cp's OEIS Frontend

What is the correct name for the rational sequence c(n) = 1, -1/2, 0, -1/4, 0, 1/2, 0, -17/8, 0, 31/2, 0, ... (a variant of the second fractional Euler numbers)?

Its binomial transform is f(n) = 1, 1/2, 0, -3/4, -2, -7/2, -4, -23/8, -6, -45/2, -8, 655/4, -10, ... = a(n)/A006519(n+1).

2^0 = 1 is the only odd power of 2.

Number of subsets of an n-set.

There are 2^(n-1) compositions (ordered partitions) of n (see for example Riordan). This is the unlabeled analog of the preferential labelings sequence A000670.

This is also the number of weakly unimodal permutations of 1..n + 1, that is, permutations with exactly one local maximum. E.g., a(4) = 16: 12345, 12354, 12453, 12543, 13452, 13542, 14532 and 15432 and their reversals. - Jon Perry, Jul 27 2003 [Proof: see next line! See also A087783.]

Proof: n must appear somewhere and there are 2^(n-1) possible choices for the subset that precedes it. These must appear in increasing order and the rest must follow n in decreasing order. QED. - N. J. A. Sloane, Oct 26 2003

a(n+1) is the smallest number that is not the sum of any number of (distinct) earlier terms.

Same as Pisot sequences E(1, 2), L(1, 2), P(1, 2), T(1, 2). See A008776 for definitions of Pisot sequences.

With initial 1 omitted, same as Pisot sequences E(2, 4), L(2, 4), P(2, 4), T(2, 4). - David W. Wilson

Not the sum of two or more consecutive numbers. - Lekraj Beedassy, May 14 2004

Least deficient or near-perfect numbers (i.e., n such that sigma(n) = A000203(n) = 2n - 1). - Lekraj Beedassy, Jun 03 2004. [Comment from Max Alekseyev, Jan 26 2005: All the powers of 2 are least deficient numbers but it is not known if there exists a least deficient number that is not a power of 2.]

Almost-perfect numbers referred to as least deficient or slightly defective (Singh 1997) numbers. Does "near-perfect numbers" refer to both almost-perfect numbers (sigma(n) = 2n - 1) and quasi-perfect numbers (sigma(n) = 2n + 1)? There are no known quasi-perfect or least abundant or slightly excessive (Singh 1997) numbers.

The sum of the numbers in the n-th row of Pascal's triangle; the sum of the coefficients of x in the expansion of (x+1)^n.

The Collatz conjecture (the hailstone sequence will eventually reach the number 1, regardless of which positive integer is chosen initially) may be restated as (the hailstone sequence will eventually reach a power of 2, regardless of which positive integer is chosen initially).

The only hailstone sequence which doesn't rebound (except "on the ground"). - Alexandre Wajnberg, Jan 29 2005

With p(n) as the number of integer partitions of n, p(i) is the number of parts of the i-th partition of n, d(i) is the number of different parts of the i-th partition of n, m(i,j) is the multiplicity of the j-th part of the i-th partition of n, one has: a(n) = Sum_{i = 1..p(n)} (p(i)! / (Product_{j=1..d(i)} m(i,j)!)). - Thomas Wieder, May 18 2005

The number of binary relations on an n-element set that are both symmetric and antisymmetric. Also the number of binary relations on an n-element set that are symmetric, antisymmetric and transitive.

The first differences are the sequence itself. - Alexandre Wajnberg and Eric Angelini, Sep 07 2005

a(n) is the largest number with shortest addition chain involving n additions. - David W. Wilson, Apr 23 2006

Beginning with a(1) = 0, numbers not equal to the sum of previous distinct natural numbers. - Giovanni Teofilatto, Aug 06 2006

For n >= 1, a(n) is equal to the number of functions f:{1, 2, ..., n} -> {1, 2} such that for a fixed x in {1, 2, ..., n} and a fixed y in {1, 2} we have f(x) != y. - Aleksandar M. Janjic and Milan Janjic, Mar 27 2007

Let P(A) be the power set of an n-element set A. Then a(n) is the number of pairs of elements {x,y} of P(A) for which x = y. - Ross La Haye, Jan 09 2008

a(n) is the number of permutations on [n+1] such that every initial segment is an interval of integers. Example: a(3) counts 1234, 2134, 2314, 2341, 3214, 3241, 3421, 4321. The map "p -> ascents of p" is a bijection from these permutations to subsets of [n]. An ascent of a permutation p is a position i such that p(i) < p(i+1). The permutations shown map to 123, 23, 13, 12, 3, 2, 1 and the empty set respectively. - David Callan, Jul 25 2008

2^(n-1) is the largest number having n divisors (in the sense of A077569); A005179(n) is the smallest. - T. D. Noe, Sep 02 2008

a(n) appears to match the number of divisors of the modified primorials (excluding 2, 3 and 5). Very limited range examined, PARI example shown. - Bill McEachen, Oct 29 2008

Successive k such that phi(k)/k = 1/2, where phi is Euler's totient function. - Artur Jasinski, Nov 07 2008

A classical transform consists (for general a(n)) in swapping a(2n) and a(2n+1); examples for Jacobsthal A001045 and successive differences: A092808, A094359, A140505. a(n) = A000079 leads to 2, 1, 8, 4, 32, 16, ... = A135520. - Paul Curtz, Jan 05 2009

This is also the (L)-sieve transform of {2, 4, 6, 8, ..., 2n, ...} = A005843. (See A152009 for the definition of the (L)-sieve transform.) - John W. Layman, Jan 23 2009

a(n) = a(n-1)-th even natural number (A005843) for n > 1. - Jaroslav Krizek, Apr 25 2009

For n >= 0, a(n) is the number of leaves in a complete binary tree of height n. For n > 0, a(n) is the number of nodes in an n-cube. - K.V.Iyer, May 04 2009

Permutations of n+1 elements where no element is more than one position right of its original place. For example, there are 4 such permutations of three elements: 123, 132, 213, and 312. The 8 such permutations of four elements are 1234, 1243, 1324, 1423, 2134, 2143, 3124, and 4123. - Joerg Arndt, Jun 24 2009

Catalan transform of A099087. - R. J. Mathar, Jun 29 2009

a(n) written in base 2: 1,10,100,1000,10000,..., i.e., (n+1) times 1, n times 0 (A011557(n)). - Jaroslav Krizek, Aug 02 2009

Or, phi(n) is equal to the number of perfect partitions of n. - Juri-Stepan Gerasimov, Oct 10 2009

These are the 2-smooth numbers, positive integers with no prime factors greater than 2. - Michael B. Porter, Oct 04 2009

