The isomorphism class of the shift map (Q2215681)

Two very simple (yet quite important) dynamical systems on \(\omega^*\), the Čech-Stone remainder of~\(\omega\), are induced by the shift map \(\sigma:n\mapsto n+1\) and its inverse \(\sigma^{-1}:\omega\setminus1\to\omega\). The author addresses the question whether these induced maps are conjugate in the autohomeomorphism group of~\(\omega^*\). If all autohomeomorphisms are trivial then they are not. This was shown by \textit{E. K. van Douwen} [Topology Appl. 34, No. 1, 97--103 (1990; Zbl 0695.06009)]. The consistency of a positive answer is yet an open problem. The main result of the paper shows that the conjugacy classes of \(\sigma\) and \(\sigma^{-1}\) are hard to separate (if at all) topologically in the autohomeomorphism group endowed with the compact-open topology: there is no Borel set that contains one and is disjoint from the other.