A survey of recent results on the dependence of Lyapunov exponents on the underlying data.

We study the dynamics of post-critically finite endomorphisms of $\mathbb{P}^{k}(\mathbb{C})$. We prove that post-critically finite endomorphisms are always post-critically finite all the way down under a regularity condition on the post-critical set. We study the eigenvalues of periodic points of post-critically finite endomorphisms. Then, under a transversality condition and assuming Kobayashi hyperbolicity of the complement of the post-critical set, we prove that the only possible Fatou components are super-attracting basins; thus, partially extending to any dimension is a result of Fornaess–Sibony and Rong holding in the case $k=2$.

Let $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ be a finitely generated group acting by probability measure-preserving maps on the standard Borel space $(X,\unicode[STIX]{x1D707})$. We show that if $H\leq \unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ is a subgroup with relative spectral radius greater than the global spectral radius of the action, then $H$ acts with finitely many ergodic components and spectral gap on $(X,\unicode[STIX]{x1D707})$. This answers a question of Shalom who proved this for normal subgroups.

Although piecewise isometries (PWIs) are higher-dimensional generalizations of one-dimensional interval exchange transformations (IETs), their generic dynamical properties seem to be quite different. In this paper, we consider embeddings of IET dynamics into PWI with a view to better understanding their similarities and differences. We derive some necessary conditions for existence of such embeddings using combinatorial, topological and measure-theoretic properties of IETs. In particular, we prove that continuous embeddings of minimal 2-IETs into orientation-preserving PWIs are necessarily trivial and that any 3-PWI has at most one non-trivially continuously embedded minimal 3-IET with the same underlying permutation. Finally, we introduce a family of 4-PWIs, with an apparent abundance of invariant non-smooth fractal curves supporting IETs, that limit to a trivial embedding of an IET.

In this paper we consider $C^{\infty }$-generic families of area-preserving diffeomorphisms of the torus homotopic to the identity and their rotation sets. Let $f_{t}:\text{T}^{2}\rightarrow \text{T}^{2}$ be such a family, $\widetilde{f}_{t}:\mathbb{R}^{2}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}^{2}$ be a fixed family of lifts and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}(\widetilde{f}_{t})$ be their rotation sets, which we assume to have interior for $t$ in a certain open interval $I$. We also assume that some rational point $(p/q,l/q)\in \unicode[STIX]{x2202}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}(\widetilde{f}_{\overline{t}})$ for a certain parameter $\overline{t}\in I$, and we want to understand the consequences of the following hypothesis: for all $t>\overline{t}$, $t\in I$, $(p/q,l/q)\in \text{int}(\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}(\widetilde{f}_{t}))$. Under these very natural assumptions, we prove that there exists a $f_{\overline{t}}^{q}$-fixed hyperbolic saddle $P_{\overline{t}}$ such that its rotation vector is $(p/q,l/q)$. We also prove that there exists a sequence $t_{i}>\overline{t}$, $t_{i}\rightarrow \overline{t}$, such that if $P_{t}$ is the continuation of $P_{\overline{t}}$ with the parameter, then $W^{u}(\widetilde{P}_{t_{i}})$ (the unstable manifold) has quadratic tangencies with $W^{s}(\widetilde{P}_{t_{i}})+(c,d)$ (the stable manifold translated by $(c,d)$), where $\widetilde{P}_{t_{i}}$ is any lift of $P_{t_{i}}$ to the plane. In other words, $\widetilde{P}_{t_{i}}$ is a fixed point for $(\widetilde{f}_{t_{i}})^{q}-(p,l)$, and $(c,d)\neq (0,0)$ are certain integer vectors such that $W^{u}(\widetilde{P}_{\overline{t}})$ do not intersect $W^{s}(\widetilde{P}_{\overline{t}})+(c,d)$, and these tangencies become transverse as $t$ increases. We also prove that, for $t>\overline{t}$, $W^{u}(\widetilde{P}_{t})$ has transverse intersections with $W^{s}(\widetilde{P}_{t})+(a,b)$, for all integer vectors $(a,b)$, and thus one may consider that the tangencies above are associated to the birth of the heteroclinic intersections in the plane that do not exist for $t\leq \overline{t}$.

