Aubry set for asymptotically sub-additive potentials (Q2797925)

Ergodic optimization is concerned with the maximum value of the integral \(\int f\text{d}\mu\) for a given continuous potential \(f:X\to\mathbb{R}\) as \(\mu\) varies among all the \(T\)-invariant probability measures on a topological dynamical system \((X,T)\), and with the measure or measures that attain this maximum. One approach to the latter problem is to find a maximizing set for the potential \(f\), that is a closed set \(K(f)\) with the property that a measure is maximizing in this sense if and only if its support lies in \(K(f)\). If the underlying topological dynamical system is topologically transitive and hyperbolic, then a natural candidate is the so-called Aubry set, which roughly comprises the non-wandering points with maximal ergodic sums for \(f\). Here the notion of Aubry set and some of the associated properties are developed for families of asymptotically sub-additive potentials, and to explore the extent to which this set is a suitable maximizing set in this setting. Sub-additive sequences arise naturally in hyperbolic dynamics, dimension theory, and spectral theory.