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Removed confusion between two related questions
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Alain Valette
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ForEdit: Thanks to all for your comments. Because of the $3n-1$-problemphrasing of the review of Eliahou's paper on MathSciNet, whereI was confused between the only known cycle$3n+1$ and the $3n-1$ problems. But Eliahou's paper is indeed about the $\{1,2\}$$3n+1$, hence is relevant to the OP. I edited my answer so that it should now make sense.

It is known that any othernon-trivial cycle must start after $2^{40}$, and have length $17 087 915b + kc$, where $b,c\in\mathbb{N}$ and $k\in\{301 994 , 85 137 581\}$: see Shalom Eliahou, {\it The 3x + 1$3x + 1$ problem: new lower bounds on nontrivial cycle lengths}.Discrete Discrete Math. 118 (1993), 45–56.

For the $3n-1$-problem, where the only known cycle is $\{1,2\}$, it is known that any other cycle must start after $2^{40}$, and have length $17 087 915b + kc$, where $b,c\in\mathbb{N}$ and $k\in\{301 994 , 85 137 581\}$: see Shalom Eliahou, The 3x + 1 problem: new lower bounds on nontrivial cycle lengths.Discrete Math. 118 (1993), 45–56.

Edit: Thanks to all for your comments. Because of the phrasing of the review of Eliahou's paper on MathSciNet, I was confused between the $3n+1$ and the $3n-1$ problems. But Eliahou's paper is indeed about the $3n+1$, hence is relevant to the OP. I edited my answer so that it should now make sense.

It is known that any non-trivial cycle must start after $2^{40}$, and have length $17 087 915b + kc$, where $b,c\in\mathbb{N}$ and $k\in\{301 994 , 85 137 581\}$: see Shalom Eliahou, {\it The $3x + 1$ problem: new lower bounds on nontrivial cycle lengths}. Discrete Math. 118 (1993), 45–56.

Source Link
Alain Valette
  • 11.1k
  • 44
  • 62

For the $3n-1$-problem, where the only known cycle is $\{1,2\}$, it is known that any other cycle must start after $2^{40}$, and have length $17 087 915b + kc$, where $b,c\in\mathbb{N}$ and $k\in\{301 994 , 85 137 581\}$: see Shalom Eliahou, The 3x + 1 problem: new lower bounds on nontrivial cycle lengths.Discrete Math. 118 (1993), 45–56.