We study Lagrange spectra at cusps of finite area Riemann surfaces. These spectra are penetration spectra that describe the asymptotic depths of penetration of geodesics in the cusps. Their study is in particular motivated by Diophantine approximation on Fuchsian groups. In the classical case of the modular surface and classical Diophantine approximation, Hall proved in 1947 that the classical Lagrange spectrum contains a half-line, known as a Hall ray. We generalize this result to the context of Riemann surfaces with cusps and Diophantine approximation on Fuchsian groups. One can measure excursion into a cusp both with respect to a natural height function or, more generally, with respect to any proper function. We prove the existence of a Hall ray for the Lagrange spectrum of any non-cocompact, finite covolume Fuchsian group with respect to any given cusp, both when the penetration is measured by a height function induced by the imaginary part as well as by any proper function close to it with respect to the Lipschitz norm. This shows that Hall rays are stable under (Lipschitz) perturbations. As a main tool, we use the boundary expansion developed by Bowen and Series to code geodesics and produce a geometric continued fraction-like expansion and some of the ideas in Hall’s original argument. A key element in the proof of the results for proper functions is a generalization of Hall’s theorem on the sum of Cantor sets, where we consider functions which are small perturbations in the Lipschitz norm of the sum.

For differentiable dynamical systems with dominated splittings, we give upper estimates on the measure-theoretic tail entropy in terms of Lyapunov exponents. As our primary application, we verify the upper semi-continuity of metric entropy in various settings with domination.

Furstenberg’s $\times 2\times 3$ theorem asserts that the double sequence $(2^{m}3^{n}\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC})_{m,n\geq 1}$ is dense modulo one for every irrational $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}$. The same holds with $2$ and $3$ replaced by any two multiplicatively independent integers. Here we obtain the same result for the sequences $((\begin{smallmatrix}m+n\\ d\end{smallmatrix})a^{m}b^{n}\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC})_{m,n\geq 1}$ for any non-negative integer $d$ and irrational $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}$, and for the sequence $(P(m)a^{m}b^{n})_{m,n\geq 1}$, where $P$ is any polynomial with at least one irrational coefficient. Similarly to Furstenberg’s theorem, both results are obtained by considering appropriate dynamical systems.

We survey results about, and results using, central sets since their introduction in 1981.

Let $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}>1$ be an integer or, generally, a Pisot number. Put $T(x)=\{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}x\}$ on $[0,1]$ and let $S:[0,1]\rightarrow [0,1]$ be a piecewise linear transformation whose slopes have the form $\pm \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}^{m}$ with positive integers $m$. We give a sufficient condition for $T$ and $S$ to have the same generic points. We also give an uncountable family of maps which share the same set of generic points.

We consider a family of higher-dimensional non-commutative tori, which are twisted analogues of the algebras of continuous functions on ordinary tori and their Toeplitz extensions. Just as solenoids are inverse limits of tori, our Toeplitz non-commutative solenoids are direct limits of the Toeplitz extensions of non-commutative tori. We consider natural dynamics on these Toeplitz algebras, and we compute the equilibrium states for these dynamics. We find a large simplex of equilibrium states at each positive inverse temperature, parametrized by the probability measures on an (ordinary) solenoid.

Kolmogorov–Sinai entropy is an invariant of measure-preserving actions of the group of integers that is central to classification theory. There are two recently developed invariants, sofic entropy and Rokhlin entropy, that generalize classical entropy to actions of countable groups. These new theories have counterintuitive properties such as factor maps that increase entropy. This survey article focusses on examples, many of which have not appeared before, that highlight the differences and similarities with classical theory.

We describe in this article the dynamics of a one-parameter family of affine interval exchange transformations. This amounts to studying the directional foliations of a particular dilatation surface introduced in Duryev et al [Affine surfaces and their Veech groups. Preprint, 2016, arXiv:1609.02130], the Disco surface. We show that this family displays various dynamical behaviours: it is generically dynamically trivial but for a Cantor set of parameters the leaves of the foliations accumulate to a (transversely) Cantor set. This study is achieved through analysis of the dynamics of the Veech group of this surface combined with a modified version of Rauzy induction in the context of affine interval exchange transformations.

