Periodic Sequence - Generalizations

Generalizations

A sequence is eventually periodic if it can be made periodic by dropping some finite number of terms from the beginning. For example, the sequence of digits in the decimal expansion of 1/56 is eventually periodic:

1 / 56 = 0 . 0 1 7 8 5 7 1 4 2 8 5 7 1 4 2 8 5 7 1 4 2 ...

A sequence is asymptotically periodic if its terms approach those of a periodic sequence. That is, the sequence x₁, x₂, x₃, ... is asymptotically periodic if there exists a periodic sequence a₁, a₂, a₃, ... for which

For example, the sequence

1 / 3, 2 / 3, 1 / 4, 3 / 4, 1 / 5, 4 / 5, ...

is asymptotically periodic, since its terms approach those of the periodic sequence 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, ....