On the dimension group of unimodular \(\mathcal{S}\)-adic subshifts (Q2659850)

In topological dynamics, shifts and subshifts play a central role. If \(\mathcal{A}\) is a finite set, and one endows \(\mathcal{A}^\mathbb{Z}\) with the product topology, this is a Cantor set. The shift map \(S\colon \mathcal{A}^\mathbb{Z}\to\mathcal{A}^\mathbb{Z}\) is given by \((a_n)\mapsto(a_{n-1})\). This is an example of a Cantor system \((C,S)\) where \(C\) is a Cantor space and \(S\) is a homeomorphism. A subshift is a pair \((X,S)\) where \(X\) is a closed \(S\)-invariant subset of \(\mathcal{A}^\mathbb{Z}\). It is minimal if every orbit is dense. One is interested in understanding and classifying such systems. Two systems \((C_1,S_1)\) and \((C_2,S_2)\) are conjugate if there is a homeomorphism \(T\colon C_1\to C_2\) such that \(S_2\circ T=T\circ S_1\). A weaker equivalence is given by orbit equivalence. Two systems \((C_1,S_1)\) and \((C_2,S_2)\) are orbit equivalent if there is a homeomorphism \(T\) that maps \(S_1\)-orbits to \(S_2\)-orbits. This notion has its origin in the study of the von Neumann algebra associated to the system. In [\textit{T. Giordano} et al., J. Reine Angew. Math. 469, 51--111 (1995; Zbl 0834.46053)], the authors prove that orbit equivalence class of a Cantor system is completely characterized by its dimension group and its set of infinitesimals. This dimension is a particular ordered abelian group with a positive cone and a unit. It is thus desirable to have a better understanding of these dimension groups. For the particular class of subshifts studied in this paper (namely primitive unimodular proper \(\mathcal{S}\)-adic subshifts) the authors provide a basis of this abelian group and show that it is isomorphic to some \(\mathbb{Z}^d\) in an explicit way (Theorems 4.1 and 4.5). As a corollary, they get a characterization of strong orbit equivalence using the \(d\)-simplex of letter measures (Corollary 4.7) and the existence of a matrix of determinant 1 mapping one simplex to the other one. In the fifth section, the triviality of the set of infinitesimals is characterized using the simplex of letter measures again. The penultimate section is devoted to some particular examples, like Brun, Arnoux-Rauzy or dendric subshifts. The last section contains a few open questions and directions for further works in this topic.