Let $X$ be a solenoid, i.e. a compact, finite-dimensional, connected abelian group with normalized Haar measure $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$, and let $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\rightarrow \operatorname{Aff}(X)$ be an action of a countable discrete group $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ by continuous affine transformations of $X$. We show that the probability measure preserving action $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\curvearrowright (X,\unicode[STIX]{x1D707})$ does not have the spectral gap property if and only if there exists a $p_{\text{a}}(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4})$-invariant proper subsolenoid $Y$ of $X$ such that the image of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ in $\operatorname{Aff}(X/Y)$ is a virtually solvable group, where $p_{\text{a}}:\operatorname{Aff}(X)\rightarrow \operatorname{Aut}(X)$ is the canonical projection. When $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ is finitely generated or when $X$ is the $a$-adic solenoid for an integer $a\geq 1$, the subsolenoid $Y$ can be chosen so that the image $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ in $\operatorname{Aff}(X/Y)$ is a virtually abelian group. In particular, an action $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\curvearrowright (X,\unicode[STIX]{x1D707})$ by affine transformations on a solenoid $X$ has the spectral gap property if and only if $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\curvearrowright (X,\unicode[STIX]{x1D707})$ is strongly ergodic.

In this paper we consider the algebraic crossed product ${\mathcal{A}}:=C_{K}(X)\rtimes _{T}\mathbb{Z}$ induced by a homeomorphism $T$ on the Cantor set $X$, where $K$ is an arbitrary field with involution and $C_{K}(X)$ denotes the $K$-algebra of locally constant $K$-valued functions on $X$. We investigate the possible Sylvester matrix rank functions that one can construct on ${\mathcal{A}}$ by means of full ergodic $T$-invariant probability measures $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$ on $X$. To do so, we present a general construction of an approximating sequence of $\ast$-subalgebras ${\mathcal{A}}_{n}$ which are embeddable into a (possibly infinite) product of matrix algebras over $K$. This enables us to obtain a specific embedding of the whole $\ast$-algebra ${\mathcal{A}}$ into ${\mathcal{M}}_{K}$, the well-known von Neumann continuous factor over $K$, thus obtaining a Sylvester matrix rank function on ${\mathcal{A}}$ by restricting the unique one defined on ${\mathcal{M}}_{K}$. This process gives a way to obtain a Sylvester matrix rank function on ${\mathcal{A}}$, unique with respect to a certain compatibility property concerning the measure $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$, namely that the rank of a characteristic function of a clopen subset $U\subseteq X$ must equal the measure of $U$.

Over the last few years Pohl (partly jointly with coauthors) has developed dual ‘slow/fast’ transfer operator approaches to automorphic functions, resonances, and Selberg zeta functions for a certain class of hyperbolic surfaces $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\backslash \mathbb{H}$ with cusps and all finite-dimensional unitary representations $\unicode[STIX]{x1D712}$ of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$. The eigenfunctions with eigenvalue 1 of the fast transfer operators determine the zeros of the Selberg zeta function for $(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4},\unicode[STIX]{x1D712})$. Further, if $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ is cofinite and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D712}$ is the trivial one-dimensional representation then highly regular eigenfunctions with eigenvalue 1 of the slow transfer operators characterize Maass cusp forms for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$. Conjecturally, this characterization extends to more general automorphic functions as well as to residues at resonances. In this article we study, without relying on Selberg theory, the relation between the eigenspaces of these two types of transfer operators for any Hecke triangle surface $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\backslash \mathbb{H}$ of finite or infinite area and any finite-dimensional unitary representation $\unicode[STIX]{x1D712}$ of the Hecke triangle group $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$. In particular, we provide explicit isomorphisms between relevant subspaces. This solves a conjecture by Möller and Pohl, characterizes some of the zeros of the Selberg zeta functions independently of the Selberg trace formula, and supports the previously mentioned conjectures.

