A Closed Form for the Pulsar Sequence

Authors

• Ryan Z. Liu, Del Norte High SchoolFollow

Abstract

In this paper, we study the Pulsar Sequence, an integer sequence derived from Latin-square-based “Pulsar puzzles” introduced by the Cracking the Cryptic YouTube channel. A Pulsar puzzle consists of two interlocked spirals of circled and uncircled squares, generating the Dual and Pulsar sequences, respectively. We investigate the properties of the Pulsar puzzle and focus our work on constructing the Pulsar Sequence, allowing us to solve a Pulsar puzzle of any size. A general formula to calculate any term of the Pulsar Sequence is proposed at the end of the paper.

Author Bio

Ryan Liu is a senior at Del Norte High School in San Diego, California. His research interests include combinatorics, number theory, and mathematical modeling. He is currently conducting research with Professor Vadim Ponomarenko at San Diego State University. He can be reached at ryanzeyuliu@gmail.com .

Faculty Sponsor

Vadim Ponomarenko

Recommended Citation

Liu, Ryan Z. (2025) "A Closed Form for the Pulsar Sequence," Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal: Vol. 26: Iss. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholar.rose-hulman.edu/rhumj/vol26/iss2/4