161 research outputs found
Repetitive Delone Sets and Quasicrystals
This paper considers the problem of characterizing the simplest discrete
point sets that are aperiodic, using invariants based on topological dynamics.
A Delone set whose patch-counting function N(T), for radius T, is finite for
all T is called repetitive if there is a function M(T) such that every ball of
radius M(T)+T contains a copy of each kind of patch of radius T that occurs in
the set. This is equivalent to the minimality of an associated topological
dynamical system with R^n-action. There is a lower bound for M(T) in terms of
N(T), namely N(T) = O(M(T)^n), but no general upper bound.
The complexity of a repetitive Delone set can be measured by the growth rate
of its repetitivity function M(T). For example, M(T) is bounded if and only if
the set is a crystal. A set is called is linearly repetitive if M(T) = O(T) and
densely repetitive if M(T) = O(N(T))^{1/n}). We show that linearly repetitive
sets and densely repetitive sets have strict uniform patch frequencies, i.e.
the associated topological dynamical system is strictly ergodic. It follows
that such sets are diffractive. In the reverse direction, we construct a
repetitive Delone set in R^n which has
M(T) = O(T(log T)^{2/n}(log log log T)^{4/n}), but does not have uniform
patch frequencies. Aperiodic linearly repetitive sets have many claims to be
the simplest class of aperiodic sets, and we propose considering them as a
notion of "perfectly ordered quasicrystal".Comment: To appear in "Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems" vol.23 (2003). 37
pages. Uses packages latexsym, ifthen, cite and files amssym.def, amssym.te
Quasicrystals, model sets, and automatic sequences
We survey mathematical properties of quasicrystals, first from the point of
view of harmonic analysis, then from the point of view of morphic and automatic
sequences.
Nous proposons un tour d'horizon de propri\'et\'es math\'ematiques des
quasicristaux, d'abord du point de vue de l'analyse harmonique, ensuite du
point de vue des suites morphiques et automatiques
Meyer sets, topological eigenvalues, and Cantor fiber bundles
We introduce two new characterizations of Meyer sets. A repetitive Delone set
in with finite local complexity is topologically conjugate to a Meyer
set if and only if it has linearly independent topological eigenvalues,
which is if and only if it is topologically conjugate to a bundle over a
-torus with totally disconnected compact fiber and expansive canonical
action. "Conjugate to" is a non-trivial condition, as we show that there exist
sets that are topologically conjugate to Meyer sets but are not themselves
Meyer. We also exhibit a diffractive set that is not Meyer, answering in the
negative a question posed by Lagarias, and exhibit a Meyer set for which the
measurable and topological eigenvalues are different.Comment: minor errors corrected, references added. To appear in the Journal of
the LM
Local Complexity of Delone Sets and Crystallinity
This paper characterizes when a Delone set X is an ideal crystal in terms of
restrictions on the number of its local patches of a given size or on the
hetereogeneity of their distribution. Let N(T) count the number of
translation-inequivalent patches of radius T in X and let M(T) be the minimum
radius such that every closed ball of radius M(T) contains the center of a
patch of every one of these kinds. We show that for each of these functions
there is a `gap in the spectrum' of possible growth rates between being bounded
and having linear growth, and that having linear growth is equivalent to X
being an ideal crystal. Explicitly, for N(T), if R is the covering radius of X
then either N(T) is bounded or N(T) >= T/2R for all T>0. The constant 1/2R in
this bound is best possible in all dimensions. For M(T), either M(T) is bounded
or M(T) >= T/3 for all T>0. Examples show that the constant 1/3 in this bound
cannot be replaced by any number exceeding 1/2. We also show that every
aperiodic Delone set X has M(T) >= c(n)T for all T>0, for a certain constant
c(n) which depends on the dimension n of X and is greater than 1/3 when n > 1.Comment: 26 pages. Uses latexsym and amsfonts package
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