In this article, we calculate the Ellis semigroup of a certain class of constant-length substitutions. This generalizes a result of Haddad and Johnson [IP cluster points, idempotents, and recurrent sequences. Topology Proc.22 (1997) 213–226] from the binary case to substitutions over arbitrarily large finite alphabets. Moreover, we provide a class of counterexamples to one of the propositions in their paper, which is central to the proof of their main theorem. We give an alternative approach to their result, which centers on the properties of the Ellis semigroup. To do this, we also show a new way to construct an almost automorphic–isometric tower to the maximal equicontinuous factor of these systems, which gives a more particular approach than the one given by Dekking [The spectrum of dynamical systems arising from substitutions of constant length. Z. Wahrscheinlichkeitstheor. Verw. Geb.41(3) (1977/78) 221–239].

We improve a recent result by giving the optimal conclusion both to the frequent universality criterion and the frequent hypercyclicity criterion using the notion of $A$ -densities, where $A$ refers to some weighted densities sharper than the natural lower density. Moreover, we construct an operator which is logarithmically frequently hypercyclic but not frequently hypercyclic.

This paper establishes a fundamental difference between $\mathbb{Z}$ subshifts of finite type and $\mathbb{Z}^{2}$ subshifts of finite type in the context of ergodic optimization. Specifically, we consider a subshift of finite type $X$ as a subset of a full shift  $F$ . We then introduce a natural penalty function  $f$ , defined on  $F$ , which is 0 if the local configuration near the origin is legal and $-1$ otherwise. We show that in the case of $\mathbb{Z}$ subshifts, for all sufficiently small perturbations, $g$ , of  $f$ , the $g$ -maximizing invariant probability measures are supported on $X$ (that is, the set $X$ is stably maximized by  $f$ ). However, in the two-dimensional case, we show that the well-known Robinson tiling fails to have this property: there exist arbitrarily small perturbations, $g$ , of  $f$ for which the $g$ -maximizing invariant probability measures are supported on $F\setminus X$ .

We study dynamical systems that have bounded complexity with respect to three kinds metrics: the Bowen metric $d_{n}$ , the max-mean metric $\hat{d}_{n}$ and the mean metric $\bar{d}_{n}$ , both in topological dynamics and ergodic theory. It is shown that a topological dynamical system $(X,T)$ has bounded complexity with respect to $d_{n}$ (respectively $\hat{d}_{n}$ ) if and only if it is equicontinuous (respectively equicontinuous in the mean). However, we construct minimal systems that have bounded complexity with respect to $\bar{d}_{n}$ but that are not equicontinuous in the mean. It turns out that an invariant measure $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$ on $(X,T)$ has bounded complexity with respect to $d_{n}$ if and only if $(X,T)$ is $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$ -equicontinuous. Meanwhile, it is shown that $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$ has bounded complexity with respect to $\hat{d}_{n}$ if and only if $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$ has bounded complexity with respect to $\bar{d}_{n}$ , if and only if $(X,T)$ is $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$ -mean equicontinuous and if and only if it has discrete spectrum.

We investigate the entropy for a class of upper semi-continuous set-valued functions, called Markov set-valued functions, that are a generalization of single-valued Markov interval functions. It is known that the entropy of a Markov interval function can be found by calculating the entropy of an associated shift of finite type. In this paper, we construct a similar shift of finite type for Markov set-valued functions and use this shift space to find upper and lower bounds on the entropy of the set-valued function.

Switched server systems are mathematical models of manufacturing, traffic and queueing systems that have being studied since the early 1990s. In particular, it is known that typically the dynamics of such systems is asymptotically periodic: each orbit of the system converges to one of its finitely many limit cycles. In this article, we provide an explicit example of a switched server system with exotic behaviour: each orbit of the system converges to the same Cantor attractor. To accomplish this goal, we bring together recent advances in the understanding of the topological dynamics of piecewise contractions and interval exchange transformations (IETs) with flips. The ultimate result is a switched server system whose Poincaré map is semiconjugate to a minimal and uniquely ergodic IET with flips.

