 2*3^(2*3^2 + 1) + 2*3^(2*3^2) + 2*3^(3^2 + 2*3 + 2) + 2*3^(3^2 + 2*3 + 1) + 2*3^(3^2 + 2*3) + 2*3^(3^2 + 1*3 + 2) + 2*3^(3^2 + 1*3 + 1) + 2*3^(3^2 + 1*3) + 2*3^(3^2 + 2) + 2*3^(3^2 + 1) + 2*3^(3^2) + 2*3^(2*3 + 2) + 2*3^(2*3 + 1) + 2*3^(2*3) + 2*3^(1*3 + 2) + 2*3^(1*3 + 1) + 2*3^(1*3) + 2*3^(2) + 2*3^(1) + 2,
leading to a(2) = 2*4^(2*4^2 + 2*4 + 2) + 2*4^(2*4^2 + 2*4 + 1) + 2*4^(2*4^2 + 2*4) + 2*4^(2*4^2 + 1*4 + 2) + 2*4^(2*4^2 + 1*4 + 1) + 2*4^(2*4^2 + 1*4) + 2*4^(2*4^2 + 2) + 2*4^(2*4^2 + 1) + 2*4^(2*4^2) + 2*4^(4^2 + 2*4 + 2) + 2*4^(4^2 + 2*4 + 1) + 2*4^(4^2 + 2*4) + 2*4^(4^2 + 1*4 + 2) + 2*4^(4^2 + 1*4 + 1) + 2*4^(4^2 + 1*4) + 2*4^(4^2 + 2) + 2*4^(4^2 + 1) + 2*4^(4^2) + 2*4^(2*4 + 2) + 2*4^(2*4 + 1) + 2*4^(2*4) + 2*4^(1*4 + 2) + 2*4^(1*4 + 1) + 2*4^(1*4) + 2*4^(2) + 2*4^(1) + 1 = 2*(4^32 + 4^16 + 1)*(4^8 + 4^4 + 1)*(4^2 + 4*1)-1 = 50973998591214355139406377.
		

Links

• Reinhard Zumkeller, Table of n, a(n) for n = 0..18
• R. L. Goodstein, On the Restricted Ordinal Theorem, J. Symb. Logic 9, 33-41, 1944.
• Eric Weisstein's World of Mathematics, Goodstein Sequence
• Wikipedia, Goodstein's Theorem
• Reinhard Zumkeller, Haskell programs for Goodstein sequences

Crossrefs

Cf. A266201: G_n(n).

Cf. A056193: G_n(4), A056004: G_1(n), A057650 G_2(n), A056041.

Cf. A215409: G_n(3), A222117: G_n(15), A211378: G_n(19), A266204: G_n(5), A266205: G_n(6).

Programs

Haskell

-- See Link

PARI

bump(a, n) = {if (a < n, return (a)); my(pd = Pol(digits(a, n)));  my(de = vector(poldegree(pd)+1, k, k--; polcoeff(pd, k))); my(bde = vector(#de, k, k--; bump(k, n))); my(q = sum(k=0, poldegree(pd), if (c=polcoeff(pd, k), c*x^bde[k+1], 0))); return(subst(q, x, n+1)); }
lista(nn) = {print1(a = 16, ", "); for (n=2, nn, a = bump(a, n)-1; print1(a, ", "); ); } \\ Michel Marcus, Feb 28 2016

PARI

(B(n,b)=sum(i=1,#n=digits(n,b),n[i]*(b+1)^if(#n1,B(a,n)-1,16)) \\ M. F. Hasler, Feb 12 2017

Formula

a(n) = G_n(16), where G is the function defined in A266201.

Extensions

Definition corrected by N. J. A. Sloane, Mar 06 2006

Missing a(5) inserted and wrong a(7) replaced by Reinhard Zumkeller, Feb 13 2013

Revised by Natan Arie Consigli, Jan 23 2016

Offset changed to 0 by Nicholas Matteo, Aug 21 2019