\(Se^x\): dynamics, topology, and bifurcations of complex exponentials (Q5928489)

This text discusses some topological features of iterated maps of the form \(S e^x\) with a real parameter \(S\); the dynamics takes place on the complex plane. 1. If \(S\in (-e, 1/e)\), then the map has an attracting fixed point, the Julia set is a ``Cantor bouquet'' consisting of uncountably many curves homeomorphic to a ``straight brush'' in the sense of \textit{J. M. Aarts} and \textit{L. G. Overstegen} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 338, No. 2, 897-918 (1993; Zbl 0809.54034)]. The endpoints of all these curves form a set which is totally disconnected (in the complex plane), but adding the single point at infinity yields a connected set on the Riemann sphere (i.e., the point at infinite is an ``explosion point''); a result due to \textit{J. C. Mayer} [Ergodic Theory Dyn. Syst. 10, No. 1, 177-183 (1990; Zbl 0668.58032)]. 2. At \(S=1/e\), a bifurcation occurs with surprising properties: for example, there are countably many periodic points for every value of \(S\). For \(S<1/e\), the repelling periodic points sit in a relatively small set the complement of which is open and dense, while for \(S>1/e\) they are dense in \(\mathbb C\). Yet every repelling periodic point depends continuously on \(S\) in a neighborhood of \(1/e\). 3. For \(S>1/e\), a dynamically distinguished subset of the complex plane is an indecomposable continuum (i.e. it is not the union of two proper subcontinua). The point of this paper is not to prove new results, but to show to topologists that many of their ``pathological'' examples appear naturally in the context of iterated dynamics on the complex plane.