cp's OEIS Frontend

From Peter C. Heinig (algorithms(AT)gmx.de), Mar 08 2008: (Start)

This is also the number of maximal ideals of the ring (Z/nZ,+,*). Since every finite integral domain must be a field, every prime ideal of Z/nZ is a maximal ideal and since in general each maximal ideal is prime, there are just as many prime ideals as maximal ones in Z/nZ, so the sequence gives the number of prime ideals of Z/nZ as well.

The reason why this number is given by the sequence is that the ideals of Z/nZ are precisely the subgroups of (Z/nZ,+). Hence for an ideal to be maximal it has form a maximal subgroup of (Z/nZ,+) and this is equivalent to having prime index in (Z/nZ) and this is equivalent to being generated by a single prime divisor of n.

Finally, all the groups arising in this way have different orders, hence are different, so the number of maximal ideals equals the number of distinct primes dividing n. (End)

Equals double inverse Mobius transform of A143519, where A051731 = the inverse Mobius transform. - Gary W. Adamson, Aug 22 2008

a(n) is the number of unitary prime power divisors of n (not including 1). - Jaroslav Krizek, May 04 2009 [corrected by Ilya Gutkovskiy, Oct 09 2019]

Sum_{d|n} 2^(-A001221(d) - A001222(n/d)) = Sum_{d|n} 2^(-A001222(d) - A001221(n/d)) = 1 (see Dressler and van de Lune link). - Michel Marcus, Dec 18 2012

Up to 2*3*5*7*11*13*17*19*23*29 - 1 = 6469693230 - 1, also the decimal expansion of the constant 0.01111211... = Sum_{k>=0} 1/(10 ^ A000040(k) - 1) (see A073668). - Eric Desbiaux, Jan 20 2014

The average order of a(n): Sum_{k=1..n} a(k) ~ Sum_{k=1..n} log log k. - Daniel Forgues, Aug 13-16 2015

From Peter Luschny, Jul 13 2023: (Start)

We can use A001221 and A001222 to classify the positive integers as follows.

A001222(n) = A001221(n) = 0 singles out {1}.

Restricting to n > 1:

A001222(n)^A001221(n) = 1: A000040, prime numbers.

A001221(n)^A001222(n) = 1: A246655, prime powers.

A001222(n)^A001221(n) > 1: A002808, the composite numbers.

A001221(n)^A001222(n) > 1: A024619, complement of A246655.

n^(A001222(n) - A001221(n)) = 1: A144338, products of distinct primes. (End)

Inverse Möbius transform of the characteristic function of primes (A010051). - Wesley Ivan Hurt, Jun 22 2024

Dirichlet convolution of A010051(n) and 1. - Wesley Ivan Hurt, Jul 15 2025

Leibniz's series: Pi/4 = Sum_{n>=0} (-1)^n/(2n+1) (cf. A072172).

Beginning of the ordering of the natural numbers used in Sharkovski's theorem - see the Cielsielski-Pogoda paper.

The Sharkovski ordering begins with the odd numbers >= 3, then twice these numbers, then 4 times them, then 8 times them, etc., ending with the powers of 2 in decreasing order, ending with 2^0 = 1.

Apart from initial term(s), dimension of the space of weight 2n cusp forms for Gamma_0(6).

Also continued fraction for coth(1) (A073747 is decimal expansion). - Rick L. Shepherd, Aug 07 2002

a(1) = 1; a(n) is the smallest number such that a(n) + a(i) is composite for all i = 1 to n-1. - Amarnath Murthy, Jul 14 2003

Smallest number greater than n, not a multiple of n, but containing it in binary representation. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Oct 06 2003

Numbers n such that phi(2n) = phi(n), where phi is Euler's totient (A000010). - Lekraj Beedassy, Aug 27 2004

Pi*sqrt(2)/4 = Sum_{n>=0} (-1)^floor(n/2)/(2n+1) = 1 + 1/3 - 1/5 - 1/7 + 1/9 + 1/11 ... [since periodic f(x)=x over -Pi < x < Pi = 2(sin(x)/1 - sin(2x)/2 + sin(3x)/3 - ...) using x = Pi/4 (Maor)]. - Gerald McGarvey, Feb 04 2005

For n > 1, numbers having 2 as an anti-divisor. - Alexandre Wajnberg, Oct 02 2005

a(n) = shortest side a of all integer-sided triangles with sides a <= b <= c and inradius n >= 1.

First differences of squares (A000290). - Lekraj Beedassy, Jul 15 2006

The odd numbers are the solution to the simplest recursion arising when assuming that the algorithm "merge sort" could merge in constant unit time, i.e., T(1):= 1, T(n):= T(floor(n/2)) + T(ceiling(n/2)) + 1. - Peter C. Heinig (algorithms(AT)gmx.de), Oct 14 2006

2n-5 counts the permutations in S_n which have zero occurrences of the pattern 312 and one occurrence of the pattern 123. - David Hoek (david.hok(AT)telia.com), Feb 28 2007

For n > 0: number of divisors of (n-1)th power of any squarefree semiprime: a(n) = A000005(A001248(k)^(n-1)); a(n) = A000005(A000302(n-1)) = A000005(A001019(n-1)) = A000005(A009969(n-1)) = A000005(A087752(n-1)). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Mar 04 2007

For n > 2, a(n-1) is the least integer not the sum of < n n-gonal numbers (0 allowed). - Jonathan Sondow, Jul 01 2007

A134451(a(n)) = abs(A134452(a(n))) = 1; union of A134453 and A134454. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Oct 27 2007

Numbers n such that sigma(2n) = 3*sigma(n). - Farideh Firoozbakht, Feb 26 2008

a(n) = A139391(A016825(n)) = A006370(A016825(n)). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Apr 17 2008

Number of divisors of 4^(n-1) for n > 0. - J. Lowell, Aug 30 2008

Equals INVERT transform of A078050 (signed - cf. comments); and row sums of triangle A144106. - Gary W. Adamson, Sep 11 2008

Odd numbers(n) = 2*n+1 = square pyramidal number(3*n+1) / triangular number(3*n+1). - Pierre CAMI, Sep 27 2008

A000035(a(n))=1, A059841(a(n))=0. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Sep 29 2008

Multiplicative closure of A065091. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Oct 14 2008

a(n) is also the maximum number of triangles that n+2 points in the same plane can determine. 3 points determine max 1 triangle; 4 points can give 3 triangles; 5 points can give 5; 6 points can give 7 etc. - Carmine Suriano, Jun 08 2009

Binomial transform of A130706, inverse binomial transform of A001787(without the initial 0). - Philippe Deléham, Sep 17 2009

Also the 3-rough numbers: positive integers that have no prime factors less than 3. - Michael B. Porter, Oct 08 2009

Or n without 2 as prime factor. - Juri-Stepan Gerasimov, Nov 19 2009

Given an L(2,1) labeling l of a graph G, let k be the maximum label assigned by l. The minimum k possible over all L(2,1) labelings of G is denoted by lambda(G). For n > 0, this sequence gives lambda(K_{n+1}) where K_{n+1} is the complete graph on n+1 vertices. - K.V.Iyer, Dec 19 2009