A064614(a(n)) = A000244(n) and A064614(m) < A000244(n) for m < a(n). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Feb 08 2010

a(n) is the largest number m such that the number of steps of iterations of {r - (largest divisor d < r)} needed to reach 1 starting at r = m is equal to n. Example (a(5) = 32): 32 - 16 = 16; 16 - 8 = 8; 8 - 4 = 4; 4 - 2 = 2; 2 - 1 = 1; number 32 has 5 steps and is the largest such number. See A105017, A064097, A175125. - Jaroslav Krizek, Feb 15 2010

a(n) is the smallest proper multiple of a(n-1). - Dominick Cancilla, Aug 09 2010

The powers-of-2 triangle T(n, k), n >= 0 and 0 <= k <= n, begins with: {1}; {2, 4}; {8, 16, 32}; {64, 128, 256, 512}; ... . The first left hand diagonal T(n, 0) = A006125(n + 1), the first right hand diagonal T(n, n) = A036442(n + 1) and the center diagonal T(2*n, n) = A053765(n + 1). Some triangle sums, see A180662, are: Row1(n) = A122743(n), Row2(n) = A181174(n), Fi1(n) = A181175(n), Fi2(2*n) = A181175(2*n) and Fi2(2*n + 1) = 2*A181175(2*n + 1). - Johannes W. Meijer, Oct 10 2010

Records in the number of prime factors. - Juri-Stepan Gerasimov, Mar 12 2011

Row sums of A152538. - Gary W. Adamson, Dec 10 2008

A078719(a(n)) = 1; A006667(a(n)) = 0. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Oct 08 2011

The compositions of n in which each natural number is colored by one of p different colors are called p-colored compositions of n. For n>=1, a(n) equals the number of 2-colored compositions of n such that no adjacent parts have the same color. - Milan Janjic, Nov 17 2011

Equals A001405 convolved with its right-shifted variant: (1 + 2x + 4x^2 + ...) = (1 + x + 2x^2 + 3x^3 + 6x^4 + 10x^5 + ...) * (1 + x + x^2 + 2x^3 + 3x^4 + 6x^5 + ...). - Gary W. Adamson, Nov 23 2011

The number of odd-sized subsets of an n+1-set. For example, there are 2^3 odd-sized subsets of {1, 2, 3, 4}, namely {1}, {2}, {3}, {4}, {1, 2, 3}, {1, 2, 4}, {1, 3, 4}, and {2, 3, 4}. Also, note that 2^n = Sum_{k=1..floor((n+1)/2)} C(n+1, 2k-1). - Dennis P. Walsh, Dec 15 2011

a(n) is the number of 1's in any row of Pascal's triangle (mod 2) whose row number has exactly n 1's in its binary expansion (see A007318 and A047999). (The result of putting together A001316 and A000120.) - Marcus Jaiclin, Jan 31 2012

A204455(k) = 1 if and only if k is in this sequence. - Wolfdieter Lang, Feb 04 2012

For n>=1 apparently the number of distinct finite languages over a unary alphabet, whose minimum regular expression has alphabetic width n (verified up to n=17), see the Gruber/Lee/Shallit link. - Hermann Gruber, May 09 2012

First differences of A000225. - Omar E. Pol, Feb 19 2013

This is the lexicographically earliest sequence which contains no arithmetic progression of length 3. - Daniel E. Frohardt, Apr 03 2013

a(n-2) is the number of bipartitions of {1..n} (i.e., set partitions into two parts) such that 1 and 2 are not in the same subset. - Jon Perry, May 19 2013

Numbers n such that the n-th cyclotomic polynomial has a root mod 2; numbers n such that the n-th cyclotomic polynomial has an even number of odd coefficients. - Eric M. Schmidt, Jul 31 2013

More is known now about non-power-of-2 "Almost Perfect Numbers" as described in Dagal. - Jonathan Vos Post, Sep 01 2013

Number of symmetric Ferrers diagrams that fit into an n X n box. - Graham H. Hawkes, Oct 18 2013

Numbers n such that sigma(2n) = 2n + sigma(n). - Jahangeer Kholdi, Nov 23 2013

a(1), ..., a(floor(n/2)) are all values of permanent on set of square (0,1)-matrices of order n>=2 with row and column sums 2. - Vladimir Shevelev, Nov 26 2013

Numbers whose base-2 expansion has exactly one bit set to 1, and thus has base-2 sum of digits equal to one. - Stanislav Sykora, Nov 29 2013

A072219(a(n)) = 1. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Feb 20 2014

a(n) is the largest number k such that (k^n-2)/(k-2) is an integer (for n > 1); (k^a(n)+1)/(k+1) is never an integer (for k > 1 and n > 0). - Derek Orr, May 22 2014

If x = A083420(n), y = a(n+1) and z = A087289(n), then x^2 + 2*y^2 = z^2. - Vincenzo Librandi, Jun 09 2014

The mini-sequence b(n) = least number k > 0 such that 2^k ends in n identical digits is given by {1, 18, 39}. The repeating digits are {2, 4, 8} respectively. Note that these are consecutive powers of 2 (2^1, 2^2, 2^3), and these are the only powers of 2 (2^k, k > 0) that are only one digit. Further, this sequence is finite. The number of n-digit endings for a power of 2 with n or more digits id 4*5^(n-1). Thus, for b(4) to exist, one only needs to check exponents up to 4*5^3 = 500. Since b(4) does not exist, it is clear that no other number will exist. - Derek Orr, Jun 14 2014

The least number k > 0 such that 2^k ends in n consecutive decreasing digits is a 3-number sequence given by {1, 5, 25}. The consecutive decreasing digits are {2, 32, 432}. There are 100 different 3-digit endings for 2^k. There are no k-values such that 2^k ends in '987', '876', '765', '654', '543', '321', or '210'. The k-values for which 2^k ends in '432' are given by 25 mod 100. For k = 25 + 100*x, the digit immediately before the run of '432' is {4, 6, 8, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 0, 2, ...} for x = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, ...}, respectively. Thus, we see the digit before '432' will never be a 5. So, this sequence is complete. - Derek Orr, Jul 03 2014

a(n) is the number of permutations of length n avoiding both 231 and 321 in the classical sense which are breadth-first search reading words of increasing unary-binary trees. For more details, see the entry for permutations avoiding 231 at A245898. - Manda Riehl, Aug 05 2014

Numbers n such that sigma(n) = sigma(2n) - phi(4n). - Farideh Firoozbakht, Aug 14 2014

