Polynomial orbits in totally minimal systems (Q6049878)

The results here are motivated by the following type of question. If \(T\colon X\to X\) is a homeomorphism of a compact metric space that is totally minimal (that is, any iterate \(T^k\) with \(k>0\) is itself minimal) and \(p\) is a non-constant integer polynomial, is the existence of a point \(x\in X\) with \(\{T^{p(n)}\mid n\in\mathbb{Z}\}\) dense guaranteed? This is a topological analogue of measure-theoretic results due to \textit{H. Furstenberg} [Recurrence in ergodic theory and combinatorial number theory. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ (1981; Zbl 0459.28023)] and later authors, but is not a consequence of those results because minimal systems may not admit totally ergodic invariant measures. The main result here is that for any independent (that is, non-trivial integer combinations are non-constant) collection \(\{p_1,\dots , p_d\}\) and totally minimal system \((X,T)\) there is a dense \(G_{\delta}\) set of points \(x\in X\) with \(\{(T^{p_1(n)}x,\dots,T^{p_d(x)}x)\mid n\in\mathbb{Z}\}\) dense in \(X^d\). The argument involves showing that the maximal \(\infty\)-step pro-nilfactor of the system is the appropriate topological characteristic factor in the right sense for this problem.