Existence of a period-two solution in linearizable difference equations (Q2312227)

Summary: Consider the difference equation \(x_{n + 1} = f(x_n, \ldots, x_{n - k})\), \(n = 0, 1, \ldots\), where \(k \in \{1, 2, \ldots \}\) and the initial conditions are real numbers. We investigate the existence and nonexistence of the minimal period-two solution of this equation when it can be rewritten as the nonautonomous linear equation \(x_{n + l} = \sum_{i = 1 - l}^k g_i x_{n - i}\), \(n = 0, 1, \ldots\), where \(l, k \in \{1, 2, \ldots \}\) and the functions \(g_i : \mathbb{R}^{k + l} \to \mathbb{R}\). We give some necessary and sufficient conditions for the equation to have a minimal period-two solution when \(l = 1\).