A176271 = odd numbers seen as a triangle read by rows: a(n) = A176271(A002024(n+1), A002260(n+1)). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Apr 13 2010

For n >= 1, a(n-1) = numbers k such that arithmetic mean of the first k positive integers is an integer. A040001(a(n-1)) = 1. See A145051 and A040001. - Jaroslav Krizek, May 28 2010

Union of A179084 and A179085. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Jun 28 2010

For n>0, continued fraction [1,1,n] = (n+1)/a(n); e.g., [1,1,7] = 8/15. - Gary W. Adamson, Jul 15 2010

Numbers that are the sum of two sequential integers. - Dominick Cancilla, Aug 09 2010

Cf. property described by Gary Detlefs in A113801: more generally, these numbers are of the form (2*h*n + (h-4)*(-1)^n - h)/4 (h and n in A000027), therefore ((2*h*n + (h-4)*(-1)^n - h)/4)^2 - 1 == 0 (mod h); in this case, a(n)^2 - 1 == 0 (mod 4). Also a(n)^2 - 1 == 0 (mod 8). - Bruno Berselli, Nov 17 2010

A004767 = a(a(n)). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Jun 27 2011

A001227(a(n)) = A000005(a(n)); A048272(a(n)) < 0. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Jan 21 2012

a(n) is the minimum number of tosses of a fair coin needed so that the probability of more than n heads is at least 1/2. In fact, Sum_{k=n+1..2n+1} Pr(k heads|2n+1 tosses) = 1/2. - Dennis P. Walsh, Apr 04 2012

A007814(a(n)) = 0; A037227(a(n)) = 1. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Jun 30 2012

1/N (i.e., 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, ...) = Sum_{j=1,3,5,...,infinity} k^j, where k is the infinite set of constants 1/exp.ArcSinh(N/2) = convergents to barover(N). The convergent to barover(1) or [1,1,1,...] = 1/phi = 0.6180339..., whereas c.f. barover(2) converges to 0.414213..., and so on. Thus, with k = 1/phi we obtain 1 = k^1 + k^3 + k^5 + ..., and with k = 0.414213... = (sqrt(2) - 1) we get 1/2 = k^1 + k^3 + k^5 + .... Likewise, with the convergent to barover(3) = 0.302775... = k, we get 1/3 = k^1 + k^3 + k^5 + ..., etc. - Gary W. Adamson, Jul 01 2012

Conjecture on primes with one coach (A216371) relating to the odd integers: iff an integer is in A216371 (primes with one coach either of the form 4q-1 or 4q+1, (q > 0)); the top row of its coach is composed of a permutation of the first q odd integers. Example: prime 19 (q = 5), has 5 terms in each row of its coach: 19: [1, 9, 5, 7, 3] ... [1, 1, 1, 2, 4]. This is interpreted: (19 - 1) = (2^1 * 9), (19 - 9) = (2^1 * 5), (19 - 5) = (2^1 - 7), (19 - 7) = (2^2 * 3), (19 - 3) = (2^4 * 1). - Gary W. Adamson, Sep 09 2012

A005408 is the numerator 2n-1 of the term (1/m^2 - 1/n^2) = (2n-1)/(mn)^2, n = m+1, m > 0 in the Rydberg formula, while A035287 is the denominator (mn)^2. So the quotient a(A005408)/a(A035287) simulates the Hydrogen spectral series of all hydrogen-like elements. - Freimut Marschner, Aug 10 2013

This sequence has unique factorization. The primitive elements are the odd primes (A065091). (Each term of the sequence can be expressed as a product of terms of the sequence. Primitive elements have only the trivial factorization. If the products of terms of the sequence are always in the sequence, and there is a unique factorization of each element into primitive elements, we say that the sequence has unique factorization. So, e.g., the composite numbers do not have unique factorization, because for example 36 = 4*9 = 6*6 has two distinct factorizations.) - Franklin T. Adams-Watters, Sep 28 2013

These are also numbers k such that (k^k+1)/(k+1) is an integer. - Derek Orr, May 22 2014

a(n-1) gives the number of distinct sums in the direct sum {1,2,3,..,n} + {1,2,3,..,n}. For example, {1} + {1} has only one possible sum so a(0) = 1. {1,2} + {1,2} has three distinct possible sums {2,3,4} so a(1) = 3. {1,2,3} + {1,2,3} has 5 distinct possible sums {2,3,4,5,6} so a(2) = 5. - Derek Orr, Nov 22 2014

The number of partitions of 4*n into at most 2 parts. - Colin Barker, Mar 31 2015

a(n) is representable as a sum of two but no fewer consecutive nonnegative integers, e.g., 1 = 0 + 1, 3 = 1 + 2, 5 = 2 + 3, etc. (see A138591). - Martin Renner, Mar 14 2016

Unique solution a( ) of the complementary equation a(n) = a(n-1)^2 - a(n-2)*b(n-1), where a(0) = 1, a(1) = 3, and a( ) and b( ) are increasing complementary sequences. - Clark Kimberling, Nov 21 2017

Also the number of maximal and maximum cliques in the n-centipede graph. - Eric W. Weisstein, Dec 01 2017

Lexicographically earliest sequence of distinct positive integers such that the average of any number of consecutive terms is always an integer. (For opposite property see A042963.) - Ivan Neretin, Dec 21 2017

Maximum number of non-intersecting line segments between vertices of a convex (n+2)-gon. - Christoph B. Kassir, Oct 21 2022

a(n) is the number of parking functions of size n+1 avoiding the patterns 123, 132, and 231. - Lara Pudwell, Apr 10 2023

Changing the offset to 1 gives the arithmetical function a(1) = 1, a(n) = 0 for n > 1, the identity function for Dirichlet multiplication (see Apostol). - N. J. A. Sloane

Changing the offset to 1 makes this the decimal expansion of 1. - N. J. A. Sloane, Nov 13 2014

Hankel transform (see A001906 for definition) of A000007 (powers of 0), A000012 (powers of 1), A000079 (powers of 2), A000244 (powers of 3), A000302 (powers of 4), A000351 (powers of 5), A000400 (powers of 6), A000420 (powers of 7), A001018 (powers of 8), A001019 (powers of 9), A011557 (powers of 10), A001020 (powers of 11), etc. - Philippe Deléham, Jul 07 2005

This is the identity sequence with respect to convolution. - David W. Wilson, Oct 30 2006

a(A000004(n)) = 1; a(A000027(n)) = 0. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Oct 12 2008

The alternating sum of the n-th row of Pascal's triangle gives the characteristic function of 0, a(n) = 0^n. - Daniel Forgues, May 25 2010

The number of maximal self-avoiding walks from the NW to SW corners of a 1 X n grid. - Sean A. Irvine, Nov 19 2010

Historically there has been some disagreement as to whether 0^0 = 1. Graphing x^0 seems to support that conclusion, but graphing 0^x instead suggests that 0^0 = 0. Euler and Knuth have argued in favor of 0^0 = 1. For some calculators, 0^0 triggers an error, while in Mathematica, 0^0 is Indeterminate. - Alonso del Arte, Nov 15 2011

Another consequence of changing the offset to 1 is that then this sequence can be described as the sum of Moebius mu(d) for the divisors d of n. - Alonso del Arte, Nov 28 2011

With the convention 0^0 = 1, 0^n = 0 for n > 0, the sequence a(n) = 0^|n-k|, which equals 1 when n = k and is 0 for n >= 0, has g.f. x^k. A000007 is the case k = 0. - George F. Johnson, Mar 08 2013

A fixed point of the run length transform. - Chai Wah Wu, Oct 21 2016

Devadoss refers to these numbers as type B Catalan numbers (cf. A000108).

