Symbolic dynamics of order-preserving orbits (Q579447)

The maps we consider are roughly those that can be obtained by truncating non-invertible maps to weakly monotonic maps (they have a flat piece). The binary sequences that correspond to order-preserving orbits are shown to satisfy a minimax principle (which was already known for order- preserving orbits with rational rotation number). The convergence is also proven: all minimax orbits are order-preserving with respect to some rotation number. For certain families of such circle maps one can find exactly the parameter values for which the map has a specified rotation number rho. For rho rational we obtain the endpoints of the resonance intervals recursively. These parameter values can be organized in a natural way as the nodes of a Farey tree. We give some applications of the ideas discussed.