Some simple conditions implying topological transitivity for interval maps (Q1881591)

One of the most interesting properties of a (discrete) dynamical system is topological transitivity: A selfmap \(f\) on a topological space \(X\) is said to be topologically transitive if for every nonempty open sets \(U\) and \(V\) in \(X\), there exists \(x\in U\) and a natural number \(n\) such that \(f^{n}(U)\cap V\) is nonempty. In the usual case when \(X\) is compact (and \(f\) continuous), topological transitivity is equivalent to the fact that there exits a point \(x\in X\) with dense orbit. The goal of this paper is to obtain some sufficient conditions for topological transitivity for piecewise monotonic maps on the unit interval. The main result is the following theorem: Let \(n\in \mathbb{N}\), \(n\geq 2\). Suppose that \(f:[0,1]\longrightarrow [0,1]\) is a piecewise monotonic, piecewise differentiable map such that \(\inf_{x\in D}| f^{\prime}(x)| >n\) (being \(D\) the set of all points of differentiability of \(f\)). Moreover, assume that \([0,1]\setminus f(J)\) is finite for any subinterval \(J\) of [0,1] containing at least \(n\) \(c\)-points. Then, for every subinterval \(J\) of \([0,1]\) such that the restriction of \(f\) to \(J\) is piecewise monotonic and for every open set \(U\), there exists \(k\in \mathbb{N}\) with \(J\setminus f^{k}(U)\) finite. Thus, \(f\) is topologically transitive. (A point \(x\in X\) is said to be a \(c\)-point for \(f\) if either \(f\) is discontinuous at \(x\) or in every neighborhood of \(x\), \(f\) fails to be one-one). As a consequence of the techniques presented by the authors, it is possible to obtain some elementary and shorter proofs of some known criteria for topological transitivity (for instance, Theo\-rem~3 in [\textit{P. Raith}, Aequationes Math. 57, 303--311 (1999; Zbl 0927.37004)]).