Equal to the binomial coefficient sum Sum_{k=0..n} binomial(n,k)^2.

Number of possible interleavings of a program with n atomic instructions when executed by two processes. - Manuel Carro (mcarro(AT)fi.upm.es), Sep 22 2001

Convolving a(n) with itself yields A000302, the powers of 4. - T. D. Noe, Jun 11 2002

Number of ordered trees with 2n+1 edges, having root of odd degree and nonroot nodes of outdegree 0 or 2. - Emeric Deutsch, Aug 02 2002

Also number of directed, convex polyominoes having semiperimeter n+2.

Also number of diagonally symmetric, directed, convex polyominoes having semiperimeter 2n+2. - Emeric Deutsch, Aug 03 2002

The second inverse binomial transform of this sequence is this sequence with interpolated zeros. Its g.f. is (1 - 4*x^2)^(-1/2), with n-th term C(n,n/2)(1+(-1)^n)/2. - Paul Barry, Jul 01 2003

Number of possible values of a 2n-bit binary number for which half the bits are on and half are off. - Gavin Scott (gavin(AT)allegro.com), Aug 09 2003

Ordered partitions of n with zeros to n+1, e.g., for n=4 we consider the ordered partitions of 11110 (5), 11200 (30), 13000 (20), 40000 (5) and 22000 (10), total 70 and a(4)=70. See A001700 (esp. Mambetov Bektur's comment). - Jon Perry, Aug 10 2003

Number of nondecreasing sequences of n integers from 0 to n: a(n) = Sum_{i_1=0..n} Sum_{i_2=i_1..n}...Sum_{i_n=i_{n-1}..n}(1). - J. N. Bearden (jnb(AT)eller.arizona.edu), Sep 16 2003

Number of peaks at odd level in all Dyck paths of semilength n+1. Example: a(2)=6 because we have U*DU*DU*D, U*DUUDD, UUDDU*D, UUDUDD, UUU*DDD, where U=(1,1), D=(1,-1) and * indicates a peak at odd level. Number of ascents of length 1 in all Dyck paths of semilength n+1 (an ascent in a Dyck path is a maximal string of up steps). Example: a(2)=6 because we have uDuDuD, uDUUDD, UUDDuD, UUDuDD, UUUDDD, where an ascent of length 1 is indicated by a lower case letter. - Emeric Deutsch, Dec 05 2003

a(n-1) = number of subsets of 2n-1 distinct elements taken n at a time that contain a given element. E.g., n=4 -> a(3)=20 and if we consider the subsets of 7 taken 4 at a time with a 1 we get (1234, 1235, 1236, 1237, 1245, 1246, 1247, 1256, 1257, 1267, 1345, 1346, 1347, 1356, 1357, 1367, 1456, 1457, 1467, 1567) and there are 20 of them. - Jon Perry, Jan 20 2004

The dimension of a particular (necessarily existent) absolutely universal embedding of the unitary dual polar space DSU(2n,q^2) where q>2. - J. Taylor (jt_cpp(AT)yahoo.com), Apr 02 2004.

Number of standard tableaux of shape (n+1, 1^n). - Emeric Deutsch, May 13 2004

Erdős, Graham et al. conjectured that a(n) is never squarefree for sufficiently large n (cf. Graham, Knuth, Patashnik, Concrete Math., 2nd ed., Exercise 112). Sárközy showed that if s(n) is the square part of a(n), then s(n) is asymptotically (sqrt(2)-2) * (sqrt(n)) * zeta(1/2). Granville and Ramare proved that the only squarefree values are a(1)=2, a(2)=6 and a(4)=70. - Jonathan Vos Post, Dec 04 2004 [For more about this conjecture, see A261009. - N. J. A. Sloane, Oct 25 2015]

The MathOverflow link contains the following comment (slightly edited): The Erdős squarefree conjecture (that a(n) is never squarefree for n>4) was proved in 1980 by Sárközy, A. (On divisors of binomial coefficients. I. J. Number Theory 20 (1985), no. 1, 70-80.) who showed that the conjecture holds for all sufficiently large values of n, and by A. Granville and O. Ramaré (Explicit bounds on exponential sums and the scarcity of squarefree binomial coefficients. Mathematika 43 (1996), no. 1, 73-107) who showed that it holds for all n>4. - Fedor Petrov, Nov 13 2010. [From N. J. A. Sloane, Oct 29 2015]

p divides a((p-1)/2)-1=A030662(n) for prime p=5, 13, 17, 29, 37, 41, 53, 61, 73, 89, 97, ... = A002144(n) Pythagorean primes: primes of form 4n+1. - Alexander Adamchuk, Jul 04 2006

The number of direct routes from my home to Granny's when Granny lives n blocks south and n blocks east of my home in Grid City. To obtain a direct route, from the 2n blocks, choose n blocks on which one travels south. For example, a(2)=6 because there are 6 direct routes: SSEE, SESE, SEES, EESS, ESES and ESSE. - Dennis P. Walsh, Oct 27 2006

Inverse: With q = -log(log(16)/(pi a(n)^2)), ceiling((q + log(q))/log(16)) = n. - David W. Cantrell (DWCantrell(AT)sigmaxi.net), Feb 26 2007

Number of partitions with Ferrers diagrams that fit in an n X n box (including the empty partition of 0). Example: a(2) = 6 because we have: empty, 1, 2, 11, 21 and 22. - Emeric Deutsch, Oct 02 2007

So this is the 2-dimensional analog of A008793. - William Entriken, Aug 06 2013

The number of walks of length 2n on an infinite linear lattice that begins and ends at the origin. - Stefan Hollos (stefan(AT)exstrom.com), Dec 10 2007

The number of lattice paths from (0,0) to (n,n) using steps (1,0) and (0,1). - Joerg Arndt, Jul 01 2011

Integral representation: C(2n,n)=1/Pi Integral [(2x)^(2n)/sqrt(1 - x^2),{x,-1, 1}], i.e., C(2n,n)/4^n is the moment of order 2n of the arcsin distribution on the interval (-1,1). - N-E. Fahssi, Jan 02 2008

Also the Catalan transform of A000079. - R. J. Mathar, Nov 06 2008

Straub, Amdeberhan and Moll: "... it is conjectured that there are only finitely many indices n such that C_n is not divisible by any of 3, 5, 7 and 11." - Jonathan Vos Post, Nov 14 2008

Equals INVERT transform of A081696: (1, 1, 3, 9, 29, 97, 333, ...). - Gary W. Adamson, May 15 2009

Also, in sports, the number of ordered ways for a "Best of 2n-1 Series" to progress. For example, a(2) = 6 means there are six ordered ways for a "best of 3" series to progress. If we write A for a win by "team A" and B for a win by "team B" and if we list the played games chronologically from left to right then the six ways are AA, ABA, BAA, BB, BAB, and ABB. (Proof: To generate the a(n) ordered ways: Write down all a(n) ways to designate n of 2n games as won by team A. Remove the maximal suffix of identical letters from each of these.) - Lee A. Newberg, Jun 02 2009

Number of n X n binary arrays with rows, considered as binary numbers, in nondecreasing order, and columns, considered as binary numbers, in nonincreasing order. - R. H. Hardin, Jun 27 2009

Hankel transform is 2^n. - Paul Barry, Aug 05 2009

It appears that a(n) is also the number of quivers in the mutation class of twisted type BC_n for n>=2.