We show that spacetime diagrams of linear cellular automata $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F7}:\,\mathbb{F}_{p}^{\mathbb{Z}}\rightarrow \mathbb{F}_{p}^{\mathbb{Z}}$with $(-p)$-automatic initial conditions are automatic. This extends existing results on initial conditions that are eventually constant. Each automatic spacetime diagram defines a $(\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E},\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F7})$-invariant subset of $\mathbb{F}_{p}^{\mathbb{Z}}$, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}$ is the left shift map, and if the initial condition is not eventually periodic, then this invariant set is nontrivial. For the Ledrappier cellular automaton we construct a family of nontrivial $(\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E},\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F7})$-invariant measures on $\mathbb{F}_{3}^{\mathbb{Z}}$. Finally, given a linear cellular automaton $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F7}$, we construct a nontrivial $(\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E},\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F7})$-invariant measure on $\mathbb{F}_{p}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ for all but finitely many $p$.

A category structure for ordered Bratteli diagrams is proposed in which isomorphism coincides with the notion of equivalence of Herman, Putnam, and Skau. It is shown that the natural one-to-one correspondence between the category of Cantor minimal systems and the category of simple properly ordered Bratteli diagrams is in fact an equivalence of categories. This gives a Bratteli–Vershik model for factor maps between Cantor minimal systems. We give a construction of factor maps between Cantor minimal systems in terms of suitable maps (called premorphisms) between the corresponding ordered Bratteli diagrams, and we show that every factor map between two Cantor minimal systems is obtained in this way. Moreover, solving a natural question, we are able to characterize Glasner and Weiss’s notion of weak orbit equivalence of Cantor minimal systems in terms of the corresponding C*-algebra crossed products.

There is much research on the dynamical complexity on irregular sets and level sets of ergodic average from the perspective of density in base space, the Hausdorff dimension, Lebesgue positive measure, positive or full topological entropy (and topological pressure), etc. However, this is not the case from the viewpoint of chaos. There are many results on the relationship of positive topological entropy and various chaos. However, positive topological entropy does not imply a strong version of chaos, called DC1. Therefore, it is non-trivial to study DC1 on irregular sets and level sets. In this paper, we will show that, for dynamical systems with specification properties, there exist uncountable DC1-scrambled subsets in irregular sets and level sets. Meanwhile, we prove that several recurrent level sets of points with different recurrent frequency have uncountable DC1-scrambled subsets. The major argument in proving the above results is that there exists uncountable DC1-scrambled subsets in saturated sets.

We prove a Tits alternative for topological full groups of minimal actions of finitely generated groups. On the one hand, we show that topological full groups of minimal actions of virtually cyclic groups are amenable. By doing so, we generalize the result of Juschenko and Monod for $\mathbf{Z}$ -actions. On the other hand, when a finitely generated group $G$ is not virtually cyclic, then we construct a minimal free action of $G$ on a Cantor space such that the topological full group contains a non-abelian free group.

Consider the action of $\operatorname{GL}(n,\mathbb{Q}_{p})$ on the $p$-adic unit sphere ${\mathcal{S}}_{n}$ arising from the linear action on $\mathbb{Q}_{p}^{n}\setminus \{0\}$. We show that for the action of a semigroup $\mathfrak{S}$ of $\operatorname{GL}(n,\mathbb{Q}_{p})$ on ${\mathcal{S}}_{n}$, the following are equivalent: (1) $\mathfrak{S}$ acts distally on ${\mathcal{S}}_{n}$; (2) the closure of the image of $\mathfrak{S}$ in $\operatorname{PGL}(n,\mathbb{Q}_{p})$ is a compact group. On ${\mathcal{S}}_{n}$, we consider the ‘affine’ maps $\overline{T}_{a}$ corresponding to $T$ in $\operatorname{GL}(n,\mathbb{Q}_{p})$ and a nonzero $a$ in $\mathbb{Q}_{p}^{n}$ satisfying $\Vert T^{-1}(a)\Vert _{p}<1$. We show that there exists a compact open subgroup $V$, which depends on $T$, such that $\overline{T}_{a}$ is distal for every nonzero $a\in V$ if and only if $T$ acts distally on ${\mathcal{S}}_{n}$. The dynamics of ‘affine’ maps on $p$-adic unit spheres is quite different from that on the real unit spheres.

