This paper studies the $K$-theoretic invariants of the crossed product ${{C}^{*}}$-algebras associated with an important family of homeomorphisms of the tori ${{\mathbb{T}}^{n}}$ called Furstenberg transformations. Using the Pimsner–Voiculescu theorem, we prove that given $n$, the $K$-groups of those crossed products whose corresponding $n\,\times \,n$ integer matrices are unipotent of maximal degree always have the same rank ${{a}_{n}}$. We show using the theory developed here that a claim made in the literature about the torsion subgroups of these $K$-groups is false. Using the representation theory of the simple Lie algebra $\mathfrak{s}\mathfrak{l}\left( 2,\,\mathbb{C} \right)$, we show that, remarkably, ${{a}_{n}}$ has a combinatorial significance. For example, every ${{a}_{2n+1}}$ is just the number of ways that 0 can be represented as a sum of integers between –$n$ and $n$ (with no repetitions). By adapting an argument of van Lint (in which he answered a question of Erdős), a simple explicit formula for the asymptotic behavior of the sequence $\{{{a}_{n}}\}$ is given. Finally, we describe the order structure of the ${{K}_{0}}$-groups of an important class of Furstenberg crossed products, obtaining their complete Elliott invariant using classification results of H. Lin and N. C. Phillips.

Let θ be an irrational number in (0,1) and f a real-valued continuous function on the 1-torus T. Letφθ, f be a Furstenberg transformation on the 2-torus T2 defined by for any (t, s) ∈ T2, where ρ is a non-zero integer, and we identify a function on T or T2 with a function on R or R2 with period 1, respectively. Let Aθ, f be the crossed product associated with φθ, f. In this paper we wiil compute the positive cone of the K0-group of Aθ, f.