In this paper, we consider random iterations of polynomial maps $z^{2} + c_{n}$, where $c_{n}$ are complex-valued independent random variables following the uniform distribution on the closed disk with center c and radius r. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we study the (dis)connectedness of random Julia sets. Here, we reveal the relationships between the bifurcation radius and connectedness of random Julia sets. Second, we investigate the bifurcation of our random iterations and give quantitative estimates of bifurcation parameters. In particular, we prove that for the central parameter $c = -1$, almost every random Julia set is totally disconnected with much smaller radial parameters r than expected. We also introduce several open questions worth discussing.

We find sufficient conditions for bounded density shifts to have a unique measure of maximal entropy. We also prove that every measure of maximal entropy of a bounded density shift is fully supported. As a consequence of this, we obtain that bounded density shifts are surjunctive.

Let $ G $ be a connected semisimple real algebraic group and $\Gamma <G$ be a Zariski dense discrete subgroup. Let N denote a maximal horospherical subgroup of G, and $P=MAN$ the minimal parabolic subgroup which is the normalizer of N. Let $\mathcal E$ denote the unique P-minimal subset of $\Gamma \backslash G$ and let $\mathcal E_0$ be a $P^\circ $-minimal subset. We consider a notion of a horospherical limit point in the Furstenberg boundary $ G/P $ and show that the following are equivalent for any $[g]\in \mathcal E_0$:

1. (1) $gP\in G/P$ is a horospherical limit point;

2. (2) $[g]NM$ is dense in $\mathcal E$;

3. (3) $[g]N$ is dense in $\mathcal E_0$.

The equivalence of items (1) and (2) is due to Dal’bo in the rank one case. We also show that unlike convex cocompact groups of rank one Lie groups, the $NM$-minimality of $\mathcal E$ does not hold in a general Anosov homogeneous space.

Let $K\subset {\mathbb {R}}^d$ be a self-similar set generated by an iterated function system $\{\varphi _i\}_{i=1}^m$ satisfying the strong separation condition and let f be a contracting similitude with $f(K)\subseteq K$. We show that $f(K)$ is relatively open in K if all $\varphi _i$ share a common contraction ratio and orthogonal part. We also provide a counterexample when the orthogonal parts are allowed to vary. This partially answers a question of Elekes, Keleti and Máthé [Ergod. Th. & Dynam. Sys. 30 (2010), 399–440]. As a byproduct of our argument, when $d=1$ and K admits two homogeneous generating iterated function systems satisfying the strong separation condition but with contraction ratios of opposite signs, we show that K is symmetric. This partially answers a question of Feng and Wang [Adv. Math. 222 (2009), 1964–1981].

Let $(X,T)$ and $(Y,S)$ be two topological dynamical systems, where $(X,T)$ has the weak specification property. Let $\xi $ be an invariant measure on the product system $(X\times Y, T\times S)$ with marginals $\mu $ on X and $\nu $ on Y, with $\mu $ ergodic. Let $y\in Y$ be quasi-generic for $\nu $. Then there exists a point $x\in X$ generic for $\mu $ such that the pair $(x,y)$ is quasi-generic for $\xi $. This is a generalization of a similar theorem by T. Kamae, in which $(X,T)$ and $(Y,S)$ are full shifts on finite alphabets.

Every Thurston map $f\colon S^2\rightarrow S^2$ on a $2$-sphere $S^2$ induces a pull-back operation on Jordan curves $\alpha \subset S^2\smallsetminus {P_f}$, where ${P_f}$ is the postcritical set of f. Here the isotopy class $[f^{-1}(\alpha )]$ (relative to ${P_f}$) only depends on the isotopy class $[\alpha ]$. We study this operation for Thurston maps with four postcritical points. In this case, a Thurston obstruction for the map f can be seen as a fixed point of the pull-back operation. We show that if a Thurston map f with a hyperbolic orbifold and four postcritical points has a Thurston obstruction, then one can ‘blow up’ suitable arcs in the underlying $2$-sphere and construct a new Thurston map $\widehat f$ for which this obstruction is eliminated. We prove that no other obstruction arises and so $\widehat f$ is realized by a rational map. In particular, this allows for the combinatorial construction of a large class of rational Thurston maps with four postcritical points. We also study the dynamics of the pull-back operation under iteration. We exhibit a subclass of our rational Thurston maps with four postcritical points for which we can give positive answer to the global curve attractor problem.

