Linear-constraint loops are programs whose transition relation is specified by a system of linear inequalities. The termination problem asks, given a loop, whether it admits an infinite computation. Decidability of termination remains open for linear-constraint loops over integers, rationals, and reals. We focus on loops over integers and show that they are tightly connected to generalized Collatz sequences - integer sequences generated by maps that are linear on each residue class modulo a fixed natural number. We prove that termination of one-variable linear-constraint loops is decidable in polynomial time, provided a long-standing conjecture about generalized Collatz sequences holds. Conversely, we show that any decision procedure for one-variable loops would prove or refute specific instances of this conjecture, which remain open. Moreover, we show that if a one-variable loop has a cyclic trace, then it also has a cyclic trace of length at most two.

Temporal causality defines what property causes some observed temporal behavior (the effect) in a given computation, based on a counterfactual analysis of similar computations. In this paper, we study its closure properties and the complexity of computing causes. For the former, we establish that safety, reachability, and recurrence properties are all closed under causal inference: If the effect is from one of these property classes, then the cause for this effect is from the same class. We also show that persistence and obligation properties are not closed in this way. These results rest on a topological characterization of causes which makes them applicable to a wide range of similarity relations between computations. Finally, our complexity analysis establishes improved upper bounds for computing causes for safety, reachability, and recurrence properties. We also present the first lower bounds for all of the classes.