Central terms of Pascal's triangle: a(n) = A007318(2*n,n). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Nov 09 2011

Number of words on {a,b} of length 2n such that no prefix of the word contains more b's than a's. - Jonathan Nilsson, Apr 18 2012

From Pascal's triangle take row(n) with terms in order a1,a2,..a(n) and row(n+1) with terms b1,b2,..b(n), then 2*(a1*b1 + a2*b2 + ... + a(n)*b(n)) to get the terms in this sequence. - J. M. Bergot, Oct 07 2012. For example using rows 4 and 5: 2*(1*(1) + 4*(5) + 6*(10) + 4*(10) + 1*(5)) = 252, the sixth term in this sequence.

Take from Pascal's triangle row(n) with terms b1, b2, ..., b(n+1) and row(n+2) with terms c1, c2, ..., c(n+3) and find the sum b1*c2 + b2*c3 + ... + b(n+1)*c(n+2) to get A000984(n+1). Example using row(3) and row(5) gives sum 1*(5)+3*(10)+3*(10)+1*(5) = 70 = A000984(4). - J. M. Bergot, Oct 31 2012

a(n) == 2 mod n^3 iff n is a prime > 3. (See Mestrovic link, p. 4.) - Gary Detlefs, Feb 16 2013

Conjecture: For any positive integer n, the polynomial sum_{k=0}^n a(k)x^k is irreducible over the field of rational numbers. In general, for any integer m>1 and n>0, the polynomial f_{m,n}(x) = Sum_{k=0..n} (m*k)!/(k!)^m*x^k is irreducible over the field of rational numbers. - Zhi-Wei Sun, Mar 23 2013

This comment generalizes the comment dated Oct 31 2012 and the second of the sequence's original comments. For j = 1 to n, a(n) = Sum_{k=0..j} C(j,k)* C(2n-j, n-k) = 2*Sum_{k=0..j-1} C(j-1,k)*C(2n-j, n-k). - Charlie Marion, Jun 07 2013

The differences between consecutive terms of the sequence of the quotients between consecutive terms of this sequence form a sequence containing the reciprocals of the triangular numbers. In other words, a(n+1)/a(n)-a(n)/a(n-1) = 2/(n*(n+1)). - Christian Schulz, Jun 08 2013

Number of distinct strings of length 2n using n letters A and n letters B. - Hans Havermann, May 07 2014

From Fung Lam, May 19 2014: (Start)

Expansion of G.f. A(x) = 1/(1+q*x*c(x)), where parameter q is positive or negative (except q=-1), and c(x) is the g.f. of A000108 for Catalan numbers. The case of q=-1 recovers the g.f. of A000108 as xA^2-A+1=0. The present sequence A000984 refers to q=-2. Recurrence: (1+q)*(n+2)*a(n+2) + ((q*q-4*q-4)*n + 2*(q*q-q-1))*a(n+1) - 2*q*q*(2*n+1)*a(n) = 0, a(0)=1, a(1)=-q. Asymptotics: a(n) ~ ((q+2)/(q+1))*(q^2/(-q-1))^n, q<=-3, a(n) ~ (-1)^n*((q+2)/(q+1))*(q^2/(q+1))^n, q>=5, and a(n) ~ -Kq*2^(2*n)/sqrt(Pi*n^3), where the multiplicative constant Kq is given by K1=1/9 (q=1), K2=1/8 (q=2), K3=3/25 (q=3), K4=1/9 (q=4). These formulas apply to existing sequences A126983 (q=1), A126984 (q=2), A126982 (q=3), A126986 (q=4), A126987 (q=5), A127017 (q=6), A127016 (q=7), A126985 (q=8), A127053 (q=9), and to A007854 (q=-3), A076035 (q=-4), A076036 (q=-5), A127628 (q=-6), A126694 (q=-7), A115970 (q=-8). (End)

a(n)*(2^n)^(j-2) equals S(n), where S(n) is the n-th number in the self-convolved sequence which yields the powers of 2^j for all integers j, n>=0. For example, when n=5 and j=4, a(5)=252; 252*(2^5)^(4-2) = 252*1024 = 258048. The self-convolved sequence which yields powers of 16 is {1, 8, 96, 1280, 17920, 258048, ...}; i.e., S(5) = 258048. Note that the convolved sequences will be composed of numbers decreasing from 1 to 0, when j<2 (exception being j=1, where the first two numbers in the sequence are 1 and all others decreasing). - Bob Selcoe, Jul 16 2014

The variance of the n-th difference of a sequence of pairwise uncorrelated random variables each with variance 1. - Liam Patrick Roche, Jun 04 2015

Number of ordered trees with n edges where vertices at level 1 can be of 2 colors. Indeed, the standard decomposition of ordered trees leading to the equation C = 1 + zC^2 (C is the Catalan function), yields this time G = 1 + 2zCG, from where G = 1/sqrt(1-4z). - Emeric Deutsch, Jun 17 2015

Number of monomials of degree at most n in n variables. - Ran Pan, Sep 26 2015

Let V(n, r) denote the volume of an n-dimensional sphere with radius r, then V(n, 2^n) / Pi = V(n-1, 2^n) * a(n/2) for all even n. - Peter Luschny, Oct 12 2015

a(n) is the number of sets {i1,...,in} of length n such that n >= i1 >= i2 >= ... >= in >= 0. For instance, a(2) = 6 as there are only 6 such sets: (2,2) (2,1) (2,0) (1,1) (1,0) (0,0). - Anton Zakharov, Jul 04 2016

From Ralf Steiner, Apr 07 2017: (Start)

By analytic continuation to the entire complex plane there exist regularized values for divergent sums such as:

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/(-2)^k = 1/sqrt(3).

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/(-1)^k = 1/sqrt(5).

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/(-1/2)^k = 1/3.

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/(1/2)^k = -1/sqrt(7)i.

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/(1)^k = -1/sqrt(3)i.

