On the dynamics of endomorphisms of finite groups (Q2363381)

Let \(G\) be a finite group and \(f:G \rightarrow G\) an endomorphism. The pair \((G,f)\) is here studied as a finite dynamical system. The associated state space is the directed graph with vertex set \(G\) with an edge from \(x\) to \(y\) if \(f(x) = y\). In the first part of the paper, \(G\) is observed to be the semidirect product of the nilpotent part of \(f\), which is the normal subgroup consisting of those elements mapped to the identity of \(G\) by some power of \(f\), and the periodic part of \(f\), which is the subgroup consisting of those elements mapped to themselves by some power of \(f\). The state space is identified as the (graph) tensor product of a directed graph with a single loop (coming from the nilpotent part of \(f\)) and a disjoint union of cycles (coming from the periodic part of \(f\)). Furthermore, a general analysis of the directed paths of different lengths is developed. In the second part, the author uses these general results to present explicit formulas for the number of state spaces of endomorphisms of finite cyclic groups.