This is a B_2 sequence: for i < j, differences a(j) - a(i) are all distinct. Here 2*a(n) < a(n+1) + 1, so a(n) - a(0) < a(n+1) - a(n). - Thomas Ordowski, Sep 23 2014

a(n) counts n-walks (closed) on the graph G(1-vertex; 1-loop, 1-loop). - David Neil McGrath, Dec 11 2014

a(n-1) counts walks (closed) on the graph G(1-vertex; 1-loop, 2-loop, 3-loop, 4-loop, ...). - David Neil McGrath, Jan 01 2015

b(0) = 4; b(n+1) is the smallest number not in the sequence such that b(n+1) - Prod_{i=0..n} b(i) divides b(n+1) - Sum_{i=0..n} b(i). Then b(n) = a(n) for n > 2. - Derek Orr, Jan 15 2015

a(n) counts the permutations of length n+2 whose first element is 2 such that the permutation has exactly one descent. - Ran Pan, Apr 17 2015

a(0)-a(30) appear, with a(26)-a(30) in error, in tablet M 08613 (see CDLI link) from the Old Babylonian period (c. 1900-1600 BC). - Charles R Greathouse IV, Sep 03 2015

Subsequence of A028982 (the squares or twice squares sequence). - Timothy L. Tiffin, Jul 18 2016

A000120(a(n)) = 1. A000265(a(n)) = 1. A000593(a(n)) = 1. - Juri-Stepan Gerasimov, Aug 16 2016

Number of monotone maps f : [0..n] -> [0..n] which are order-increasing (i <= f(i)) and idempotent (f(f(i)) = f(i)). In other words, monads on the n-th ordinal (seen as a posetal category). Any monad f determines a subset of [0..n] that contains n, by considering its set of monad algebras = fixed points { i | f(i) = i }. Conversely, any subset S of [0..n] containing n determines a monad on [0..n], by the function i |-> min { j | i <= j, j in S }. - Noam Zeilberger, Dec 11 2016

Consider n points lying on a circle. Then for n>=2 a(n-2) gives the number of ways to connect two adjacent points with nonintersecting chords. - Anton Zakharov, Dec 31 2016

Satisfies Benford's law [Diaconis, 1977; Berger-Hill, 2017] - N. J. A. Sloane, Feb 07 2017

Also the number of independent vertex sets and vertex covers in the n-empty graph. - Eric W. Weisstein, Sep 21 2017

Also the number of maximum cliques in the n-halved cube graph for n > 4. - Eric W. Weisstein, Dec 04 2017

Number of pairs of compositions of n corresponding to a seaweed algebra of index n-1. - Nick Mayers, Jun 25 2018

The multiplicative group of integers modulo a(n) is cyclic if and only if n = 0, 1, 2. For n >= 3, it is a product of two cyclic groups. - Jianing Song, Jun 27 2018

k^n is the determinant of n X n matrix M_(i, j) = binomial(k + i + j - 2, j) - binomial(i+j-2, j), in this case k=2. - Tony Foster III, May 12 2019

Solutions to the equation Phi(2n + 2*Phi(2n)) = 2n. - M. Farrokhi D. G., Jan 03 2020

a(n-1) is the number of subsets of {1,2,...,n} which have an element that is the size of the set. For example, for n = 4, a(3) = 8 and the subsets are {1}, {1,2}, {2,3}, {2,4}, {1,2,3}, {1,3,4}, {2,3,4}, {1,2,3,4}. - Enrique Navarrete, Nov 21 2020

a(n) is the number of self-inverse (n+1)-order permutations with 231-avoiding. E.g., a(3) = 8: [1234, 1243, 1324, 1432, 2134, 2143, 3214, 4321]. - Yuchun Ji, Feb 26 2021

For any fixed k > 0, a(n) is the number of ways to tile a strip of length n+1 with tiles of length 1, 2, ... k, where the tile of length k can be black or white, with the restriction that the first tile cannot be black. - Greg Dresden and Bora Bursalı, Aug 31 2023

For some authors, the terms "natural numbers" and "counting numbers" include 0, i.e., refer to the nonnegative integers A001477; the term "whole numbers" frequently also designates the whole set of (signed) integers A001057.

a(n) is smallest positive integer which is consistent with sequence being monotonically increasing and satisfying a(a(n)) = n (cf. A007378).

Inverse Euler transform of A000219.

The rectangular array having A000027 as antidiagonals is the dispersion of the complement of the triangular numbers, A000217 (which triangularly form column 1 of this array). The array is also the transpose of A038722. - Clark Kimberling, Apr 05 2003

For nonzero x, define f(n) = floor(nx) - floor(n/x). Then f=A000027 if and only if x=tau or x=-tau. - Clark Kimberling, Jan 09 2005

Numbers of form (2^i)*k for odd k (i.e., n = A006519(n)*A000265(n)); thus n corresponds uniquely to an ordered pair (i,k) where i=A007814, k=A000265 (with A007814(2n)=A001511(n), A007814(2n+1)=0). - Lekraj Beedassy, Apr 22 2006

If the offset were changed to 0, we would have the following pattern: a(n)=binomial(n,0) + binomial(n,1) for the present sequence (number of regions in 1-space defined by n points), A000124 (number of regions in 2-space defined by n straight lines), A000125 (number of regions in 3-space defined by n planes), A000127 (number of regions in 4-space defined by n hyperplanes), A006261, A008859, A008860, A008861, A008862 and A008863, where the last six sequences are interpreted analogously and in each "... by n ..." clause an offset of 0 has been assumed, resulting in a(0)=1 for all of them, which corresponds to the case of not cutting with a hyperplane at all and therefore having one region. - Peter C. Heinig (algorithms(AT)gmx.de), Oct 19 2006

Define a number of points on a straight line to be in general arrangement when no two points coincide. Then these are the numbers of regions defined by n points in general arrangement on a straight line, when an offset of 0 is assumed. For instance, a(0)=1, since using no point at all leaves one region. The sequence satisfies the recursion a(n) = a(n-1) + 1. This has the following geometrical interpretation: Suppose there are already n-1 points in general arrangement, thus defining the maximal number of regions on a straight line obtainable by n-1 points, and now one more point is added in general arrangement. Then it will coincide with no other point and act as a dividing wall thereby creating one new region in addition to the a(n-1)=(n-1)+1=n regions already there, hence a(n)=a(n-1)+1. Cf. the comments on A000124 for an analogous interpretation. - Peter C. Heinig (algorithms(AT)gmx.de), Oct 19 2006

The sequence a(n)=n (for n=1,2,3) and a(n)=n+1 (for n=4,5,...) gives to the rank (minimal cardinality of a generating set) for the semigroup I_n\S_n, where I_n and S_n denote the symmetric inverse semigroup and symmetric group on [n]. - James East, May 03 2007

The sequence a(n)=n (for n=1,2), a(n)=n+1 (for n=3) and a(n)=n+2 (for n=4,5,...) gives the rank (minimal cardinality of a generating set) for the semigroup PT_n\T_n, where PT_n and T_n denote the partial transformation semigroup and transformation semigroup on [n]. - James East, May 03 2007