Sum_{k>=0} a(k)/2^k = -i. (End)

Number of sequences (e(1), ..., e(n+1)), 0 <= e(i) < i, such that there is no triple i < j < k with e(i) > e(j). [Martinez and Savage, 2.18] - Eric M. Schmidt, Jul 17 2017

The o.g.f. for the sequence equals the diagonal of any of the following the rational functions: 1/(1 - (x + y)), 1/(1 - (x + y*z)), 1/(1 - (x + x*y + y*z)) or 1/(1 - (x + y + y*z)). - Peter Bala, Jan 30 2018

From Colin Defant, Sep 16 2018: (Start)

Let s denote West's stack-sorting map. a(n) is the number of permutations pi of [n+1] such that s(pi) avoids the patterns 132, 231, and 321. a(n) is also the number of permutations pi of [n+1] such that s(pi) avoids the patterns 132, 312, and 321.

a(n) is the number of permutations of [n+1] that avoid the patterns 1342, 3142, 3412, and 3421. (End)

All binary self-dual codes of length 4n, for n>0, must contain at least a(n) codewords of weight 2n. More to the point, there will always be at least one, perhaps unique, binary self-dual code of length 4n that will contain exactly a(n) codewords that have a hamming weight equal to half the length of the code (2n). This code can be constructed by direct summing the unique binary self-dual code of length 2 (up to permutation equivalence) to itself an even number of times. A permutation equivalent code can be constructed by augmenting two identity matrices of length 2n together. - Nathan J. Russell, Nov 25 2018

From Isaac Saffold, Dec 28 2018: (Start)

Let [b/p] denote the Legendre symbol and 1/b denote the inverse of b mod p. Then, for m and n, where n is not divisible by p,

[(m+n)/p] == [n/p]*Sum_{k=0..(p-1)/2} (-m/(4*n))^k * a(k) (mod p).

Evaluating this identity for m = -1 and n = 1 demonstrates that, for all odd primes p, Sum_{k=0..(p-1)/2} (1/4)^k * a(k) is divisible by p. (End)

Number of vertices of the subgraph of the (2n-1)-dimensional hypercube induced by all bitstrings with n-1 or n many 1s. The middle levels conjecture asserts that this graph has a Hamilton cycle. - Torsten Muetze, Feb 11 2019

a(n) is the number of walks of length 2n from the origin with steps (1,1) and (1,-1) that stay on or above the x-axis. Equivalently, a(n) is the number of walks of length 2n from the origin with steps (1,0) and (0,1) that stay in the first octant. - Alexander Burstein, Dec 24 2019

Number of permutations of length n>0 avoiding the partially ordered pattern (POP) {3>1, 1>2} of length 4. That is, number of length n permutations having no subsequences of length 4 in which the first element is larger than the second element but smaller than the third elements. - Sergey Kitaev, Dec 08 2020

From Gus Wiseman, Jul 21 2021: (Start)

Also the number of integer compositions of 2n+1 with alternating sum 1, where the alternating sum of a sequence (y_1,...,y_k) is Sum_i (-1)^(i-1) y_i. For example, the a(0) = 1 through a(2) = 6 compositions are:

(1) (2,1) (3,2)

(1,1,1) (1,2,2)

(2,2,1)

(1,1,2,1)

(2,1,1,1)

(1,1,1,1,1)

The following relate to these compositions:

- The unordered version is A000070.

- The alternating sum -1 version is counted by A001791, ranked by A345910/A345912.

- The alternating sum 0 version is counted by A088218, ranked by A344619.

- Including even indices gives A126869.

- The complement is counted by A202736.

- Ranked by A345909 (reverse: A345911).

Equivalently, a(n) counts binary numbers with 2n+1 digits and one more 1 than 0's. For example, the a(2) = 6 binary numbers are: 10011, 10101, 10110, 11001, 11010, 11100.

(End)

From Michael Wallner, Jan 25 2022: (Start)

a(n) is the number of nx2 Young tableaux with a single horizontal wall between the first and second column. If there is a wall between two cells, the entries may be decreasing; see [Banderier, Wallner 2021].

Example for a(2)=6:

3 4 2 4 3 4 3|4 4|3 2|4

1|2, 1|3, 2|1, 1 2, 1 2, 1 3

a(n) is also the number of nx2 Young tableaux with n "walls" between the first and second column.

Example for a(2)=6:

3|4 2|4 4|3 3|4 4|3 4|2

1|2, 1|3, 1|2, 2|1, 2|1, 3|1 (End)

From Shel Kaphan, Jan 12 2023: (Start)

a(n)/4^n is the probability that a fair coin tossed 2n times will come up heads exactly n times and tails exactly n times, or that a random walk with steps of +-1 will return to the starting point after 2n steps (not necessarily for the first time). As n becomes large, this number asymptotically approaches 1/sqrt(n*Pi), using Stirling's approximation for n!.

a(n)/(4^n*(2n-1)) is the probability that a random walk with steps of +-1 will return to the starting point for the first time after 2n steps. The absolute value of the n-th term of A144704 is denominator of this fraction.

Considering all possible random walks of exactly 2n steps with steps of +-1, a(n)/(2n-1) is the number of such walks that return to the starting point for the first time after 2n steps. See the absolute values of A002420 or A284016 for these numbers. For comparison, as mentioned by Stefan Hollos, Dec 10 2007, a(n) is the number of such walks that return to the starting point after 2n steps, but not necessarily for the first time. (End)

p divides a((p-1)/2) + 1 for primes p of the form 4*k+3 (A002145). - Jules Beauchamp, Feb 11 2023

Also the size of the shuffle product of two words of length n, such that the union of the two words consist of 2n distinct elements. - Robert C. Lyons, Mar 15 2023

a(n) is the number of vertices of the n-dimensional cyclohedron W_{n+1}. - Jose Bastidas, Mar 25 2025

Consider a stack of pancakes of height n, where the only allowed operation is reversing the top portion of the stack. First, perform a series of reversals of increasing sizes, followed by a series of reversals of decreasing sizes. The number of distinct permutations of the initial stack that can be reached through these operations is a(n). - Thomas Baruchel, May 12 2025

-2, -4, -6, -8, -10, -12, -14, ... are the trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function. - Vivek Suri (vsuri(AT)jhu.edu), Jan 24 2008

If a 2-set Y and an (n-2)-set Z are disjoint subsets of an n-set X then a(n-2) is the number of 2-subsets of X intersecting both Y and Z. - Milan Janjic, Sep 19 2007

A134452(a(n)) = 0; A134451(a(n)) = 2 for n > 0. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Oct 27 2007

Omitting the initial zero gives the number of prime divisors with multiplicity of product of terms of n-th row of A077553. - Ray Chandler, Aug 21 2003

A059841(a(n))=1, A000035(a(n))=0. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Sep 29 2008

(APSO) Alternating partial sums of (a-b+c-d+e-f+g...) = (a+b+c+d+e+f+g...) - 2*(b+d+f...), it appears that APSO(A005843) = A052928 = A002378 - 2*(A116471), with A116471=2*A008794. - Eric Desbiaux, Oct 28 2008

A056753(a(n)) = 1. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Aug 23 2009

Twice the nonnegative numbers. - Juri-Stepan Gerasimov, Dec 12 2009

The number of hydrogen atoms in straight-chain (C(n)H(2n+2)), branched (C(n)H(2n+2), n > 3), and cyclic, n-carbon alkanes (C(n)H(2n), n > 2). - Paul Muljadi, Feb 18 2010

