A polynomial with integer coefficients yields a family of dynamical systems indexed by primes as follows: for any prime $p$, reduce its coefficients mod $p$ and consider its action on the field $\mathbb{F}_p$. The questions of whether and in what sense these families are random have been studied extensively, spurred in part by Pollard's famous "rho" algorithm for integer factorization (the heuristic justification of which is the randomness of one such family). However, the cycle structure of these families cannot be random, since in any such family, the number of cycles of a fixed length in any dynamical system in the family is bounded. In this paper, we show that the cycle statistics of many of these families are as random as possible. As a corollary, we show that most members of these families have many cycles, addressing a conjecture of Mans et. al.
We classify all post-critically finite unicritical polynomials defined over the maximal totally real algebraic extension of ${\mathbb Q}$. Two auxiliary results used in the proof of this result may be of some independent interest. The first is a recursion formula for the $n$-diameter of an interval, which uses properties of Jacobi polynomials. The second is a numerical criterion which allows one to the give a bound on the degree of any algebraic integer having all of its complex embeddings in a real interval of length less than $4$.
Let $k$ be a number field with algebraic closure $\bar{k}$, and let $S$ be a finite set of places of $k$ containing all the archimedean ones. Fix $d\geq 2$ and $α\in \bar{k}$ such that the map $z\mapsto z^d+α$ is not postcritically finite. Assuming a technical hypothesis on $α$, we prove that there are only finitely many parameters $c\in\bar{k}$ for which $z\mapsto z^d+c$ is postcritically finite and for which $c$ is $S$-integral relative to $(α)$. That is, in the moduli space of unicritical polynomials of degree d, there are only finitely many PCF $\bar{k}$-rational points that are $((α),S)$-…
In an analogy with the Galois homothety property for torsion points of abelian varieties that was used in the proof of the Mordell-Lang conjecture, we describe a correspondence between the action of a Galois group and the dynamical action of a rational map. For nonlinear polynomials with rational coefficients, the irreducibility of the associated dynatomic polynomial serves as a convenient criterion, although we also verify that the correspondence occurs in several cases when the dynatomic polynomial is reducible. The work of Morton, Morton-Patel, and Vivaldi-Hatjispyros in the early 1990s con…
In this article, we prove that every unicritical polynomial map that has only rational multipliers is either a power map or a Chebyshev map. This provides some evidence in support of a conjecture by Milnor concerning rational maps whose multipliers are all integers.
Let $K$ be an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero, and let $\mathcal{K} := K(t)$ be the rational function field over $K$. For each $d \ge 2$, we consider the unicritical polynomial $f_d(z) := z^d + t \in \mathcal{K}[z]$, and we ask the following question: If we fix $α\in \mathcal{K}$ and integers $M \ge 0$, $N \ge 1$, and $d \ge 2$, does there exist a place $\mathfrak{p} \in \operatorname{Spec} K[t]$ such that, modulo $\mathfrak{p}$, the point $α$ enters into an $N$-cycle after precisely $M$ steps under iteration by $f_d$? We answer this question completely, concluding that the a…
We prove combinatorial rigidity of infinitely renormalizable unicritical polynomials, P_c :z \mapsto z^d+c, with complex c, under the a priori bounds and a certain "combinatorial condition". This implies the local connectivity of the connectedness loci (the Mandelbrot set when d = 2) at the corresponding parameters.
We prove that any unicritical polynomial $f_c:z\mapsto z^d+c$ which is at most finitely renormalizable and has only repelling periodic points is combinatorially rigid. It implies that the connectedness locus (the ``Multibrot set'') is locally connected at the corresponding parameter values. It generalizes Yoccoz's Theorem for quadratics to the higher degree case.
In this paper, we show that for a unicritical polynomial having a priori bounds, the unique conformal measure of minimal exponent has no atom at the critical point. For a conformal measure of higher exponent, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the critical point to be an atom, in terms of the growth rate of the derivatives at the critical value.
