A note on the Artuso-Aurell-Cvitanovic approach to the Feigenbaum tangent operator (Q1182242)

The `` Feigenbaum conjectures'' (proved by Lanford) involves the study of a map \(\Phi\), defined on the set of analytic maps \(h: [-1,1]\to\mathbb{R}\) by setting \[ (\Phi h)(z)=\alpha h\circ h(z/\alpha) \] (with normalization \(h(0)=1\), which implies \(\alpha=h(1)\)). The map \(\Phi\) has a fixed point \(g\) and the tangent map \(D_ g\Phi\) has a maximal positive eigenvalue \(\delta\) (on a suitable Banach space). This was proved by Lanford. This paper gives details clarifying another approach to above results by R. Artuso, E. Aurell and P. Cvitanovic. This other approach is based on the study of the Ruelle transfer operator. One associates with \(g\) a ``cookie cutter'' dynamical system (which is an interval map). One can associate with such (``expanding'') dynamical systems the socalled Ruelle transfer operator. This is a well known ``device'' in dynamics and statistical mechanics to construct ``equilibrium states''. In the present case it turns out to correspond to \(D_ g\Phi\) and one can study the hyperbolicity of \(D_ g\Phi\) and estimate \(\delta\) through the spectrum of the associated transfer operator. This in turn can be studied through the zeros of certain complex valued functions related to the zeta function corresponding to the ``cookie cutter'' dynamical system. By providing details, the author makes this connection rigorous.