For n >= 1; a(n) = the smallest numbers m with the number of steps n of iterations of {r - (smallest prime divisor of r)} needed to reach 0 starting at r = m. See A175126 and A175127. A175126(a(n)) = A175126(A175127(n)) = n. Example (a(4)=8): 8-2=6, 6-2=4, 4-2=2, 2-2=0; iterations has 4 steps and number 8 is the smallest number with such result. - Jaroslav Krizek, Feb 15 2010

For n >= 1, a(n) = numbers k such that arithmetic mean of the first k positive integers is not integer. A040001(a(n)) > 1. See A145051 and A040001. - Jaroslav Krizek, May 28 2010

Union of A179082 and A179083. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Jun 28 2010

a(k) is the (Moore lower bound on and the) order of the (k,4)-cage: the smallest k-regular graph having girth four: the complete bipartite graph with k vertices in each part. - Jason Kimberley, Oct 30 2011

For n > 0: A048272(a(n)) <= 0. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Jan 21 2012

Let n be the number of pancakes that have to be divided equally between n+1 children. a(n) is the minimal number of radial cuts needed to accomplish the task. - Ivan N. Ianakiev, Sep 18 2013

For n > 0, a(n) is the largest number k such that (k!-n)/(k-n) is an integer. - Derek Orr, Jul 02 2014

a(n) when n > 2 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

It appears that for n > 2, a(n) = A020482(n) + A002373(n), where all sequences are infinite. This is consistent with Goldbach's conjecture, which states that every even number > 2 can be expressed as the sum of two prime numbers. - Bob Selcoe, Mar 08 2015

Number of partitions of 4n into exactly 2 parts. - Colin Barker, Mar 23 2015

Number of neighbors in von Neumann neighborhood. - Dmitry Zaitsev, Nov 30 2015

Unique solution b( ) of the complementary equation a(n) = a(n-1)^2 - a(n-2)*b(n-1), where a(0) = 1, a(1) = 3, and a( ) and b( ) are increasing complementary sequences. - Clark Kimberling, Nov 21 2017

Also the maximum number of non-attacking bishops on an (n+1) X (n+1) board (n>0). (Cf. A000027 for rooks and queens (n>3), A008794 for kings or A030978 for knights.) - Martin Renner, Jan 26 2020

Integer k is even positive iff phi(2k) > phi(k), where phi is Euler's totient (A000010) [see reference De Koninck & Mercier]. - Bernard Schott, Dec 10 2020

Number of 3-permutations of n elements avoiding the patterns 132, 213, 312 and also number of 3-permutations avoiding the patterns 213, 231, 321. See Bonichon and Sun. - Michel Marcus, Aug 20 2022

a(n) gives the y-value of the integral solution (x,y) of the Pellian equation x^2 - (n^2 + 1)*y^2 = 1. The x-value is given by 2*n^2 + 1 (see Tattersall). - Stefano Spezia, Jul 24 2025

Least significant bit of n, lsb(n).

Also decimal expansion of 1/99.

Also the binary expansion of 1/3. - Robert G. Wilson v, Sep 01 2015

a(n) = A134451(n) mod 2. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Oct 27 2007 [Corrected by Jianing Song, Nov 22 2019]

Characteristic function of odd numbers: a(A005408(n)) = 1, a(A005843(n)) = 0. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Sep 29 2008

A102370(n) modulo 2. - Philippe Deléham, Apr 04 2009

Base b expansion of 1/(b^2-1) for any b >= 2 is 0.0101... (A005563 has b^2-1). - Rick L. Shepherd, Sep 27 2009

Let A be the Hessenberg n X n matrix defined by: A[1,j] = j mod 2, A[i,i] := 1, A[i,i-1] = -1, and A[i,j] = 0 otherwise. Then, for n >= 1, a(n) = (-1)^n*charpoly(A,1). - Milan Janjic, Jan 24 2010

From R. J. Mathar, Jul 15 2010: (Start)

The sequence is the principal Dirichlet character of the reduced residue system mod 2 or mod 4 or mod 8 or mod 16 ...

Associated Dirichlet L-functions are for example L(2,chi) = Sum_{n>=1} a(n)/n^2 == A111003,

or L(3,chi) = Sum_{n>=1} a(n)/n^3 = 1.05179979... = 7*A002117/8,

or L(4,chi) = Sum_{n>=1} a(n)/n^4 = 1.014678... = A092425/96. (End)

Also parity of the nonnegative integers A001477. - Omar E. Pol, Jan 17 2012

a(n) = (4/n), where (k/n) is the Kronecker symbol. See the Eric Weisstein link. - Wolfdieter Lang, May 28 2013

Also the inverse binomial transform of A131577. - Paul Curtz, Nov 16 2016 [an observation forwarded by Jean-François Alcover]

The emanation sequence for the globe category. That is take the globe category, take the corresponding polynomial comonad, consider its carrier polynomial as a generating function, and take the corresponding sequence. - David Spivak, Sep 25 2020

For n > 0, a(n) is the alternating sum of the product of n increasing and n decreasing odd factors. For example, a(4) = 1*7 - 3*5 + 5*3 - 7*1 and a(5) = 1*9 - 3*7 + 5*5 - 7*3 + 9*1. - Charlie Marion, Mar 24 2022

Might be called the "Lichtenberg sequence" after Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, who discussed it in 1769 in connection with the Chinese Rings puzzle (baguenaudier). - Andreas M. Hinz, Feb 15 2017

Number of steps to change from a binary string of n 0's to n 1's using a Gray code. - Jon Stadler (jstadler(AT)coastal.edu)

Popular puzzles such as Spin-Out and The Brain Puzzler are based on the Gray binary system and require a(n) steps to complete for some number n.

Conjecture: {a(n)} also gives all j for which A048702(j) = A000217(j); i.e., if we take the a(n)-th triangular number (a(n)^2 + a(n))/2 and multiply it by 3, we get a(n)-th even-length binary palindrome A048701(a(n)) concatenated from a(n) and its reverse. E.g., a(4) = 10, which is 1010 in binary; the tenth triangular number is 55, and 55*3 = 165 = 10100101 in binary. - Antti Karttunen, circa 1999. (This has been now proved by Paul K. Stockmeyer in his arXiv:1608.08245 paper.) - Antti Karttunen, Aug 31 2016

Number of ways to tie a tie of n or fewer half turns, excluding mirror images. Also number of walks of length n or less on a triangular lattice with the following restrictions; given l, r and c as the lattice axes. 1. All steps are taken in the positive axis direction. 2. No two consecutive steps are taken on the same axis. 3. All walks begin with l. 4. All walks end with rlc or lrc. - Bill Blewett, Dec 21 2000

a(n) is the minimal number of vertices to be selected in a vertex-cover of the balanced tree B_n. - Sen-peng Eu, Jun 15 2002

A087117(a(n)) = A038374(a(n)) = 1 for n > 1; see also A090050. - Reinhard Zumkeller, Nov 20 2003

Intersection of A003754 and A003714; complement of A107907. - Reinhard Zumkeller, May 28 2005