Let $K$ be an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero, and for $c \in K$ and an integer $d \ge 2$, define $f_{d,c}(z) := z^d + c \in K[z]$. We consider the following question: If we fix $x \in K$ and integers $M \ge 0$, $N \ge 1$, and $d \ge 2$, does there exist $c \in K$ such that, under iteration by $f_{d,c}$, the point $x$ enters into an $N$-cycle after precisely $M$ steps? We conclude that the answer is generally affirmative, and we explicitly give all counterexamples. When $d = 2$, this answers a question posed by Ghioca, Nguyen, and Tucker.
We prove that the Julia set $J(f)$ of at most finitely renormalizable unicritical polynomial $f:z\mapsto z^d+c$ with all periodic points repelling is locally connected. (For $d=2$ it was proved by Yoccoz around 1990.) It follows from a priori bounds in a modified Principle Nest of puzzle pieces. The proof of a priori bounds makes use of new analytic tools developed in math.DS/0505191 that give control of moduli of annuli under maps of high degree.
We address the Uniform Boundedness Conjecture of Morton and Silverman in the case of unicritical polynomials, assuming a generalization of the $abc$-conjecture. For unicritical polynomials of degree at least five, we require only the standard $abc$-conjecture.
Inou and Shishikura provided a class of maps that is invariant by near-parabolic renormalization, and that has proved extremely useful in the study of the dynamics of quadratic polynomials. We provide here another construction, using more general arguments. This will allow to extend the range of applications to unicritical polynomials of all degrees.
In this article, for degree $d\geq 1$, we construct an embedding $Φ_d $ of the connectedness locus $\mathcal{M}_{d+1}$ of the polynomials $z^{d+1}+c$ into the connectedness locus of degree $2d+1$ bicritical odd polynomials.
We establish the equidistribution with respect to the bifurcation measure of post-critically finite maps in any one-dimensional algebraic family of unicritical polynomials. Using this equidistribution result, together with a combinatorial analysis of certain algebraic correspondences on the complement of the Mandelbrot set $M_2$ (or generalized Mandelbrot set $M_d$ for degree $d>2$), we classify all complex plane curves $C$ with Zariski-dense subsets of points $(a,b)\in C$, such that both $z^d+a$ and $z^d+b$ are simultaneously post-critically finite for a fixed degree $d\geq 2$. Our result is …
Orbit portraits were introduced by Milnor as a combinatorial tool to describe the patterns of all periodic dynamical rays landing on a periodic cycle of a quadratic polynomial. This encodes information about the dynamics and the parameter spaces of these maps. We carry out a similar analysis for unicritical anti-polynomials and give an explicit description of the orbit portraits that can occur for such maps in terms of their characteristic angles, which turns out to be rather restricted when compared with the holomorphic case. Finally, we prove a realization theorem for these combinatorial obj…
Let $K$ be the function field of a smooth, irreducible curve defined over $\overline{\mathbb{Q}}$. Let $f\in K[x]$ be of the form $f(x)=x^q+c$ where $q = p^{r}, r \ge 1,$ is a power of the prime number $p$, and let $β\in \overline{K}$. For all $n\in\mathbb{N}\cup\{\infty\}$, the Galois groups $G_n(β)=\mathop{\rm{Gal}}(K(f^{-n}(β))/K(β))$ embed into $[C_q]^n$, the $n$-fold wreath product of the cyclic group $C_q$. We show that if $f$ is not isotrivial, then $[[C_q]^\infty:G_\infty(β)]<\infty$ unless $β$ is postcritical or periodic. We are also able to prove that if $f_1(x)=x^q+c_1$ and $f_2(x)=…
We prove that unicritical polynomials $f(z)=z^d+c$ which are semihyperbolic, i.e., for which the critical point $0$ is a non-recurrent point in the Julia set, are uniformly expanding on the Julia set with respect to the metric $ρ(z) |dz|$, where $ρ(z) = 1+\frac{1}{\textrm{dist}(z,P(f))^{1-1/d}}$, and where $P(f)$ is the postcritical set of $f$. We also show that this metric is Hölder equivalent to the usual Euclidean metric.