"God made the integers; all else is the work of man." This famous quotation is a translation of "Die ganzen Zahlen hat der liebe Gott gemacht, alles andere ist Menschenwerk," spoken by Leopold Kronecker in a lecture at the Berliner Naturforscher-Versammlung in 1886. Possibly the first publication of the statement is in Heinrich Weber's "Leopold Kronecker," Jahresberichte D.M.V. 2 (1893) 5-31. - Clark Kimberling, Jul 07 2007

Binomial transform of A019590, inverse binomial transform of A001792. - Philippe Deléham, Oct 24 2007

Writing A000027 as N, perhaps the simplest one-to-one correspondence between N X N and N is this: f(m,n) = ((m+n)^2 - m - 3n + 2)/2. Its inverse is given by I(k)=(g,h), where g = k - J(J-1)/2, h = J + 1 - g, J = floor((1 + sqrt(8k - 7))/2). Thus I(1)=(1,1), I(2)=(1,2), I(3)=(2,1) and so on; the mapping I fills the first-quadrant lattice by successive antidiagonals. - Clark Kimberling, Sep 11 2008

a(n) is also the mean of the first n odd integers. - Ian Kent, Dec 23 2008

Equals INVERTi transform of A001906, the even-indexed Fibonacci numbers starting (1, 3, 8, 21, 55, ...). - Gary W. Adamson, Jun 05 2009

These are also the 2-rough numbers: positive integers that have no prime factors less than 2. - Michael B. Porter, Oct 08 2009

Totally multiplicative sequence with a(p) = p for prime p. Totally multiplicative sequence with a(p) = a(p-1) + 1 for prime p. - Jaroslav Krizek, Oct 18 2009

Triangle T(k,j) of natural numbers, read by rows, with T(k,j) = binomial(k,2) + j = (k^2-k)/2 + j where 1 <= j <= k. In other words, a(n) = n = binomial(k,2) + j where k is the largest integer such that binomial(k,2) < n and j = n - binomial(k,2). For example, T(4,1)=7, T(4,2)=8, T(4,3)=9, and T(4,4)=10. Note that T(n,n)=A000217(n), the n-th triangular number. - Dennis P. Walsh, Nov 19 2009

Hofstadter-Conway-like sequence (see A004001): a(n) = a(a(n-1)) + a(n-a(n-1)) with a(1) = 1, a(2) = 2. - Jaroslav Krizek, Dec 11 2009

a(n) is also the dimension of the irreducible representations of the Lie algebra sl(2). - Leonid Bedratyuk, Jan 04 2010

Floyd's triangle read by rows. - Paul Muljadi, Jan 25 2010

Number of numbers between k and 2k where k is an integer. - Giovanni Teofilatto, Mar 26 2010

Generated from a(2n) = r*a(n), a(2n+1) = a(n) + a(n+1), r = 2; in an infinite set, row 2 of the array shown in A178568. - Gary W. Adamson, May 29 2010

1/n = continued fraction [n]. Let barover[n] = [n,n,n,...] = 1/k. Then k - 1/k = n. Example: [2,2,2,...] = (sqrt(2) - 1) = 1/k, with k = (sqrt(2) + 1). Then 2 = k - 1/k. - Gary W. Adamson, Jul 15 2010

Number of n-digit numbers the binary expansion of which contains one run of 1's. - Vladimir Shevelev, Jul 30 2010

From Clark Kimberling, Jan 29 2011: (Start)

Let T denote the "natural number array A000027":

1 2 4 7 ...

3 5 8 12 ...

6 9 13 18 ...

10 14 19 25 ...

T(n,k) = n+(n+k-2)*(n+k-1)/2. See A185787 for a list of sequences based on T, such as rows, columns, diagonals, and sub-arrays. (End)

The Stern polynomial B(n,x) evaluated at x=2. See A125184. - T. D. Noe, Feb 28 2011

The denominator in the Maclaurin series of log(2), which is 1 - 1/2 + 1/3 - 1/4 + .... - Mohammad K. Azarian, Oct 13 2011

As a function of Bernoulli numbers B_n (cf. A027641: (1, -1/2, 1/6, 0, -1/30, 0, 1/42, ...)): let V = a variant of B_n changing the (-1/2) to (1/2). Then triangle A074909 (the beheaded Pascal's triangle) * [1, 1/2, 1/6, 0, -1/30, ...] = the vector [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ...]. - Gary W. Adamson, Mar 05 2012

Number of partitions of 2n+1 into exactly two parts. - Wesley Ivan Hurt, Jul 15 2013

Integers n dividing u(n) = 2u(n-1) - u(n-2); u(0)=0, u(1)=1 (Lucas sequence A001477). - Thomas M. Bridge, Nov 03 2013

For this sequence, the generalized continued fraction a(1)+a(1)/(a(2)+a(2)/(a(3)+a(3)/(a(4)+...))), evaluates to 1/(e-2) = A194807. - Stanislav Sykora, Jan 20 2014

Engel expansion of e-1 (A091131 = 1.71828...). - Jaroslav Krizek, Jan 23 2014

a(n) is the number of permutations of length n simultaneously avoiding 213, 231 and 321 in the classical sense which are breadth-first search reading words of increasing unary-binary trees. For more details, see the entry for permutations avoiding 231 at A245898. - Manda Riehl, Aug 05 2014

a(n) is also the number of permutations simultaneously avoiding 213, 231 and 321 in the classical sense which can be realized as labels on an increasing strict binary tree with 2n-1 nodes. See A245904 for more information on increasing strict binary trees. - Manda Riehl, Aug 07 2014

a(n) = least k such that 2*Pi - Sum_{h=1..k} 1/(h^2 - h + 3/16) < 1/n. - Clark Kimberling, Sep 28 2014

a(n) = least k such that Pi^2/6 - Sum_{h=1..k} 1/h^2 < 1/n. - Clark Kimberling, Oct 02 2014

Determinants of the spiral knots S(2,k,(1)). a(k) = det(S(2,k,(1))). These knots are also the torus knots T(2,k). - Ryan Stees, Dec 15 2014

As a function, the restriction of the identity map on the nonnegative integers {0,1,2,3...}, A001477, to the positive integers {1,2,3,...}. - M. F. Hasler, Jan 18 2015

See also A131685(k) = smallest positive number m such that c(i) = m (i^1 + 1) (i^2 + 2) ... (i^k+ k) / k! takes integral values for all i>=0: For k=1, A131685(k)=1, which implies that this is a well defined integer sequence. - Alexander R. Povolotsky, Apr 24 2015

a(n) is the number of compositions of n+2 into n parts avoiding the part 2. - Milan Janjic, Jan 07 2016