Equivalently, numbers m whose binary representation is effectively, for some number k, both the lazy Fibonacci and the Zeckendorf representation of k (in which case k = A022290(m)). - Peter Munn, Oct 06 2022

a(n+1) gives row sums of Riordan array (1/(1-x), x(1+2x)). - Paul Barry, Jul 18 2005

Total number of initial 01's in all binary words of length n+1. Example: a(3) = 5 because the binary words of length 4 that start with 01 are (01)00, (01)(01), (01)10 and (01)11 and the total number of initial 01's is 5 (shown between parentheses). a(n) = Sum_{k >= 0} k*A119440(n+1, k). - Emeric Deutsch, May 19 2006

In Norway we call the 10-ring puzzle "strikketoy" or "knitwear" (see link). It takes 682 moves to free the two parts. - Hans Isdahl, Jan 07 2008

Equals A002450 and A020988 interlaced. - Zak Seidov, Feb 10 2008

For n > 1, let B_n = the complete binary tree with vertex set V where |V| = 2^n - 1. If VC is a minimum-size vertex cover of B_n, Sen-Peng Eu points out that a(n) = |VC|. It also follows that if IS = V\VC, a(n+1) = |IS|. - K.V.Iyer, Apr 13 2009

Starting with 1 and convolved with [1, 2, 2, 2, ...] = A000295. - Gary W. Adamson, Jun 02 2009

a(n) written in base 2 is sequence A056830(n). - Jaroslav Krizek, Aug 05 2009

This is the sequence A(0, 1; 1, 2; 1) of the family of sequences [a,b:c,d:k] considered by G. Detlefs, and treated as A(a,b;c,d;k) in the W. Lang link given below. - Wolfdieter Lang, Oct 18 2010

From Vladimir Shevelev, Jan 30 2012, Feb 13 2012: (Start)

1) Denote by {n, k} the number of permutations of 1, ..., n with the up-down index k (for definition, see comment in A203827). Then max_k{n, k} = {n, a(n)} = A000111(n).

2) a(n) is the minimal number > a(n-1) with the Hamming distance d_H(a(n-1), a(n)) = n. Thus this sequence is the Hamming analog of triangular numbers 0, 1, 3, 6, 10, ... (End)

From Hieronymus Fischer, Nov 22 2012: (Start)

Represented in binary form each term after the second one contains every previous term as a substring.

The terms a(2) = 2 and a(3) = 5 are the only primes. Proof: For even n we get a(n) = 2*(2^(2*n) - 1)/3, which shows that a(n) is even, too, and obviously a(n) > 2 for all even n > 2. For odd n we have a(n) = (2^(n+1) - 1)/3 = (2^((n+1)/2) - 1) * (2^((n+1)/2) + 1)/3. Evidently, at least one of these factors is divisible by 3, both are greater than 6, provided n > 3. Hence it follows that a(n) is composite for all odd n > 3.

Represented as a binary number, a(n+1) has exactly n prime substrings. Proof: Evidently, a(1) = 1_2 has zero and a(2) = 10_2 has 1 prime substring. Let n > 1. Written in binary, a(n+1) is 101010101...01 (if n + 1 is odd) and is 101010101...10 (if n + 1 is even) with n + 1 digits. Only the 2- and 3-digits substrings 10_2 (=2) and 101_2 (=5) are prime substrings. All the other substrings are nonprime since every substring is a previous term and all terms unequal to 2 and 5 are nonprime. For even n + 1, the number of prime substrings equal to 2 = 10_2 is (n+1)/2, and the number of prime substrings equal to 5 = 101_2 is (n-1)/2, makes a sum of n. For odd n + 1 we get n/2 for both, the number of 2's and 5's prime substrings, in any case, the sum is n. (End)

Number of different 3-colorings for the vertices of all triangulated planar polygons on a base with n+2 vertices if the colors of the two base vertices are fixed. - Patrick Labarque, Feb 09 2013

A090079(a(n)) = a(n) and A090079(m) <> a(n) for m < a(n). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Feb 16 2013

a(n) is the number of length n binary words containing at least one 1 and ending in an even number (possibly zero) of 0's. a(3) = 5 because we have: 001, 011, 100, 101, 111. - Geoffrey Critzer, Dec 15 2013

a(n) is the number of permutations of length n+1 having exactly one descent such that the first element of the permutation is an even number. - Ran Pan, Apr 18 2015

a(n) is the sequence of the last row of the Hadamard matrix H(2^n) obtained via Sylvester's construction: H(2) = [1,1;1,-1], H(2^n) = H(2^(n-1))*H(2), where * is the Kronecker product. - William P. Orrick, Jun 28 2015

Conjectured record values of A264784: a(n) = A264784(A155051(n-1)). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Dec 04 2015. (This is proved by Paul K. Stockmeyer in his arXiv:1608.08245 paper.) - Antti Karttunen, Aug 31 2016

Decimal representation of the x-axis, from the origin to the right edge, of the n-th stage of growth of the two-dimensional cellular automaton defined by "Rule 131", based on the 5-celled von Neumann neighborhood. See A279053 for references and links. - Robert Price, Dec 05 2016

For n > 4, a(n-2) is the second-largest number in row n of A127824. - Dmitry Kamenetsky, Feb 11 2017

Conjecture: a(n+1) is the number of compositions of n with two kinds of parts, n and n', where the order of the 1 and 1' does not matter. For n=2, a(3) = 5 compositions, enumerated as follows: 2; 2'; 1,1; 1',1 = 1',1; 1',1'. - Gregory L. Simay, Sep 02 2017

Conjecture proved by recognizing the appropriate g.f. is x/(1 - x)(1 - x)(1 - 2*x^2 - 2x^3 - ...) = x/(1 - 2*x - x^2 + 2x^3). - Gregory L. Simay, Sep 10 2017

a(n) = 2^(n-1) + 2^(n-3) + 2^(n-5) + ... a(2*k -1) = A002450(k) is the sum of the powers of 4. a(2*k) = 2*A002450(k). - Gregory L. Simay, Sep 27 2017

a(2*n) = n times the string [10] in binary representation, a(2*n+1) = n times the string [10] followed with [1] in binary representation. Example: a(7) = 85 = (1010101) in binary, a(8) = 170 = (10101010) in binary. - Ctibor O. Zizka, Nov 06 2018

Except for 0, these are the positive integers whose binary expansion has cuts-resistance 1. For the operation of shortening all runs by 1, cuts-resistance is the number of applications required to reach an empty word. Cuts-resistance 2 is A329862. - Gus Wiseman, Nov 27 2019

From Markus Sigg, Sep 14 2020: (Start)

Let s(k) be the length of the Collatz orbit of k, e.g. s(1) = 1, s(2) = 2, s(3) = 5. Then s(a(n)) = n+3 for n >= 3. Proof by induction: s(a(3)) = s(5) = 6 = 3+3. For odd n >= 5 we have s(a(n)) = s(4*a(n-2)+1) = s(12*a(n-2)+4)+1 = s(3*a(n-2)+1)+3 = s(a(n-2))+2 = (n-2)+3+2 = n+3, and for even n >= 4 this gives s(a(n)) = s(2*a(n-1)) = s(a(n-1))+1 = (n-1)+3+1 = n+3.

