Let β∈(1,2) be a Pisot number and let Hβ denote Garsia’s entropy for the Bernoulli convolution associated with β. Garsia, in 1963, showed that Hβ<1 for any Pisot β. For the Pisot numbers which satisfy xm=xm−1+xm−2+⋯+x+1 (with m≥2), Garsia’s entropy has been evaluated with high precision by Alexander and Zagier for m=2 and later by Grabner, Kirschenhofer and Tichy for m≥3, and it proves to be close to 1. No other numerical values for Hβ are known. In the present paper we show that Hβ>0.81 for all Pisot β, and improve this lower bound for certain ranges of β. Our method is computational in nature.

Let $l$ be an oriented link of $d$ components in a homology $3$-sphere. For any nonnegative integer $q$, let $l(q)$ be the link of $d-1$ components obtained from $l$ by performing $1/q$ surgery on its $d$th component $l_d$. The Mahler measure of the multivariable Alexander polynomial $\Delta_{l(q)}$ converges to the Mahler measure of $\Delta_l$ as $q$ goes to infinity, provided that $l_d$ has nonzero linking number with some other component. If $l_d$ has zero linking number with each of the other components, then the Mahler measure of $\Delta_{l(q)}$ has a well defined but different limiting behavior. Examples are given of links $l$ such that the Mahler measure of $\Delta_l$ is small. Possible connections with hyperbolic volume are discussed.