There are only a finite number of possible values for the sequence to take
(modulo 2**p - 1). Therefore at some point it must repeat and become
periodic. In all interesting cases, this takes place long after the pth
iteration. This has been discussed before, check the mailing list archives
at http://www2.netdoor.com/~acurry/mersenne for more information.
By the way, is there an archive of the mailing list containing more recent
messages?
At 16:16 11/20/98 GMT, you wrote:
>Sorry if this is a trivial question, but I'm a non-mathematician who
>stumbled onto GIMPS...
>
>Does the Lucas-Lehmer sequence ever repeat, i.e., for a given
>exponent, if L[m]=L[n], does that mean m=n?
>
>Joe R
>
>Laboring mightily on M5860579
>
>
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