Let $G$ be a group acting properly by isometries and with a strongly contracting element on a geodesic metric space. Let $N$ be an infinite normal subgroup of $G$ and let $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{N}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{G}$ be the growth rates of $N$ and $G$ with respect to the pseudo-metric induced by the action. We prove that if $G$ has purely exponential growth with respect to the pseudo-metric, then $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{N}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{G}>1/2$. Our result applies to suitable actions of hyperbolic groups, right-angled Artin groups and other CAT(0) groups, mapping class groups, snowflake groups, small cancellation groups, etc. This extends Grigorchuk’s original result on free groups with respect to a word metric and a recent result of Matsuzaki, Yabuki and Jaerisch on groups acting on hyperbolic spaces to a much wider class of groups acting on spaces that are not necessarily hyperbolic.

In this work we consider translation-bounded measures over a locally compact Abelian group $\mathbb{G}$, with a particular interest in their so-called diffraction. Given such a measure $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}$, its diffraction $\widehat{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}$ is another measure on the Pontryagin dual $\widehat{\mathbb{G}}$, whose decomposition into the sum $\widehat{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}=\widehat{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}_{\text{p}}+\widehat{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}_{\text{c}}$ of its atomic and continuous parts is central in diffraction theory. The problem we address here is whether the above decomposition of $\widehat{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}$ lifts to $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}$ itself, that is to say, whether there exists a decomposition $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}_{\text{p}}+\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}_{\text{c}}$, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}_{\text{p}}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}_{\text{c}}$ are translation-bounded measures having diffraction $\widehat{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}_{\text{p}}$ and $\widehat{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}_{\text{c}}$, respectively. Our main result here is the almost sure existence, in a sense to be made precise, of such a decomposition. It will also be proved that a certain uniqueness property holds for the above decomposition. Next, we will be interested in the situation where translation-bounded measures are weighted Meyer sets. In this context, it will be shown that the decomposition, whether it exists, also consists of weighted Meyer sets. We complete this work by discussing a natural generalization of the considered problem.

We prove simplicity of all intermediate $C^{\ast }$-algebras $C_{r}^{\ast }(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4})\subseteq {\mathcal{B}}\subseteq \unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\ltimes _{r}C(X)$ in the case of minimal actions of $C^{\ast }$-simple groups $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ on compact spaces $X$. For this, we use the notion of stationary states, recently introduced by Hartman and Kalantar [Stationary $C^{\ast }$-dynamical systems. Preprint, 2017, arXiv:1712.10133]. We show that the Powers’ averaging property holds for the reduced crossed product $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\ltimes _{r}{\mathcal{A}}$ for any action $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\curvearrowright {\mathcal{A}}$ of a $C^{\ast }$-simple group $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ on a unital $C^{\ast }$-algebra ${\mathcal{A}}$, and use it to prove a one-to-one correspondence between stationary states on ${\mathcal{A}}$ and those on $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\ltimes _{r}{\mathcal{A}}$.

In this paper, we study the ideal structure of reduced $C^{\ast }$-algebras $C_{r}^{\ast }(G)$ associated to étale groupoids $G$. In particular, we characterize when there is a one-to-one correspondence between the closed, two-sided ideals in $C_{r}^{\ast }(G)$ and the open invariant subsets of the unit space $G^{(0)}$ of $G$. As a consequence, we show that if $G$ is an inner exact, essentially principal, ample groupoid, then $C_{r}^{\ast }(G)$ is (strongly) purely infinite if and only if every non-zero projection in $C_{0}(G^{(0)})$ is properly infinite in $C_{r}^{\ast }(G)$. We also establish a sufficient condition on the ample groupoid $G$ that ensures pure infiniteness of $C_{r}^{\ast }(G)$ in terms of paradoxicality of compact open subsets of the unit space $G^{(0)}$. Finally, we introduce the type semigroup for ample groupoids and also obtain a dichotomy result: let $G$ be an ample groupoid with compact unit space which is minimal and topologically principal. If the type semigroup is almost unperforated, then $C_{r}^{\ast }(G)$ is a simple $C^{\ast }$-algebra which is either stably finite or strongly purely infinite.