Let T be the map defined on N = {1, 2, . . .} by T (n) = n/2 if n is even and T (n) = (3n + 1)/2 if n is odd. Consider the dynamical system (N, 2 N , T, µ) where µ is the counting measure. This dynamical system has the following properties:1. There exists an invariant finite measure γ such that γ(A) ≤ µ(A) for all A ⊂ N.
For each functionWe also show that the Collatz conjecture is equivalent to the existence of a finite measure ν on (N, 2 N ) making the operator V f = f • T power bounded in L 1 (ν) with conservative part {1, 2}.