On the approximation by three consecutive continued fraction convergents (Q2252945)

Denote by \(\frac{p_n}{q_n}\), \(n = 1, 2, 3, \dots\) the sequence of continued fraction convergents of the real irrational number x. Define the sequence of approximation coefficients by \(\theta := q_n |q_n x - p_n|\), \(n = 1, 2, 3, \dots\) The authors simplify the existing way to determine the mean value of the sequence \(|\theta_{n+1}-\theta_{n-1}|\). The method used in the paper also implies the following statement: For almost all \(x\) the pattern \(\theta_{n-1} < \theta_n < \theta_ {n+1}\) occurs with the same asymptotic frequency as the pattern \(\theta_{n+1} < \theta_n < \theta_ {n-1}\), namely \(0.12109\dots\). All the four other patterns have the same asymptotic frequency \(0.18945\dots\). The constants are explicitly given.