Does not satisfy Benford's law [Berger-Hill, 2017] - N. J. A. Sloane, Feb 07 2017

Parametrization for the finite multisubsets of the positive integers, where, for p_j the j-th prime, n = Product_{j} p_j^(e_j) corresponds to the multiset containing e_j copies of j ('Heinz encoding' -- see A056239, A003963, A289506, A289507, A289508, A289509). - Christopher J. Smyth, Jul 31 2017

The arithmetic function v_1(n,1) as defined in A289197. - Robert Price, Aug 22 2017

For n >= 3, a(n)=n is the least area that can be obtained for an irregular octagon drawn in a square of n units side, whose sides are parallel to the axes, with 4 vertices that coincide with the 4 vertices of the square, and the 4 remaining vertices having integer coordinates. See Affaire de Logique link. - Michel Marcus, Apr 28 2018

a(n+1) is the order of rowmotion on a poset defined by a disjoint union of chains of length n. - Nick Mayers, Jun 08 2018

Number of 1's in n-th generation of 1-D Cellular Automata using Rules 50, 58, 114, 122, 178, 186, 206, 220, 238, 242, 250 or 252 in the Wolfram numbering scheme, started with a single 1. - Frank Hollstein, Mar 25 2019

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ...) is the fourth INVERT transform of (1, -2, 3, -4, 5, ...). - Gary W. Adamson, Jul 15 2019

This sequence is an exception to my usual rule that when every other term of a sequence is 0 then those 0's should be omitted. In this case we would get A001511. - N. J. A. Sloane

To construct the sequence: start with 0,1, concatenate to get 0,1,0,1. Add + 1 to last term gives 0,1,0,2. Concatenate those 4 terms to get 0,1,0,2,0,1,0,2. Add + 1 to last term etc. - Benoit Cloitre, Mar 06 2003

The sequence is invariant under the following two transformations: increment every element by one (1, 2, 1, 3, 1, 2, 1, 4, ...), put a zero in front and between adjacent elements (0, 1, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 3, 0, 1, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 4, ...). The intermediate result is A001511. - Ralf Hinze (ralf(AT)informatik.uni-bonn.de), Aug 26 2003

Fixed point of the morphism 0->01, 1->02, 2->03, 3->04, ..., n->0(n+1), ..., starting from a(1) = 0. - Philippe Deléham, Mar 15 2004

Fixed point of the morphism 0->010, 1->2, 2->3, ..., n->(n+1), .... - Joerg Arndt, Apr 29 2014

a(n) is also the number of times to repeat a step on an even number in the hailstone sequence referenced in the Collatz conjecture. - Alex T. Flood (whiteangelsgrace(AT)gmail.com), Sep 22 2006

Let F(n) be the n-th Fermat number (A000215). Then F(a(r-1)) divides F(n)+2^k for r = k mod 2^n and r != 1. - T. D. Noe, Jul 12 2007

The following relation holds: 2^A007814(n)*(2*A025480(n-1)+1) = A001477(n) = n. (See functions hd, tl and cons in [Paul Tarau 2009].)

a(n) is the number of 0's at the end of n when n is written in base 2.

a(n+1) is the number of 1's at the end of n when n is written in base 2. - M. F. Hasler, Aug 25 2012

Shows which bit to flip when creating the binary reflected Gray code (bits are numbered from the right, offset is 0). That is, A003188(n) XOR A003188(n+1) == 2^A007814(n). - Russ Cox, Dec 04 2010

The sequence is squarefree (in the sense of not containing any subsequence of the form XX) [Allouche and Shallit]. Of course it contains individual terms that are squares (such as 4). - Comment expanded by N. J. A. Sloane, Jan 28 2019

a(n) is the number of zero coefficients in the n-th Stern polynomial, A125184. - T. D. Noe, Mar 01 2011

Lemma: For n < m with r = a(n) = a(m) there exists n < k < m with a(k) > r. Proof: We have n=b2^r and m=c2^r with b < c both odd; choose an even i between them; now a(i2^r) > r and n < i2^r < m. QED. Corollary: Every finite run of consecutive integers has a unique maximum 2-adic valuation. - Jason Kimberley, Sep 09 2011

a(n-2) is the 2-adic valuation of A000166(n) for n >= 2. - Joerg Arndt, Sep 06 2014

a(n) = number of 1's in the partition having Heinz number n. We define the Heinz number of a partition p = [p_1, p_2, ..., p_r] as Product_{j=1..r} p_j-th prime (concept used by Alois P. Heinz in A215366 as an "encoding" of a partition). For example, for the partition [1, 1, 2, 4, 10] we get 2*2*3*7*29 = 2436. Example: a(24)=3; indeed, the partition having Heinz number 24 = 2*2*2*3 is [1,1,1,2]. - Emeric Deutsch, Jun 04 2015

a(n+1) is the difference between the two largest parts in the integer partition having viabin number n (0 is assumed to be a part). Example: a(20) = 2. Indeed, we have 19 = 10011_2, leading to the Ferrers board of the partition [3,1,1]. For the definition of viabin number see the comment in A290253. - Emeric Deutsch, Aug 24 2017

Apart from being squarefree, as noted above, the sequence has the property that every consecutive subsequence contains at least one number an odd number of times. - Jon Richfield, Dec 20 2018

a(n+1) is the 2-adic valuation of Sum_{e=0..n} u^e = (1 + u + u^2 + ... + u^n), for any u of the form 4k+1 (A016813). - Antti Karttunen, Aug 15 2020

{a(n)} represents the "first black hat" strategy for the game of countably infinitely many hats, with a probability of success of 1/3; cf. the Numberphile link below. - Frederic Ruget, Jun 14 2021

a(n) is the least nonnegative integer k for which there does not exist i+j=n and a(i)=a(j)=k (cf. A322523). - Rémy Sigrist and Jianing Song, Aug 23 2022

Meyers (see Guy reference) conjectures that for all r >= 1, the least odd number not in the set {a(i): i < prime(r)} is prime(r+1). - N. J. A. Sloane, Jan 08 2021

Meyers' conjecture would be refuted if and only if for some r there were such a large gap between prime(r) and prime(r+1) that there existed a composite c for which prime(r) < c < a(c) < prime(r+1), in which case (by Bertrand's postulate) c would necessarily be a term of A246281. - Antti Karttunen, Mar 29 2021

a(n) is odd for all n and for each odd m there exists a k with a(k) = m (see A064216). a(n) > n for n > 1: bijection between the odd and all numbers. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Sep 26 2001

a(n) and n have the same number of distinct primes with (A001222) and without multiplicity (A001221). - Michel Marcus, Jun 13 2014

From Antti Karttunen, Nov 01 2019: (Start)

More generally, a(n) has the same prime signature as n, A046523(a(n)) = A046523(n). Also A246277(a(n)) = A246277(n) and A287170(a(n)) = A287170(n).

