Julia-Fatou-Sullivan theory for real one-dimensional dynamics (Q1200354)

Denoting by \(N\) either the circle \(S'\) or a compact interval of the real line, the authors study the dynamics of a smooth endomorphism \(f\) of \(N\) which is not a homeomorphism (if \(f\) is a homeomorphism then it corresponds to a degree \(\pm1\) rational map of the Riemann sphere). The singular set of \(f\), \(\text{Sing}(f)\), is defined as the union of the set of turning points of \(f\) (a turning point is a critical noninflection point) and the boundary points of \(N\) --- in the case when \(f\) has turning points --- and as the set of fixed points of \(f\) --- when \(f\) has no turning points. The Julia set of \(f\), \(J(f)\), is defined to be the limit set of \(\text{Sing}(f)\) and it is forward invariant. Thus its complement, called Fatou set \(F(f)\), is backward invariant \((f^{- 1}(F(f))\subset F(f))\). The main result of the paper is the following: If \(f:N\to N\) is a smooth map such that all its critical points are non-flat (i.e., some higher derivative is non-zero), then all the connected components of \(F(f)\) are eventually periodic (i.e., eventually mapped into a periodic component of \(F(f)\)) and the number of periodic components of \(F(f)\) is finite.