TOPICS
Search

Wythoff Sequence


A Wythoff sequence is one of the two complementary Beatty sequences

 u(n)=|_nphi_|, v(n)=|_nphi^2_|=u(n)+n,

where n>=1, phi is the golden ratio, and |_x_| is the floor function. The lower Wythoff sequence begins 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, ... (OEIS A000201), and the upper Wythoff sequence begins 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 15, 18, 20, 23, 26, ... (OEIS A001950). The pairs (u(n),v(n)) are the nonzero safe positions of Wythoff's game, with the smaller heap first.

For a positive integer N, let r(N) count representations N=u(h)+v(k) with h,k>=1. Ashburn (2026) proved that r(N)=1 iff N+1 is twice a Fibonacci number of value at least two, and r(N)=2 iff N+1 is a Lucas number of value at least seven. The previously known condition r(N)=0 is that N+1 is a Fibonacci number of value at least two. Ashburn (2026) supplies Walnut verification files and reports Claude assistance with literature searches, computations, and drafting, with the proofs and computations checked by the author.


See also

Beatty Sequence, Fibonacci Number, Lucas Number, Wythoff's Game

Explore with Wolfram|Alpha

References

Ashburn, A. "Proofs of Some OEIS Conjectures on Wythoff Sums, Fibonacci and Lucas Words." 4 Oct 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.04842.Sloane, N. J. A. Sequences A000201 and A001950 in "The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences."

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Wythoff Sequence." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/WythoffSequence.html

Subject classifications