Equilibrium states for non-uniformly expanding maps: decay of correlations and strong stability

We study the rate of decay of correlations for equilibrium states associated to a robust class of non-uniformly expanding maps where no Markov assumption is required. We show that the Ruelle-Perron-Frobenius operator acting on the space of Holder continuous observables has a spectral gap and deduce the exponential decay of correlations and the central limit theorem. In particular, we obtain an alternative proof for the existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium states and we prove that the topological pressure varies continuously. Finally, we use the spectral properties of the transfer operators in space of differentiable observables to obtain strong stability results under deterministic and random perturbations.Comment: 29 pages, Annales de l'Institut Henri Poincare - Analyse non lineaire (to appear

Groups of given intermediate word growth

We show that there exists a finitely generated group of growth ~f for all functions f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow\mathbb{R} satisfying f(2R) \leq f(R)^{2} \leq f(\eta R) for all R large enough and \eta\approx2.4675 the positive root of X^{3}-X^{2}-2X-4. This covers all functions that grow uniformly faster than \exp(R^{\log2/\log\eta}). We also give a family of self-similar branched groups of growth ~\exp(R^\alpha) for a dense set of \alpha\in(\log2/\log\eta,1).Comment: small typos corrected from v

The cycle contraction mapping theorem

This report lays the foundation for a theory of total correctness for programs not based upon termination. The Cycle Contraction Mapping Theorem is both an extension of Wadge's cycle sum theorem for Kahn data flow and a generalisation of Banach's contraction mapping theorem to a class of quasi metric spaces definable using the symmetric Partial Metric distance function. This work provides considerable evidence that it is possible after all to construct a metric theory for Scott style partial order domains

Curvature in Noncommutative Geometry

Our understanding of the notion of curvature in a noncommutative setting has progressed substantially in the past ten years. This new episode in noncommutative geometry started when a Gauss-Bonnet theorem was proved by Connes and Tretkoff for a curved noncommutative two torus. Ideas from spectral geometry and heat kernel asymptotic expansions suggest a general way of defining local curvature invariants for noncommutative Riemannian type spaces where the metric structure is encoded by a Dirac type operator. To carry explicit computations however one needs quite intriguing new ideas. We give an account of the most recent developments on the notion of curvature in noncommutative geometry in this paper.Comment: 76 pages, 8 figures, final version, one section on open problems added, and references expanded. Appears in "Advances in Noncommutative Geometry - on the occasion of Alain Connes' 70th birthday