We introduce the notions of directional dynamical cubes and directional regionally proximal relation defined via these cubes for a minimal $\mathbb{Z}^{d}$-system $(X,T_{1},\ldots ,T_{d})$. We study the structural properties of systems that satisfy the so-called unique closing parallelepiped property and we characterize them in several ways. In the distal case, we build the maximal factor of a $\mathbb{Z}^{d}$-system $(X,T_{1},\ldots ,T_{d})$ that satisfies this property by taking the quotient with respect to the directional regionally proximal relation. Finally, we completely describe distal $\mathbb{Z}^{d}$-systems that enjoy the unique closing parallelepiped property and provide explicit examples.

A one-sided shift of finite type $(\mathsf{X}_{A},\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}_{A})$ determines on the one hand a Cuntz–Krieger algebra ${\mathcal{O}}_{A}$ with a distinguished abelian subalgebra ${\mathcal{D}}_{A}$ and a certain completely positive map $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}_{A}$ on ${\mathcal{O}}_{A}$. On the other hand, $(\mathsf{X}_{A},\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}_{A})$ determines a groupoid ${\mathcal{G}}_{A}$ together with a certain homomorphism $\unicode[STIX]{x1D716}_{A}$ on ${\mathcal{G}}_{A}$. We show that each of these two sets of data completely characterizes the one-sided conjugacy class of $\mathsf{X}_{A}$. This strengthens a result of Cuntz and Krieger. We also exhibit an example of two irreducible shifts of finite type which are eventually conjugate but not conjugate. This provides a negative answer to a question of Matsumoto of whether eventual conjugacy implies conjugacy.

In this paper, it is shown that if a dynamical system is null and distal, then it is equicontinuous. It turns out that a null system with closed proximal relation is mean equicontinuous. As a direct application, it follows that a null dynamical system with dense minimal points is also mean equicontinuous. Meanwhile, a distal system with trivial $\text{Ind}_{\text{fip}}$-pairs and a non-trivial regionally proximal relation of order $\infty$ are constructed.

We conjecture that bounded generalised polynomial functions cannot be generated by finite automata, except for the trivial case when they are ultimately periodic.

Using methods from ergodic theory, we are able to partially resolve this conjecture, proving that any hypothetical counterexample is periodic away from a very sparse and structured set. In particular, we show that for a polynomial $p(n)$ with at least one irrational coefficient (except for the constant one) and integer $m\geqslant 2$, the sequence $\lfloor p(n)\rfloor \hspace{0.2em}{\rm mod}\hspace{0.2em}m$ is never automatic.

We also prove that the conjecture is equivalent to the claim that the set of powers of an integer $k\geqslant 2$ is not given by a generalised polynomial.

We construct a multiply Xiong chaotic set with full Hausdorff dimension everywhere that is contained in some multiply proximal cell for the full shift over finite symbols and the Gauss system, respectively.

We show that Matui’s HK conjecture holds for groupoids of unstable equivalence relations and their corresponding $C^{\ast }$-algebras on one-dimensional solenoids.

We study the differentiability properties of the topological equivalence between a uniformly asymptotically stable linear nonautonomous system and a perturbed system with suitable nonlinearities. For this purpose, we construct a homeomorphism inspired in the Palmer's one restricted to the positive half line, studying additional continuity properties and providing sufficient conditions ensuring its Cr–smoothness.

We study continuous countably (strictly) monotone maps defined on a tame graph, i.e. a special Peano continuum for which the set containing branch points and end points has countable closure. In our investigation we confine ourselves to the countable Markov case. We show a necessary and sufficient condition under which a locally eventually onto, countably Markov map $f$ of a tame graph $G$ is conjugate to a map $g$ of constant slope. In particular, we show that in the case of a Markov map $f$ that corresponds to a recurrent transition matrix, the condition is satisfied for a constant slope $e^{h_{\text{top}}(f)}$ , where $h_{\text{top}}(f)$ is the topological entropy of $f$ . Moreover, we show that in our class the topological entropy $h_{\text{top}}(f)$ is achievable through horseshoes of the map $f$ .

A celebrated result by Bourgain and Wierdl states that ergodic averages along primes converge almost everywhere for $L^{p}$ -functions, $p>1$ , with a polynomial version by Wierdl and Nair. Using an anti-correlation result for the von Mangoldt function due to Green and Tao, we observe everywhere convergence of such averages for nilsystems and continuous functions.