Metric results for numbers with multiple \(q\)-expansions (Q6080839)

The authors study the Hausdorff dimension of the set of real numbers \(U_q^j\) having a prescribed number \(j \in \{1,2,\dots\} \cup \{\aleph_0\}\) of different expansions in a real base \(q > 1\) with digits \(0,1,\dots,M\). The set of unique expansions \(U_q^1\) is well studied, its Hausdorff dimension is \(0\) for \(q\) less than the Komornik-Loreti constant, it is the full set for \(q > M+1\), and the Hausdorff dimension is continuous in between. The sets \(U_q^j\) are much more difficult to study, but it is known that \(\dim_H U_q^j \le \dim_H U_q^1\) for all \(q\) and \(j\). The main results of the paper state that, for each \(j \in \{2,3,\dots\}\), \(\dim_H U_q^j \le \max\{0, 2 \dim_H U_q^1 - 1\}\) for almost all \(q\), with \(U_q^j = \emptyset\) for almost all \(q\) such that \(\dim_H U_q^1 < 1/2\). Since we know from \textit{N. Sidorov} [J. Number Theory 129, No. 4, 741--754 (2009; Zbl 1230.11090)] and \textit{Y. Zou} et al. [J. Number Theory 233, 198--227 (2022; Zbl 1484.11023)] that there are infinitely many \(q\) such that \(\dim_H U_q^j = \dim_H U_q^1\) for all \(j \in \{2,3,\dots\}\), with the Tribonacci number as an example for \(M = 1\), the function mapping \(q\) to \(\dim_H U_q^j\) is not continuous.