Approximation dynamics (Q2334034)

By a \textit{dynamical system} we mean a pair \((X,f)\) consisting of a compact metric space \(X\) and a continuous map \(f : X \to X\). A \textit{measured dynamical system} is a triple \((X,f,\mu_0)\), where \((X,f)\) is a dynamical system and \(\mu_0\) is a Borel probability measure on \(X\) with full support. If \(\mu\) is an \(f\)-invariant Borel probability measure on \(X\), then a point \(x \in X\) is called \textit{generic} for \(\mu\) if \[ \lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{1}{n} \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} u(f^i(x)) = \int u\, d\mu \] for every continuous real-valued function \(u\). Let \(\mathrm{Gen}(\mu)\) denote the set of all points generic for \(\mu\). \((X,f,\mu_0)\) is said to be \textit{tractable} if the following properties hold: (1) There is a finite number of ergodic invariant Borel probability measures \(\mu_1,\ldots,\mu_k\) such that \(\mu_0(\mathrm{Gen}(\mu_i)) > 0\) for \(i = 1,\ldots,k\) and \(\mu_0\left(\bigcup_{i=1}^{k}\mathrm{Gen}(\mu_i)\right) = 1\). (2) There are only finitely many basic sets. (3) There is a finite number of pairwise disjoint open subsets \(U_1,\ldots,U_k\) of \(X\) such that \(\mu_0(\mathrm{Gen}(\mu_i) \backslash U_i) = 0\) for \(i = 1,\ldots,k\). Examples of tractable systems include Morse-Smale diffeomorphisms and Axiom A diffeomorphisms. On the other hand, generic homeomorphisms on manifolds of positive dimension and on Cantor sets have uncountably many basic sets and, therefore, these systems are not tractable. The main goal of the paper is to describe a natural way to approximate an arbitrary dynamical system on a piecewise linear manifold or on a Cantor set by a tractable system. The given approximations are non-degenerate simplicial dynamical systems for piecewise linear manifolds and shift-like dynamical systems for Cantor sets.