Many permutations and other sequences that employ prime factorization of n to encode either polynomials, partitions (via Heinz numbers) or multisets in general can be easily defined by using this sequence as one of their constituent functions. See the last line in the Crossrefs section for examples.

(End)

When n > 0 is written as k*2^j with k odd then k = A000265(n) and j = A007814(n), so: when n is written as k*2^j - 1 with k odd then k = A000265(n+1) and j = A007814(n+1), when n > 1 is written as k*2^j + 1 with k odd then k = A000265(n-1) and j = A007814(n-1).

Also denominator of 2^n/n (numerator is A075101(n)). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Sep 01 2002

Slope of line connecting (o, a(o)) where o = (2^k)(n-1) + 1 is 2^k and (by design) starts at (1, 1). - Josh Locker (joshlocker(AT)macfora.com), Apr 17 2004

Numerator of n/2^(n-1). - Alexander Adamchuk, Feb 11 2005

From Marco Matosic, Jun 29 2005: (Start)

"The sequence can be arranged in a table:

1

1 3 1

1 5 3 7 1

1 9 5 11 3 13 7 15 1

1 17 9 19 5 21 11 23 3 25 13 27 7 29 15 31 1

Every new row is the previous row interspaced with the continuation of the odd numbers.

Except for the ones; the terms (t) in each column are t+t+/-s = t_+1. Starting from the center column of threes and working to the left the values of s are given by A000265 and working to the right by A000265." (End)

This is a fractal sequence. The odd-numbered elements give the odd natural numbers. If these elements are removed, the original sequence is recovered. - Kerry Mitchell, Dec 07 2005

2k + 1 is the k-th and largest of the subsequence of k terms separating two successive equal entries in a(n). - Lekraj Beedassy, Dec 30 2005

It's not difficult to show that the sum of the first 2^n terms is (4^n + 2)/3. - Nick Hobson, Jan 14 2005

In the table, for each row, (sum of terms between 3 and 1) - (sum of terms between 1 and 3) = A020988. - Eric Desbiaux, May 27 2009

This sequence appears in the analysis of A160469 and A156769, which resemble the numerator and denominator of the Taylor series for tan(x). - Johannes W. Meijer, May 24 2009

Indices n such that a(n) divides 2^n - 1 are listed in A068563. - Max Alekseyev, Aug 25 2013

From Alexander R. Povolotsky, Dec 17 2014: (Start)

With regard to the tabular presentation described in the comment by Marco Matosic: in his drawing, starting with the 3rd row, the first term in the row, which is equal to 1 (or, alternatively the last term in the row, which is also equal to 1), is not in the actual sequence and is added to the drawing as a fictitious term (for the sake of symmetry); an actual A000265(n) could be considered to be a(j,k) (where j >= 1 is the row number and k>=1 is the column subscript), such that a(j,1) = 1:

1

1 3

1 5 3 7

1 9 5 11 3 13 7 15

1 17 9 19 5 21 11 23 3 25 13 27 7 29 15 31

and so on ... .

The relationship between k and j for each row is 1 <= k <= 2^(j-1). In this corrected tabular representation, Marco's notion that "every new row is the previous row interspaced with the continuation of the odd numbers" remains true. (End)

Partitions natural numbers to the same equivalence classes as A064989. That is, for all i, j: a(i) = a(j) <=> A064989(i) = A064989(j). There are dozens of other such sequences (like A003602) for which this also holds: In general, all sequences for which a(2n) = a(n) and the odd bisection is injective. - Antti Karttunen, Apr 15 2017

From Paul Curtz, Feb 19 2019: (Start)

This sequence is the truncated triangle:

1, 1;

3, 1, 5;

3, 7, 1, 9;

5, 11, 3, 13, 7;

15, 1, 17, 9, 19, 5;

21, 11, 23, 3, 25, 13, 27;

7, 29, 15, 31, 1, 33, 17, 35;

...

The first column is A069834. The second column is A213671. The main diagonal is A236999. The first upper diagonal is A125650 without 0.

c(n) = ((n*(n+1)/2))/A069834 = 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 4, 4, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 8, 8, 1, 1, ... for n > 0. n*(n+1)/2 is the rank of A069834. (End)

As well as being multiplicative, a(n) is a strong divisibility sequence, that is, gcd(a(n),a(m)) = a(gcd(n,m)) for n, m >= 1. In particular, a(n) is a divisibility sequence: if n divides m then a(n) divides a(m). - Peter Bala, Feb 27 2019

a(n) is also the map n -> A026741(n) applied at least A007814(n) times. - Federico Provvedi, Dec 14 2021

A permutation of the natural numbers. - Robert G. Wilson v, Feb 22 2005

Fixed points: A029747. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Aug 23 2006

The even bisection, when halved, gives the sequence back. - Antti Karttunen, Jun 28 2014

From Antti Karttunen, Dec 21 2014: (Start)

This irregular table can be represented as a binary tree. Each child to the left is obtained by applying A003961 to the parent, and each child to the right is obtained by doubling the parent:

1

|

...................2...................

3 4

5......../ \........6 9......../ \........8

/ \ / \ / \ / \

/ \ / \ / \ / \

/ \ / \ / \ / \

7 10 15 12 25 18 27 16

11 14 21 20 35 30 45 24 49 50 75 36 125 54 81 32

etc.

Sequence A163511 is obtained by scanning the same tree level by level, from right to left. Also in binary trees A253563 and A253565 the terms on level of the tree are some permutation of the terms present on the level n of this tree. A252464(n) gives the distance of n from 1 in all these trees.

A252737(n) gives the sum and A252738(n) the product of terms on row n (where 1 is on row 0, 2 on row 1, 3 and 4 on row 2, etc.). A252745(n) gives the number of nodes on level n whose left child is larger than the right child, A252750 the difference between left and right child for each node from node 2 onward.

(End)

-A008836(a(1+n)) gives the corresponding numerator for A323505(n). - Antti Karttunen, Jan 19 2019

(a(2n+1)-1)/2 [= A244154(n)-1, for n >= 0] is a permutation of the natural numbers. - George Beck and Antti Karttunen, Dec 08 2019

From Peter Munn, Oct 04 2020: (Start)

Each term has the same even part (equivalently, the same 2-adic valuation) as its index.

Using the tree depicted in Antti Karttunen's 2014 comment:

Numbers are on the right branch (4 and descendants) if and only if divisible by the square of their largest prime factor (cf. A070003).

Numbers on the left branch, together with 2, are listed in A102750.