For rational numbers $c$, we present a trichotomy of the set of totally real (totally $p$-adic, respectively) preperiodic points for maps in the quadratic unicritical family $f_c(x)=x^2+c$. As a consequence, we classify quadratic polynomials $f_c$ with rational parameters $c\in\mathbb{Q}$ so that $f_c$ has only finitely many totally real (totally $p$-adic, respectively) preperiodic points. These results rely on an adelic Fekete-type theorem and dynamics of the filled Julia set of $f_c$. Moreover, using a numerical criterion introduced in [NP], we make explicit calculations of the set of totall…
In the space $\mathbb{C}$ of the parameters $λ$ of the unicritical polynomials family $f(λ,z)=f_λ(z)=z^d+λ$ of degree $d>1$, we establish a quantitative equidistribution result towards the bifurcation current (indeed measure) $T_f$ of $f$ as $n\to\infty$ on the averaged distributions of all parameters $λ$ such that $f_λ$ has a superattracting periodic point of period $n$ in $\mathbb{C}$, with a concrete error estimate for $C^2$-test functions on $\mathbb{P}^1$. In the proof, not only complex dynamics but also a standard argument from the Nevanlinna theory play key roles.
The goal of this article is to prove a rigidity result for unicritical polynomials with parabolic cycles. More precisely, we show that if two unicritical polynomials have conformally conjugate parabolic germs, then the polynomials are affinely conjugate.
Given a polynomial $p$, the degree of its Chebyshev's method $C_p$ is determined. If $p$ is cubic then the degree of $C_p$ is found to be $4,6$ or $7$ and we investigate the dynamics of $C_p$ in these cases. If a cubic polynomial $p$ is unicritical or non-generic then, it is proved that the Julia set of $C_p$ is connected. The family of all rational maps arising as the Chebyshev's method applied to a cubic polynomial which is non-unicritical and generic is parametrized by the multiplier of one of its extraneous fixed points. Denoting a member of this family with an extraneous fixed point with …
We extend a technique, originally due to the first author and Poonen, for proving cases of the Strong Uniform Boundedness Principle (SUBP) in algebraic dynamics over function fields of positive characteristic. The original method applied to unicritical polynomials for which the characteristic does not divide the degree. We show that many new 1-parameter families of polynomials satisfy the SUBP, including the family of all quadratic polynomials in even characteristic. We also give a new family of non-polynomial, non-Lattès rational functions that satisfies the SUBP.
We study the bifurcation loci of quadratic (and unicritical) polynomials and exponential maps. We outline a proof that the exponential bifurcation locus is connected; this is an analog to Douady and Hubbard's celebrated theorem that (the boundary of) the Mandelbrot set is connected. For these parameter spaces, a fundamental conjecture is that hyperbolic dynamics is dense. For quadratic polynomials, this would follow from the famous stronger conjecture that the bifurcation locus (or equivalently the Mandelbrot set) is locally connected. It turns out that a formally slightly weaker statement is …
We extend a theorem of Herman from the case of unicritical polynomials to the case of polynomials with two finite critical values. This theorem states that Siegel disks of such polynomials, under a diophantine condition (called Herman's condition) on the rotation number, must have a critical point on their boundaries.
The "multicorn" is the connectedness locus of unicritical antiholomorphic polynomials $z\mapsto \bar r{z}^d+c$; the special case $d=2$ was named "tricorn" by Milnor. It appears as a natural local configuration in spaces of real cubic polynomials. We prove that no multicorn for $d\ge 2$ is pathwise connected, confirming a classical prediction based on numerical observations.
