Problem

Source: IMOC 2019 N5

Tags: number theory, Sequences



Initially, Alice is given a positive integer $a_0$. At time $i$, Alice has two choices, $$\begin{cases}a_i\mapsto\frac1{a_{i-1}}\\a_i\mapsto2a_{i-1}+1\end{cases}$$Note that it is dangerous to perform the first operation, so Alice cannot choose this operation in two consecutive turns. However, if $x>8763$, then Alice could only perform the first operation. Determine all $a_0$ so that $\{i\in\mathbb N\mid a_i\in\mathbb N\}$ is an infinite set.