For a post-critically finite branched covering of the sphere that is a subdivision map of a finite subdivision rule, we define non-expanding spines which determine the existence of a Levy cycle in a non-exhaustive semi-decidable algorithm. Especially when a finite subdivision rule has polynomial growth of edge subdivisions, the algorithm terminates very quickly, and the existence of a Levy cycle is equivalent to the existence of a Thurston obstruction. To show the equivalence between Levy and Thurston obstructions, we generalize the arcs intersecting obstruction theorem by Pilgrim and Tan [Combining rational maps and controlling obstructions. Ergod. Th. & Dynam. Sys. 18(1) (1998), 221–245] to a graph intersecting obstruction theorem. As a corollary, we prove that for a pair of post-critically finite polynomials, if at least one polynomial has core entropy zero, then their mating has a Levy cycle if and only if the mating has a Thurston obstruction.

We study bracket words, which are a far-reaching generalization of Sturmian words, along Hardy field sequences, which are a far-reaching generalization of Piatetski-Shapiro sequences $\lfloor n^c \rfloor $. We show that sequences thus obtained are deterministic (that is, they have subexponential subword complexity) and satisfy Sarnak’s conjecture.

We prove that crossed products of fiberwise essentially minimal zero-dimensional dynamical systems, a class that includes systems in which all orbit closures are minimal, have isomorphic K-theory if and only if the dynamical systems are strong orbit equivalent. Under the additional assumption that the dynamical systems have no periodic points, this gives a classification theorem including isomorphism of the associated crossed product $C^*$-algebras as well. We additionally explore the K-theory of such crossed products and the Bratteli diagrams associated to the dynamical systems.

We consider orthogonally invariant probability measures on $\operatorname {\mathrm {GL}}_n(\mathbb {R})$ and compare the mean of the logs of the moduli of eigenvalues of the matrices with the Lyapunov exponents of random matrix products independently drawn with respect to the measure. We give a lower bound for the former in terms of the latter. The results are motivated by Dedieu and Shub [On random and mean exponents for unitarily invariant probability measures on $\operatorname {\mathrm {GL}}_n(\mathbb {C})$. Astérisque 287 (2003), xvii, 1–18]. A novel feature of our treatment is the use of the theory of spherical polynomials in the proof of our main result.

We introduce a new method of constructing Birkhoff sections for pseudo-Anosov flows, which uses the connection between pseudo-Anosov flows and veering triangulations. This method allows for explicit constructions, as well as control over the Birkhoff section in terms of its Euler characteristic and the complexity of the boundary orbits. In particular, we show that any transitive pseudo-Anosov flow has a Birkhoff section with two boundary components.

To any k-dimensional subspace of $\mathbb {Q}^n$ one can naturally associate a point in the Grassmannian $\mathrm {Gr}_{n,k}(\mathbb {R})$ and two shapes of lattices of rank k and $n-k$, respectively. These lattices originate by intersecting the k-dimensional subspace and its orthogonal with the lattice $\mathbb {Z}^n$. Using unipotent dynamics, we prove simultaneous equidistribution of all of these objects under congruence conditions when $(k,n) \neq (2,4)$.

In this paper, we first give a necessary and sufficient condition for a factor code with an unambiguous symbol to admit a subshift of finite type restricted to which it is one-to-one and onto. We then give a necessary and sufficient condition for the standard factor code on a spoke graph to admit a subshift of finite type restricted to which it is finite-to-one and onto. We also conjecture that for such a code, the finite-to-one and onto property is equivalent to the existence of a stationary Markov chain that achieves the capacity of the corresponding deterministic channel.

Katok’s special representation theorem states that any free ergodic measure- preserving $\mathbb {R}^{d}$-flow can be realized as a special flow over a $\mathbb {Z}^{d}$-action. It provides a multidimensional generalization of the ‘flow under a function’ construction. We prove the analog of Katok’s theorem in the framework of Borel dynamics and show that, likewise, all free Borel $\mathbb {R}^{d}$-flows emerge from $\mathbb {Z}^{d}$-actions through the special flow construction using bi-Lipschitz cocycles.

