Shifts of finite type as fundamental objects in the theory of shadowing (Q2187246)

This paper finds a new link between two fundamental notions in topological dynamics. On the one hand (mixing) shifts of finite type are a rich source of examples and symbolic models for sufficiently hyperbolic systems (hyperbolic toral automorphisms in the work of \textit{R. L. Adler} and \textit{B. Weiss} [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 57, 1573--1576 (1967; Zbl 0177.08002)]; Anosov diffeomorphisms in the work of \textit{Ya. G. Sinai} [Funct. Anal. Appl. 2, 61--82 (1968; Zbl 0182.55003); translation from Funkts. Anal. Prilozh. 2, No. 1, 64--89 (1968)]; non-wandering sets of Axiom A diffeomorphisms in the work of \textit{R. Bowen} [Am. J. Math. 92, 725--747 (1970; Zbl 0208.25901)]. A different concept that emerged largely from these works was orbit shadowing (or pseudo-orbit tracing), a property that asserts the existence of a genuine orbit close to a pseudo-orbit in which a small error is permitted at each iteration. This and related notions became important theoretically, in particular in establishing the existence of Markov partitions and in stability theory. One relationship between these two concepts is a result due to \textit{P. Walters} [Lect. Notes Math. 668, 231--244 (1978; Zbl 0403.58019)] showing that a shift space (a closed shift-invariant subset of the set of bi-infinite sequences on a finite alphabet) has the shadowing property if and only if it is of finite type (that is, defined by forbidding a finite set of words). Here a new relationship is found under a much weaker assumption. The main result is that if \(f\colon X\to X\) is a continuous map on a compact, totally disconnected Hausdorff space then the system \((X,f)\) has the shadowing property if and only if it is topologically conjugate to the inverse limit of an inverse system comprising shifts of finite type that satisfies the Mittag-Leffler condition (defined by \textit{A. Grothendieck} [Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 4, 1--228 (1960; Zbl 0118.36206)]).