Nonexpansive homeomorphisms (Q392825)

The paper under review deals with qualitative dynamical properties of non-expansive homeomorphisms \(f:X\rightarrow X\) defined from a locally com\-pact me\-tric space \((X,d)\) to itself, that is, homeomorphisms holding \(d(f(x),f(y))\leq d(x,y)\) for all \(x,y\in X.\) Firstly, the authors concentrate their attention in the analysis of the limit set \(L(f)\) of \(f\) (the union of all \(\omega\)- and \(\alpha\)-limit sets of \(f\)). They obtain topological properties of \(L(f)\), by distinguishing the cases \(L(f)=\emptyset\) and \(L(f)\neq \emptyset\). For instance, in this last case the closed set \(L(f)\) coincides both with the set of recurrent points and the set of uniformly recurrent points of \(f\), the restriction of \(f\) to \(L(f)\) is an isometry, and the set \(\mathcal{A}(f)=\{x\in X: L^{+}(x)\neq\emptyset\}\) is an open set (here, \(L^{+}(x)\) denotes the \(\omega\)-limit of \(x\)) and the map \(\pi:\mathcal{A}(f)\rightarrow L(f),\) sending each \(x\in\mathcal{A}(f)\) into the (unique) corresponding point \(y\in L(f)\) holding \(\lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}d(f^n(x),f^n(y))=0,\) is continuous and non-expansive. Secondly, the authors analyze non-expansive homeomorphisms \(f\) of the Euclidean space \((\mathbb R^n,\|\cdot\|),\) and particularly their relationship with convex subsets of this space. Among others, they prove that when \(f\) is defined from a closed convex subset \(E\subseteq \mathbb R^n\) onto itself and has bounded positive orbits, then \(L(f)\) is the convex subset of \(E\) consisting of the union of all bounded orbits of \(f\); the authors establish that if \(C\) is a nonempty subset of \(\mathbb R^n\) and \(m\) a homeomorphism of \(C\) into itself, then there exists a non-expansive homeomorphism \(f\) of \(\mathbb R^n\) onto itself for which \(L(f)=C\) and \(f|_{C}=m\) if and only if \(C\) is closed and convex and \(m\) is an isometry admitting a bounded orbit. Finally, the authors study non-expansive homeomorphisms \(f\) of connected compact Riemann manifolds. Their main result of this section establishes that \(f\) is a near periodic isometry, that is, an isometry which can be approximated by periodic homeomorphisms.