Ordering by auto-expansions (Q1814144)

For \(\lambda\in(1,2)\) the autoexpansion of \(\lambda\) is the sequence \((c_ i)^ \infty_{i=0}\), \(c_ i=-1,0,1\), defined inductively by \(c_ 0:=1\), \(x_ 0:=1\), and for \(n\geq 1\), if \(x_{n-1}<\lambda\), \(c_ n:=1\); if \(x_{n-1}>\lambda\), \(c_ n:=-1\); if \(x_{n-1}=\lambda\), \(c_ n:=0\); and \(x_ n:=x_{n-1}+c_ n/\lambda^ n\). Defining an order on sequences by \((a_ i)^ \infty_{i=0}<(b_ i)^ \infty_{i=0}\) if \(a_ m<b_ m\), where \(a_ i=b_ i\), \(i=0,\dots,m- 1\), the author shows that the autoexpansion of \(\lambda\) is strictly monotonic with respect to \(\lambda\), i.e. if \((a_ i)^ \infty_{i=0}\), \((b_ i)^ \infty_{i=0}\) are the autoexpansions of \(\lambda\), \(\mu\) respectively, then \(\lambda<\mu\) implies \((a_ i)^ \infty_{i=0}<(b_ i)^ \infty_{i=0}\). This result was first claimed by \textit{B. Derrida}, \textit{A. Gervois} and \textit{Y. Pomeau} [Ann. Inst. Henri Poincaré, Nouv. Sér., Sect. A, 29, No. 3, 305-356 (1978; Zbl 0416.28012); J. Phys. A 12, No. 3, 269-296 (1979; Zbl 0416.28011)], but their proof was incomplete. The author furnishes a complete proof in this paper. The work has application to the kneading sequences of families of unimodal maps of the interval of the form \(T:x\to\lambda f(x)\).