(End)

According to Kutz (1981), he learned of this sequence from American mathematician Byron Leon McAllister (1929-2017) who attributed the invention of the sequence to a graduate student by the name of Doudna (first name Paul?) in the mid-1950's at the University of Wisconsin. - Amiram Eldar, Jun 17 2021

From David James Sycamore, Sep 23 2022: (Start)

Alternative (recursive) definition: If n is a power of 2 then a(n)=n. Otherwise, if 2^j is the greatest power of 2 not exceeding n, and if k = n - 2^j, then a(n) is the least m*a(k) that has not occurred previously, where m is an odd prime.

Example: Use recursion with n = 77 = 2^6 + 13. a(13) = 25 and since 11 is the smallest odd prime m such that m*a(13) has not already occurred (see a(27), a(29),a(45)), then a(77) = 11*25 = 275. (End)

The odd bisection, when transformed by replacing all prime(k)^e in a(2*n - 1) with prime(k-1)^e, returns a(n), and thus gives the sequence back. - David James Sycamore, Sep 28 2022

A toothpick is a copy of the closed interval [-1,1]. (In the paper, we take it to be a copy of the unit interval [-1/2, 1/2].)

We start at stage 0 with no toothpicks.

At stage 1 we place a toothpick in the vertical direction, anywhere in the plane.

In general, given a configuration of toothpicks in the plane, at the next stage we add as many toothpicks as possible, subject to certain conditions:

- Each new toothpick must lie in the horizontal or vertical directions.

- Two toothpicks may never cross.

- Each new toothpick must have its midpoint touching the endpoint of exactly one existing toothpick.

The sequence gives the number of toothpicks after n stages. A139251 (the first differences) gives the number added at the n-th stage.

Call the endpoint of a toothpick "exposed" if it does not touch any other toothpick. The growth rule may be expressed as follows: at each stage, new toothpicks are placed so their midpoints touch every exposed endpoint.

This is equivalent to a two-dimensional cellular automaton. The animations show the fractal-like behavior.

After 2^k - 1 steps, there are 2^k exposed endpoints, all located on two lines perpendicular to the initial toothpick. At the next step, 2^k toothpicks are placed on these lines, leaving only 4 exposed endpoints, located at the corners of a square with side length 2^(k-1) times the length of a toothpick. - M. F. Hasler, Apr 14 2009 and others. For proof, see the Applegate-Pol-Sloane paper.

If the third condition in the definition is changed to "- Each new toothpick must have at exactly one of its endpoints touching the midpoint of an existing toothpick" then the same sequence is obtained. The configurations of toothpicks are of course different from those in the present sequence. But if we start with the configurations of the present sequence, rotate each toothpick a quarter-turn, and then rotate the whole configuration a quarter-turn, we obtain the other configuration.

If the third condition in the definition is changed to "- Each new toothpick must have at least one of its endpoints touching the midpoint of an existing toothpick" then the sequence n^2 - n + 1 is obtained, because there are no holes left in the grid.

A "toothpick" of length 2 can be regarded as a polyedge with 2 components, both on the same line. At stage n, the toothpick structure is a polyedge with 2*a(n) components.

Conjecture: Consider the rectangles in the sieve (including the squares). The area of each rectangle (A = b*c) and the edges (b and c) are powers of 2, but at least one of the edges (b or c) is <= 2.

In the toothpick structure, if n >> 1, we can see some patterns that look like "canals" and "diffraction patterns". For example, see the Applegate link "A139250: the movie version", then enter n=1008 and click "Update". See also "T-square (fractal)" in the Links section. - Omar E. Pol, May 19 2009, Oct 01 2011

From Benoit Jubin, May 20 2009: The web page "Gallery" of Chris Moore (see link) has some nice pictures that are somewhat similar to the pictures of the present sequence. What sequences do they correspond to?

For a connection to Sierpiński triangle and Gould's sequence A001316, see the leftist toothpick triangle A151566.

Eric Rowland comments on Mar 15 2010 that this toothpick structure can be represented as a 5-state CA on the square grid. On Mar 18 2010, David Applegate showed that three states are enough. See links.

Equals row sums of triangle A160570 starting with offset 1; equivalent to convolving A160552: (1, 1, 3, 1, 3, 5, 7, ...) with (1, 2, 2, 2, ...). Equals A160762: (1, 0, 2, -2, 2, 2, 2, -6, ...) convolved with 2*n - 1: (1, 3, 5, 7, ...). Starting with offset 1 equals A151548: [1, 3, 5, 7, 5, 11, 17, 15, ...] convolved with A078008 signed (A151575): [1, 0, 2, -2, 6, -10, 22, -42, 86, -170, 342, ...]. - Gary W. Adamson, May 19 2009, May 25 2009

For a three-dimensional version of the toothpick structure, see A160160. - Omar E. Pol, Dec 06 2009

From Omar E. Pol, May 20 2010: (Start)

Observation about the arrangement of rectangles:

It appears there is a nice pattern formed by distinct modular substructures: a central cross surrounded by asymmetrical crosses (or "hidden crosses") of distinct sizes and also by "nuclei" of crosses.

Conjectures: after 2^k stages, for k >= 2, and for m = 1 to k - 1, there are 4^(m-1) substructures of size s = k - m, where every substructure has 4*s rectangles. The total number of substructures is equal to (4^(k-1)-1)/3 = A002450(k-1). For example: If k = 5 (after 32 stages) we can see that:

a) There is a central cross, of size 4, with 16 rectangles.

b) There are four hidden crosses, of size 3, where every cross has 12 rectangles.

c) There are 16 hidden crosses, of size 2, where every cross has 8 rectangles.

d) There are 64 nuclei of crosses, of size 1, where every nucleus has 4 rectangles.

Hence the total number of substructures after 32 stages is equal to 85. Note that in every arm of every substructure, in the potential growth direction, the length of the rectangles are the powers of 2. (See illustrations in the links. See also A160124.) (End)

It appears that the number of grid points that are covered after n-th stage of the toothpick structure, assuming the toothpicks have length 2*k, is equal to (2*k-2)*a(n) + A147614(n), k > 0. See the formulas of A160420 and A160422. - Omar E. Pol, Nov 13 2010

Version "Gullwing": on the semi-infinite square grid, at stage 1, we place a horizontal "gull" with its vertices at [(-1, 2), (0, 1), (1, 2)]. At stage 2, we place two vertical gulls. At stage 3, we place four horizontal gulls. a(n) is also the number of gulls after n-th stage. For more information about the growth of gulls see A187220. - Omar E. Pol, Mar 10 2011

From Omar E. Pol, Mar 12 2011: (Start)

Version "I-toothpick": we define an "I-toothpick" to consist of two connected toothpicks, as a bar of length 2. An I-toothpick with length 2 is formed by two toothpicks with length 1. The midpoint of an I-toothpick is touched by its two toothpicks. a(n) is also the number of I-toothpicks after n-th stage in the I-toothpick structure. The I-toothpick structure is essentially the original toothpick structure in which every toothpick is replaced by an I-toothpick. Note that in the physical model of the original toothpick structure the midpoint of a wooden toothpick of the new generation is superimposed on the endpoint of a wooden toothpick of the old generation. However, in the physical model of the I-toothpick structure the wooden toothpicks are not overlapping because all wooden toothpicks are connected by their endpoints. For the number of toothpicks in the I-toothpick structure see A160164 which also gives the number of gullwing in a gullwing structure because the gullwing structure of A160164 is equivalent to the I-toothpick structure. It also appears that the gullwing sequence A187220 is a supersequence of the original toothpick sequence A139250 (this sequence).

