This paper introduces iterated monodromy groups for transcendental functions and discusses them in the simplest setting, for post-singularly finite exponential functions. These groups are self-similar groups in a natural way, based on an explicit construction in terms of kneading sequences. We investigate the group theoretic properties of these groups, and show in particular that they are amenable, but they are not elementary subexponentially amenable.
This paper discusses iterated monodromy groups for transcendental functions. We show that for every post-singularly finite entire transcendental function, the iterated monodromy action can be described by bounded activity automata of a special form, called "dendroid automata". In particular, we conclude that the iterated monodromy group of a post-singularly finite entire function is amenable if and only if the monodromy group is.
Nekrashevych conjectured that the iterated monodromy groups of quadratic polynomials with preperiodic critical orbit have intermediate growth. We illustrate some of the difficulties that arise in attacking this conjecture and prove subexponential growth for the iterated monodromy group of $z^2+i$. This is the first non-trivial example supporting the conjecture.
We describe the iterated monodromy groups associated with post-critically finite quadratic polynomials, and explicit their connection to the `kneading sequence' of the polynomial. We then give recursive presentations by generators and relations for these groups, and study some of their properties, like torsion and `branchness'.
We associate a group $IMG(f)$ to every covering $f$ of a topological space $M$ by its open subset. It is the quotient of the fundamental group $π_1(M)$ by the intersection of the kernels of its monodromy action for the iterates $f^n$. Every iterated monodromy group comes together with a naturally defined action on a rooted tree. We present an effective method to compute this action and show how the dynamics of $f$ is related to the group. In particular, the Julia set of $f$ can be reconstructed from $\img(f)$ (from its action on the tree), if $f$ is expanding.
The theory of iterated monodromy groups was developed by Nekrashevych. It is a wonderful example of application of group theory in dynamical systems and, in particular, in holomorphic dynamics. Iterated monodromy groups encode in a computationally efficient way combinatorial information about any dynamical system induced by a post-critically finite branched covering. Their power was illustrated by a solution of the Hubbard Twisted Rabbit Problem given by Bartholdi and Nekrashevych. These notes attempt to introduce this theory for those who are familiar with holomorphic dynamics but not with gr…
Iterated monodromy groups of postcritically-finite rational maps form a rich class of self-similar groups with interesting properties. There are examples of such groups that have intermediate growth, as well as examples that have exponential growth. These groups arise from polynomials. We show exponential growth of the $\operatorname{IMG}$ of several non-polynomial maps. These include rational maps whose Julia set is the whole sphere, rational maps with Sierpiński carpet Julia set, and obstructed Thurston maps. Furthermore, we construct the first example of a non-renormalizable polynomial with…
Corrigendum and addendum to "Fixed-point-free elements of iterated monodromy groups" [Trans. of the American Mathematical Society Vol. 367, No. 3 (2015), 2023-2049]
The iterated monodromy group of a post-critically finite complex polynomial of degree d \geq 2 acts naturally on the complete d-ary rooted tree T of preimages of a generic point. This group, as well as its pro-finite completion, act on the boundary of T, which is given by extending the branches to their "ends" at infinity. We show that for nearly all polynomials, elements that have fixed points on the boundary are rare, in that they belong to a set of Haar measure zero. The exceptions are those polynomials linearly conjugate to multiples of Chebyshev polynomials and a case that remains unresol…
We define iterated monodromy groups of more general structures than partial self-covering. This generalization makes it possible to define a natural notion of a combinatorial model of an expanding dynamical system. We prove that a naturally defined "Julia set" of the generalized dynamical systems depends only on the associated iterated monodromy group. We show then that the Julia set of every expanding dynamical system is an inverse limit of simplicial complexes constructed by inductive cut-and-paste rules.
Motivated by a problem in complex dynamics, we examine the block structure of the natural action of monodromy groups on the tree of preimages of a generic point. We show that in many cases, including when the polynomial has prime power degree, there are no large blocks other than those arising naturally from the tree structure. However, using a method of construction based on real graphs of polynomials, we exhibit a non-trivial example of a degree 6 polynomial failing to have this property. This example settles a problem raised in a recent paper of the second author regarding constant weighted…
Let $q$ be a prime power and $ϕ$ a rational function with coefficients in a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$. For $n \geq 1$, each element of $\mathbb{P}^1(\F_{q^n})$ is either periodic or strictly preperiodic under iteration of $ϕ$. Denote by $a_n$ the proportion of periodic elements. Little is known about how $a_n$ changes as $n$ grows, unless $ϕ$ is a power map or Chebyshev polynomial. We give the first results on this question for a wider class of rational functions: $a_n$ has lim inf $0$ when $q$ is odd and $ϕ$ is quadratic and neither Lattès nor conjugate to a one-parameter family of exceptio…
Let K be a number field, t a parameter, F=K(t) and f in K[x] a polynomial of degree d. The polynomial P_n(x,t)= f^n(x) - t in F[x] where f^n is the n-fold iterate of f, is absolutely irreducible over F; we compute a recursion for its discriminant. Let L=L(f) be the field obtained by adjoining to F all roots, in a fixed algebraic closure, of P_n for all n; its Galois group Gal(L/F) is the iterated monodromy group of f. The iterated extension L/F is finitely ramified if and only if f is post-critically finite (pcf). We show that, moreover, for pcf polynomials f, every specialization of L/F at t=…
Until recently, it was an important open problem in Fractal Geometry to determine whether there exists an iterated function system acting on $\mathbb{R}$ with no exact overlaps for which cylinders are super-exponentially close at all small scales. Iterated function systems satisfying these properties were shown to exist by the author and by Bárány and Käenmäki. In this paper we prove a general theorem on the existence of such iterated function systems within a parameterised family. This theorem shows that if a parameterised family contains two independent subfamilies, and the set of parameters…
Several important conjectures in Fractal Geometry can be summarised as follows: If the dimension of a self-similar measure in $\mathbb{R}$ does not equal its expected value, then the underlying iterated function system contains an exact overlap. In recent years significant progress has been made towards these conjectures. Hochman proved that if the Hausdorff dimension of a self-similar measure in $\mathbb{R}$ does not equal its expected value, then there are cylinders which are super-exponentially close at all small scales. Several years later, Shmerkin proved an analogous statement for the $L…
This paper investigates the dimension theory of some families of continuous piecewise linear iterated function systems. For one family, we show that the Hausdorff dimension of the attractor is equal to the exponential growth rate obtained from the most natural covering system. We also prove that for Lebesgue typical parameters, the 1-dimensional Lebesgue measure of the underlying attractor is positive, if this number is bigger than 1 and all the contraction ratios are positive.
We deal with the problem of asymptotic distribution of first return times to shrinking balls under iteration generated by a large general class of dynamical systems called weakly Markov. Our ultimate main result is that these distributions converge to the exponential law when the balls shrink to points. We apply this result to many classes of smooth dynamical systems that include conformal iterated function systems, rational functions on the Riemann sphere $\widehat{\mathbb C}$, and transcendental meromorphic functions on the complex plane $\mathbb{C}$. We also apply them to expanding repeller…
Empirically defining some constant probabilistic orbits of f(x) and g(x) iterated high-order functions, the stability of these functions in possible entangled interaction dynamics of the environment through its orbit's connectivity (open sets) provides the formation of an exponential dynamic fixed point b = S(n+1) as a metric space (topological property) between both iterated functions for short time lengths. However, the presence of a dynamic fixed point f(g(x)) (x+1) can identify a convergence at iterations for larger time lengths of b (asymptotic stability in Lyapunov sense). Qualitative (Q…