We show that there is a distortion element in a finitely generated subgroup G of the automorphism group of the full shift, namely an element of infinite order whose word norm grows polylogarithmically. As a corollary, we obtain a lower bound on the entropy dimension of any subshift containing a copy of G, and that a sofic shift’s automorphism group contains a distortion element if and only if the sofic shift is uncountable. We obtain also that groups of Turing machines and the higher-dimensional Brin–Thompson groups $mV$ admit distortion elements; in particular, $2V$ (unlike V) does not admit a proper action on a CAT$(0)$ cube complex. In each case, the distortion element roughly corresponds to the SMART machine of Cassaigne, Ollinger, and Torres-Avilés [A small minimal aperiodic reversible Turing machine. J. Comput. System Sci. 84 (2017), 288–301].

In this paper, we study centrally symmetric Birkhoff billiard tables. We introduce a closed invariant set $\mathcal {M}_{\mathcal {B}}$ consisting of locally maximizing orbits of the billiard map lying inside the region $\mathcal {B}$ bounded by two invariant curves of $4$-periodic orbits. We give an effective bound from above on the measure of this invariant set in terms of the isoperimetric defect of the curve. The equality case occurs if and only if the curve is a circle.

The construction of a spectral cocycle from the case of one-dimensional substitution flows [A. I. Bufetov and B. Solomyak. A spectral cocycle for substitution systems and translation flows. J. Anal. Math. 141(1) (2020), 165–205] is extended to the setting of pseudo-self-similar tilings in ${\mathbb R}^d$, allowing expanding similarities with rotations. The pointwise upper Lyapunov exponent of this cocycle is used to bound the local dimension of spectral measures of deformed tilings. The deformations are considered, following the work of Treviño [Quantitative weak mixing for random substitution tilings. Israel J. Math., to appear], in the simpler, non-random setting. We review some of the results of Treviño in this special case and illustrate them on concrete examples.

We prove that any strongly mixing action of a countable abelian group on a probability space has higher-order mixing properties. This is achieved via the utilization of $\mathcal R$-limits, a notion of convergence which is based on the classical Ramsey theorem. $\mathcal R$-limits are intrinsically connected with a new combinatorial notion of largeness which is similar to but has stronger properties than the classical notions of uniform density one and IP$^*$. While the main goal of this paper is to establish a universal property of strongly mixing actions of countable abelian groups, our results, when applied to ${\mathbb {Z}}$-actions, offer a new way of dealing with strongly mixing transformations. In particular, we obtain several new characterizations of strong mixing for ${\mathbb {Z}}$-actions, including a result which can be viewed as the analogue of the weak mixing of all orders property established by Furstenberg in the course of his proof of Szemerédi’s theorem. We also demonstrate the versatility of $\mathcal R$-limits by obtaining new characterizations of higher-order weak and mild mixing for actions of countable abelian groups.

We say that $S\subseteq \mathbb Z$ is a set of k-recurrence if for every measure-preserving transformation T of a probability measure space $(X,\mu )$ and every $A\subseteq X$ with $\mu (A)>0$, there is an $n\in S$ such that $\mu (A\cap T^{-n} A\cap T^{-2n}\cap \cdots \cap T^{-kn}A)>0$. A set of $1$-recurrence is called a set of measurable recurrence. Answering a question of Frantzikinakis, Lesigne, and Wierdl [Sets of k-recurrence but not (k+1)-recurrence. Ann. Inst. Fourier (Grenoble) 56(4) (2006), 839–849], we construct a set of $2$-recurrence S with the property that $\{n^2:n\in S\}$ is not a set of measurable recurrence.

We investigate tameness of Toeplitz shifts. By introducing the notion of extended Bratteli–Vershik diagrams, we show that such shifts with finite Toeplitz rank are tame if and only if there are at most countably many orbits of singular fibres over the maximal equicontinuous factor. The ideas are illustrated using the class of substitution shifts. A body of elaborate examples shows that the assumptions of our results cannot be relaxed.