Trying to solve a simple-looking recurrence relation. I have this recurrence relation that I've been trying to solve, g_m=g_{m-1}+a_m g_{m-2} with g_1=g_0=1 and m >= 0. Here, a_m is the m-th term of a known sequence. Any ideas?

Zackary Duffy

Zackary Duffy

Answered question

2022-09-06

Trying to solve a simple-looking recurrence relation
I have this recurrence relation that I've been trying to solve,
g m = g m 1 + a m g m 2
with g 1 = g 0 = 1 and m 0. Here, a m is the m-th term of a known sequence. Any ideas?
If it helps, a m = 1 L 2 ( m 1 ) ( r m + 2 ) where L 2 Z , L 2 0, r N 0 and r | L | , but other than that, L and r are free. So, if I were to be extremely precise, g m and a m would actually be g m r L and a m r L .

Answer & Explanation

Aubrie Conley

Aubrie Conley

Beginner2022-09-07Added 13 answers

Step 1
You can often rewrite these problems like:
[ g m g m 1 ] = [ 1 a m 1 0 ] [ g m 1 g m 2 ]
In vector and matrix notation, this becomes:
G m = A m G m 1
Step 2
For example, a m = 1 would provide the Fibonacci numbers, for g 0 = g 1 = 1.
If A m doesn't depend on m then you can diagonalize it and get an explicit answer (by multiplying it n times):
G m = P D n P 1 G 0
If a m is more general then it's not obvious if this works.

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