Fix an integer $d\geq 2$. The parameters $c_0\in \bar{\mathbb{Q}}$ for which the unicritical polynomial $f_{d,c}(z)=z^d+c\in \mathbb{C}[z]$ has finite postcritical orbit, also known as Misiurewicz parameters, play a significant role in complex dynamics. Recent work of Buff, Epstein, and Koch proved the first known cases of a long-standing dynamical conjecture of Milnor using their arithmetic properties, about which relatively little is otherwise known. Continuing our work in a companion paper, we address further arithmetic properties of Misiurewicz parameters, especially the nature of the alge…
We study the dynamics of the unicritical polynomial family $f_{d,c}(z)=z^d+c\in \mathbb{C}[z]$. The $c$-values for which $f_{d,c}$ has a strictly preperiodic postcritical orbit are called Misiurewicz parameters, and they are the roots of Misiurewicz polynomials. The arithmetic properties of these special parameters have found applications in both arithmetic and complex dynamics. In this paper, we investigate some new such properties. In particular, when $d$ is a prime power and $c$ is a Misiurewicz parameter, we prove certain arithmetic relations between the points in the postcritical orbit of…
We give a new proof of the following conjecture of Yoccoz: the sum of the logarithm of the conformal radius of fixed Siegel disks of monic quadratic polynomials and of the Brjuno function of their rotation number is bounded from above. In a former article we obtained a first proof based on the control of parabolic explosion. Here, we present a more elementary proof based on Yoccoz's initial methods. We then extend this result to some new families of polynomials such as unicritical ones. We also show that the conjecture does not hold for some other families of polynomials.
The multicorns are the connectedness loci of unicritical antiholomorphic polynomials $\bar{z}^d + c$. We investigate the structure of boundaries of hyperbolic components: we prove that the structure of bifurcations from hyperbolic components of even period is as one would expect for maps that depend holomorphically on a complex parameter (for instance, as for the Mandelbrot set; in this setting, this is a non-obvious fact), while the bifurcation structure at hyperbolic components of odd period is very different. In particular, the boundaries of odd period hyperbolic components consist only of …
The famous MLC Conjecture states that the Mandelbrot set is locally connected, and it is considered by many to be the central conjecture in one-dimensional complex dynamics. Among others, it implies density of hyperbolicity in the quadratic family $\{z^2+c\}_{c\in\mathbb{C}}$. We describe recent advances on MLC and the relations between MLC, the Density of Hyperbolicity Conjecture, the Rigidity Conjecture, the No Invariant Line Fields Conjecture, and the Triviality of Fibers Conjecture. We treat families of unicritical polynomials and rational maps as well as the exponential family and familie…
Using $p$-adic numbers, we partially categorize the cycles of a sizable class of polynomial dynamical systems. In turn, we prove a few results related to the non-trivial cycles of the $\textit{Collatz map}$ $\text{Col} : \mathbb{Z}_+ \to \mathbb{Z}_+$ defined by $$\text{Col}(n) = \begin{cases} 3n + 1, & n \text{ is odd;} \\ n/2, & \text{otherwise.}\end{cases}$$ Proving the non-existence of non-trivial Collatz cycles would reduce the Collatz conjecture to whether the Collatz map can diverge to infinity.
In this paper, we give a positive answer to the open question: Can there exist 4 limit cycles in quadratic near-integrable polynomial systems? It is shown that when a quadratic integrable system has two centers and is perturbed by quadratic polynomials, it can generate at least 4 limit cycles with (3,1) distribution. The method of Melnikov function is used.
We apply the averaging theory of high order for computing the limit cycles of discontinuous piecewise quadratic and cubic polynomial perturbations of a linear center. These discontinuous piecewise differential systems are formed by two either quadratic, or cubic polynomial differential systems separated by a straight line. We compute the maximum number of limit cycles of these discontinuous piecewise polynomial perturbations of the linear center, which can be obtained by using the averaging theory of order $n$ for $n=1,2,3,4,5$. Of course these limit cycles bifurcate from the periodic orbits o…
In this paper, we perturb the global center of the planar polynomial vector fields $\mathcal{X}(x,y)=(-y(x^2+a^2),x(x^2+a^2))$ ($a\neq0$) inside cubic piecewise smooth polynomials with switching line $y=0$. By using average function of first order, we prove that the sharper bound of the number of limit cycles bifurcating from the period annulus is 6.