For the connection with the Ulam-Warburton cellular automaton see the Applegate-Pol-Sloane paper and see also A160164 and A187220.

(End)

A version in which the toothpicks are connected by their endpoints: on the semi-infinite square grid, at stage 1, we place a vertical toothpick of length 1 from (0, 0). At stage 2, we place two horizontal toothpicks from (0,1), and so on. The arrangement looks like half of the I-toothpick structure. a(n) is also the number of toothpicks after the n-th. - Omar E. Pol, Mar 13 2011

Version "Quarter-circle" (or Q-toothpick): a(n) is also the number of Q-toothpicks after the n-th stage in a Q-toothpick structure in the first quadrant. We start from (0,1) with the first Q-toothpick centered at (1, 1). The structure is asymmetric. For a similar structure but starting from (0, 0) see A187212. See A187210 and A187220 for more information. - Omar E. Pol, Mar 22 2011

Version "Tree": It appears that a(n) is also the number of toothpicks after the n-th stage in a toothpick structure constructed following a special rule: the toothpicks of the new generation have length 4 when they are placed on the infinite square grid (note that every toothpick has four components of length 1), but after every stage, one (or two) of the four components of every toothpick of the new generation is removed, if such component contains an endpoint of the toothpick and if such endpoint is touching the midpoint or the endpoint of another toothpick. The truncated endpoints of the toothpicks remain exposed forever. Note that there are three sizes of toothpicks in the structure: toothpicks of lengths 4, 3 and 2. A159795 gives the total number of components in the structure after the n-th stage. A153006 (the corner sequence of the original version) gives 1/4 of the total of components in the structure after the n-th stage. - Omar E. Pol, Oct 24 2011

From Omar E. Pol, Sep 16 2012: (Start)

It appears that a(n)/A147614(n) converges to 3/4.

It appears that a(n)/A160124(n) converges to 3/2.

It appears that a(n)/A139252(n) converges to 3.

Also:

It appears that A147614(n)/A160124(n) converges to 2.

It appears that A160124(n)/A139252(n) converges to 2.

It appears that A147614(n)/A139252(n) converges to 4.

(End)

It appears that a(n) is also the total number of ON cells after n-th stage in a quadrant of the structure of the cellular automaton described in A169707 plus the total number of ON cells after n+1 stages in a quadrant of the mentioned structure, without its central cell. See the illustration of the NW-NE-SE-SW version in A169707. See also the connection between A160164 and A169707. - Omar E. Pol, Jul 26 2015

On the infinite Cairo pentagonal tiling consider the symmetric figure formed by two non-adjacent pentagons connected by a line segment joining two trivalent nodes. At stage 1 we start with one of these figures turned ON. The rule for the next stages is that the concave part of the figures of the new generation must be adjacent to the complementary convex part of the figures of the old generation. a(n) gives the number of figures that are ON in the structure after n-th stage. A160164(n) gives the number of ON cells in the structure after n-th stage. - Omar E. Pol, Mar 29 2018

From Omar E. Pol, Mar 06 2019: (Start)

The "word" of this sequence is "ab". For further information about the word of cellular automata see A296612.

Version "triangular grid": a(n) is also the total number of toothpicks of length 2 after n-th stage in the toothpick structure on the infinite triangular grid, if we use only two of the three axes. Otherwise, if we use the three axes, so we have the sequence A296510 which has word "abc".

The normal toothpick structure can be considered a superstructure of the Ulam-Warburton celular automaton since A147562(n) equals here the total number of "hidden crosses" after 4*n stages, including the central cross (beginning to count the crosses when their "nuclei" are totally formed with 4 quadrilaterals). Note that every quadrilateral in the structure belongs to a "hidden cross".

Also, the number of "hidden crosses" after n stages equals the total number of "flowers with six petals" after n-th stage in the structure of A323650, which appears to be a "missing link" between this sequence and A147562.

Note that the location of the "nuclei of the hidden crosses" is very similar (essentially the same) to the location of the "flowers with six petals" in the structure of A323650 and to the location of the "ON" cells in the version "one-step bishop" of the Ulam-Warburton cellular automaton of A147562. (End)

From Omar E. Pol, Nov 27 2020: (Start)

The simplest substructures are the arms of the hidden crosses. Each closed region (square or rectangle) of the structure belongs to one of these arms. The narrow arms have regions of area 1, 2, 4, 8, ... The broad arms have regions of area 2, 4, 8, 16 , ... Note that after 2^k stages, with k >= 3, the narrow arms of the main hidden crosses in each quadrant frame the size of the toothpick structure after 2^(k-1) stages.

Another kind of substructure could be called "bar chart" or "bar graph". This substructure is formed by the rectangles and squares of width 2 that are adjacent to any of the four sides of the toothpick structure after 2^k stages, with k >= 2. The height of these successive regions gives the first 2^(k-1) - 1 terms from A006519. For example: if k = 5 the respective heights after 32 stages are [1, 2, 1, 4, 1, 2, 1, 8, 1, 2, 1, 4, 1, 2, 1]. The area of these successive regions gives the first 2^(k-1) - 1 terms of A171977. For example: if k = 5 the respective areas are [2, 4, 2, 8, 2, 4, 2, 16, 2, 4, 2, 8, 2, 4, 2].

For a connection to Mersenne primes (A000668) and perfect numbers (A000396) see A153006.

For a representation of the Wagstaff primes (A000979) using the toothpick structure see A194810.

For a connection to stained glass windows and a hidden curve see A336532. (End)

It appears that the graph of a(n) bears a striking resemblance to the cumulative distribution function F(x) for X the random variable taking values in [0,1], where the binary expansion of X is given by a sequence of independent coin tosses with probability 3/4 of being 1 at each bit. It appears that F(n/2^k)*(2^(2k+1)+1)/3 approaches a(n) for k large. - James Coe, Jan 10 2022