Thermodynamic formalism for random weighted covering systems (Q2046790)

The authors consider the thermodynamic formalism for weighted random one-dimensional piecewise continuous dynamical systems. The setup is that there is a \textsl{base} dynamical system \(\sigma\colon\Omega\to\Omega\), whose role is to pick out a family of one-dimensional systems. The random dynamical system is then \(T_\omega^n=T_{\sigma^{n-1}\omega}\circ\dots\circ T_\omega\), where these maps are applied in sequence. From the maps \(T_\omega\), a random version of a transfer operator \(\mathcal L_\omega\) is constructed. A well-known case of a transfer operator for a deterministic map \(T\) is when \(\mathcal Lf(x)\) is the sum of \(f\) over the preimages of \(x\) under \(T\), weighted by the reciprocal of the derivative of \(T\) at the preimage. For the random version, one sums over preimages of \(x\) under \(T_\omega\) and replaces the weights by random quantities \(g_\omega(z)\). Assuming a number of conditions about measurability, covering, summability of variations of the potential and a condition that they call ``contractivity'' of the potential, the authors prove the existence of a unique relative equilibrium state. The term relative here refers to the fact that the base dynamics is fixed; and the definition of equilibrium states for random dynamical systems is an analogue of the definition for deterministic dynamical systems. The authors show that the relative equilibrium state has strong ergodic properties. The paper concludes with a variety of examples to which the main theorem applies, including random \(\beta\)-transformations and random non-uniformly expanding maps.