It is well known that the sum of points of the period five cycle of the quadratic polynomial $f_{c}(x)=x^{2}+c$ is generally not one-valued. In this paper we will show that the sum of cycle points of the curves of period five is at most three-valued on a new coordinate plane, and that this result is essentially the best possible. The method of our proof relies on a implementing Gröbner-bases and especially extension theory from the theory of polynomial algebra.
In this paper, we extend the slow divergence-integral from slow-fast systems, due to De Maesschalck, Dumortier and Roussarie, to smooth systems that limit onto piecewise smooth ones as $ε\rightarrow 0$. In slow-fast systems, the slow divergence-integral is an integral of the divergence along a canard cycle with respect to the slow time and it has proven very useful in obtaining good lower and upper bounds of limit cycles in planar polynomial systems. In this paper, our slow divergence-integral is based upon integration along a generalized canard cycle for a piecewise smooth two-fold bifurcatio…
We show that for any finite configuration of closed curves $Γ\subset \mathbb{R}^2$, one can construct an explicit planar polynomial vector field that realizes $Γ$, up to homeomorphism, as the set of its limit cycles with prescribed periods, multiplicities and stabilities. The only obstruction given on this data is the obvious compatibility relation between the stabilities and the parity of the multiplicities. The constructed vector fields are Darboux integrable and admit a polynomial inverse integrating factor.
In the family of degree $d$ polynomials the hypersurfaces defined by the existence of a cycle of period $n$ and multiplier $e^{iθ}$ are shown to equiditribute the bifurcation current.
In this paper, we study the bifurcate of limit cycles for Bogdanov-Takens system($\dot{x}=y$, $\dot{y}=-x+x^{2}$) under perturbations of piecewise smooth polynomials of degree $2$ and $n$ respectively. We bound the number of zeros of first order Melnikov function which controls the number of limit cycles bifurcating from the center. It is proved that the upper bounds of the number of limit cycles with switching curve $x=y^{2m}$($m$ is a positive integral) are $(39m+36)n+77m+21(m\geq 2)$ and $50n+52(m=1)$ (taking into account the multiplicity). The upper bounds number of limit cycles with switc…
In this paper, we study the number of limit cycles which bifurcate from the periodic orbits of cubic polynomial vector fields of Lotka-Volterra type having a rational first integral of degree 2, under polynomial perturbations of degree $n$. The analysis is carried out by estimating the number of zeros of the corresponding Abelian integrals. Moreover, using \emph{Chebyshev criterion}, we show that the sharp upper bound for the number of zeros of the Abelian integrals defined on each period annulus is 3 for $n=3$. The simultaneous bifurcation and distribution of limit cycles for the system with …
In this paper, we consider the bifurcation of limit cycles for generic L-V system ($\dot{x}=y+x^2-y^2\pm\frac{4}{\sqrt{3}}xy,~\dot{y}=-x+2xy$) and B-T system ($\dot{x}=y,~\dot{y}=-x+x^2$) under perturbations of piecewise smooth polynomials with degree $n$. Here the switching line is $y=0$. By using Picard-Fuchs equations, we bound the number of zeros of first order Melnikov function which controls the number of limit cycles bifurcating from the center. It is proved that the upper bounds of the number of limit cycles for generic L-V system and B-T system are respectively $36n-65~(n\geq4),~37,57…
In this article we prove in a new way that a generic polynomial vector field in $\mathbb C^2$ possesses countably many homologically independent limit cycles. The new proof needs no estimates on integrals, provides thinner exceptional set for quadratic vector fields, and provides limit cycles that stay in a bounded domain.
