We study the following kth order rational difference equation assuming nonnegative parameters and nonnegative initial conditions $$x_{ n}=\frac{ \alpha+\sum_{ i=1}^{ k}\beta_{ i}x_{ n-i}} { A+\sum_{ j=1}^{ k}B_{ j}x_{ n-j}},\quad n\in\mathbb{ N}.$$ We develop a new periodic trichotomy result which unifies all currently known periodic trichotomy results regarding the above difference equation into three major families. The periodic trichotomy result presented in this article also contains as special cases some new examples of periodic trichotomy behavior.
Categories: math.DS