A no-template control has no threshold cycle in this finite toy ledger. Exact arithmetic here means exact results for the stated model inputs; measured inputs still carry uncertainty and significant-figure limits.

highlighted = computed this step

The negative control has all-zero counts

With start 0, every checked count stays zero against threshold 64.

0,0,0,00,0,0,0
PCR threshold crossingExact doubling pins the first cycle that reaches the threshold.c0=0c1=0c2=0c3=0start=0threshold=64Ct=nonecrossed=0accepted=0

No crossing uses the fail-closed sentinel

The threshold cycle is -1, crossed bit 0, and accepted bit 0.

Ct=1,crossed=0,accepted=0C_t=-1,\quad crossed=0,\quad accepted=0
PCR threshold crossingExact doubling pins the first cycle that reaches the threshold.c0=0c1=0c2=0c3=0start=0threshold=64Ct=nonecrossed=0accepted=0