Conjecture: For n >= 3, a(n) is the second largest natural number whose Collatz orbit has length n+3. (End)

From Gary W. Adamson, May 14 2021: (Start)

With offset 1 the sequence equals the numbers of 1's from n = 1 to 3, 3 to 7, 7 to 15, ...; of A035263; as shown below:

..1 3 7 15...

..1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1...

..1.....2...........5......................10...; a(n) = Sum_(k=1..2n-1)A035263(k)

.....1...........2.......................5...; as to zeros.

..1's in the Tower of Hanoi game represent CW moves On disks in the pattern:

..0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, ... whereas even numbered disks move in the pattern:

..0, 2, 1, 0, 2, 1, ... (End)

Except for 0, numbers that are repunits in Gray-code representation (A014550). - Amiram Eldar, May 21 2021

From Gus Wiseman, Apr 20 2023: (Start)

Also the number of nonempty subsets of {1..n} with integer median, where the median of a multiset is the middle part in the odd-length case, and the average of the two middle parts in the even-length case. For example, the a(1) = 1 through a(4) = 10 subsets are:

{1} {1} {1} {1}

{2} {2} {2}

{3} {3}

{1,3} {4}

{1,2,3} {1,3}

{2,4}

{1,2,3}

{1,2,4}

{1,3,4}

{2,3,4}

The complement is counted by A005578.

For mean instead of median we have A051293, counting empty sets A327475.

For normal multisets we have A056450, strongly normal A361202.

For partitions we have A325347, strict A359907, complement A307683.

(End)

In binary form, because the sequence 10101_2... keeps repeating, one can represent a(n) = floor(0.(10)2 * 2^n). Because 0.(10)_2 = 0.(10)_2 * 4 - 2, then 0.(10)_2 = 2/3. Substituting this value in the first expression, we obtain a(n) = floor(2^(n+1)/3). This also agrees with the formula of Paul Barry, Oct 08 2005. - _Giovanni Ciriani, Mar 31 2025

(-1)^(n+1) = signed area of parallelogram with vertices (0,0), U=(F(n),F(n+1)), V=(F(n+1),F(n+2)), where F = A000045 (Fibonacci numbers). The area of every such parallelogram is 1. The signed area is -1 if and only if F(n+1)^2 > F(n)*F(n+2), or, equivalently, n is even, or, equivalently, the vector U is "above" V, indicating that U and V "cross" as n -> n+1. - Clark Kimberling, Sep 09 2013

Periodic with period length 2. - Ray Chandler, Apr 03 2017

From Bernard Schott, May 11 2022: (Start)

Cesàro mean theorem: When a(n) has a limit (finite or infinite) in the usual sense, then c(n) = (a(1)+...+a(n))/n has the same Cesàro limit, but the converse is false. This sequence is a counterexample in the case of a finite Cesàro limit (see A237420 for counterexample with an infinite Cesàro limit).

This sequence is not convergent in the usual sense because a(2n) = 1 while a(2n+1) = -1; the successive arithmetic means c(n) of the first n terms of the sequence are 1/1, 0/2, 1/3, 0/4, 1/5, 0/6, ... so c(2n) = 1/(2n+1) and c(2n+1) = 0, hence the Cesàro limit is 0 because c(n) -> 0 when n -> oo.

In fact, when sequence a(n) is "Period k: [a1, a2, ..., ak]", then the Cesàro limit c of this sequence is (a1+a2+...+ak)/k.

Note that the converse of the theorem is true iff a(n) is monotonic (End).

Period 3: repeat [1, 0, 0].

a(n)=1 if n=3k, a(n)=0 otherwise.

Decimal expansion of 1/999.

Number of permutations satisfying -k <= p(i)-i <= r and p(i)-i not in I, i=1..n, with k=1, r=2, I={0,1}.

a(n) is also the number of partitions of n with every part being three (a(0)=1 because the empty partition has no parts). Hence a(n) is also the number of 2-regular graphs on n vertices with each component having girth 3. - Jason Kimberley, Oct 02 2011

Euler transformation of A185013. - Jason Kimberley, Oct 02 2011

If b(0)=0 and for n > 0, b(n)=a(n), then starting at n=0, b(n) is the number of incongruent equilateral triangles formed from the vertices of a regular n-gon. The number of incongruent isosceles triangles (strictly two equal sides) is A174257(n) and the number of incongruent scalene triangles is A069905(n-3) for n > 2, otherwise 0. The total number of incongruent triangles is A069905(n). - Frank M Jackson, Nov 19 2022

The number of rounds in a round-robin tournament with n competitors. - A. Timothy Royappa, Aug 13 2011

Diagonal sums of number triangle A113126. - Paul Barry, Oct 14 2005

When partitioning a convex n-gon by all the diagonals, the maximum number of sides in resulting polygons is 2*floor(n/2)+1 = a(n-1) (from Moscow Olympiad problem 1950). - Tanya Khovanova, Apr 06 2008

The inverse values of the coefficients in the series expansion of f(x) = (1/2)*(1+x)*log((1+x)/(1-x)) lead to this sequence; cf. A098557. - Johannes W. Meijer, Nov 12 2009

From Reinhard Zumkeller, Dec 05 2009: (Start)

First differences: A010673; partial sums: A000982;

A059329(n) = Sum_{k = 0..n} a(k)*a(n-k);

A167875(n) = Sum_{k = 0..n} a(k)*A005408(n-k);

A171218(n) = Sum_{k = 0..n} a(k)*A005843(n-k);

A008794(n+2) = Sum_{k = 0..n} a(k)*A059841(n-k). (End)

Dimension of the space of weight 2n+4 cusp forms for Gamma_0(5). - Michael Somos, May 29 2013

For n > 4: a(n) = A230584(n) - A230584(n-2). - Reinhard Zumkeller, Feb 10 2015

The arithmetic function v+-(n,2) as defined in A290988. - Robert Price, Aug 22 2017

For n > 0, also the chromatic number of the (n+1)-triangular (Johnson) graph. - Eric W. Weisstein, Nov 17 2017

a(n-1), for n >= 1, is also the upper bound a_{up}(b), where b = 2*n + 1, in the first (top) row of the complete coach system Sigma(b) of Hilton and Pedersen [H-P]. All odd numbers <= a_{up}(b) of the smallest positive restricted residue system of b appear once in the first rows of the c(2*n+1) = A135303(n) coaches. If b is an odd prime a_{up}(b) is the maximum. See a comment in the proof of the quasi-order theorem of H-P, on page 263 ["Furthermore, every possible a_i < b/2 ..."]. For an example see below. - Wolfdieter Lang, Feb 19 2020

Satisfies the nested recurrence a(n) = a(a(n-2)) + 2*a(n-a(n-1)) with a(0) = a(1) = 1. Cf. A004001. - Peter Bala, Aug 30 2022

The binomial transform is 1, 2, 6, 16, 40, 96, 224, 512, 1152, 2560,.. (see A057711). - R. J. Mathar, Feb 25 2023