RESEARCH / Focused target
The valuation-step greedy sequence is a permutation
RELEASED FOUNDATIONS / PROPOSED CONNECTION
Research connections
All source anchors (1)
- D5/S3/Combinatorics/Permutation/ValuationStepPermutation.resultAbsent from this graph
Problem
The question
OEIS A382357 is the lexicographically earliest sequence of distinct positive integers whose adjacent 2-adic valuations differ by exactly one. It starts at 1, with offset 1. The supplied source states: “Conjecture: this sequence is a permutation of the positive integers.”
Motivation
Our foothold
The target is the permutation conjecture preregistered in issue #15082. The Lean sequence uses the complete actual history and minimizes the positive integer itself. Its natural index zero corresponds to OEIS index one.
Gap
Missing bridges
Positivity and injectivity follow from choosing an unused positive integer. Surjectivity requires an unbounded argument: finite numerical prefixes cannot exclude a positive integer that is omitted forever.
Route
Proposed approach
The values at valuation level k form the increasing queue 2^k(2r+1). Every visit takes its least unused entry. A recurrent level covers every value at its neighboring levels, since an omitted neighbor would bound infinitely many distinct successor values. Recurrence therefore propagates.
If level zero were not recurrent, every level would have only finitely many visits, so the heights would eventually exceed any prescribed bound. Count D_j downward crossings from j to j-1 in a prefix ending above that bound. The visits to a lower level j are D_j+D_(j+1)+1. At its last exit, greedy comparison with the unused lower candidate gives D_(j-1)+D_j >= 4D_(j+1)+1. Hence D_j+2D_(j+1) decreases by at least one at each level. The total crossings to zero are already bounded once the height stays above one, contradicting an arbitrarily long descent. Thus level zero is recurrent, and propagation proves surjectivity.
Falsifier
What would falsify this route
A positive integer omitted from the exact history-dependent sequence would refute the conjecture. A failure of the queue invariant, crossing identity or last-exit inequality would refute this proof route.
Evidence
Evidence to collect
The designated source is
D5/S3/Combinatorics/Permutation/ValuationStepPermutation.lean. Its exact claim is
injectivity of a together with occurrence of every positive natural number.
The designated theorem is result : claim; verification is scoped to this
module and its dependencies. The supplied numerical checks through level 17
are supporting route evidence, not a proof of the unbounded conclusion.
Triage
Scope assessment
[proved] A382357 is a permutation of the positive integers.
[open] The analogous permutation statements for A382374, using Omega, and A382376, using omega, remain open. The factor-four last-exit inequality fails for both; this valuation proof does not establish either statement.
ASSUMED-UNVERIFIED
Unverified assumptions
The OEIS attribution to Sigrist, source year, conjecture quotation, preregistration metadata and level-17 numerical check are supplied by the orchestrator. This seat has no network access and has not independently checked the live entries, publication priority or exhaustive external literature. Lean kernel verification does not verify those source facts.