696 research outputs found
Orders of accumulation of entropy
For a continuous map of a compact metrizable space with finite
topological entropy, the order of accumulation of entropy of is a countable
ordinal that arises in the context of entropy structure and symbolic
extensions. We show that every countable ordinal is realized as the order of
accumulation of some dynamical system. Our proof relies on functional analysis
of metrizable Choquet simplices and a realization theorem of Downarowicz and
Serafin. Further, if is a metrizable Choquet simplex, we bound the ordinals
that appear as the order of accumulation of entropy of a dynamical system whose
simplex of invariant measures is affinely homeomorphic to . These bounds are
given in terms of the Cantor-Bendixson rank of \overline{\ex(M)}, the closure
of the extreme points of , and the relative Cantor-Bendixson rank of
\overline{\ex(M)} with respect to \ex(M). We also address the optimality of
these bounds.Comment: 48 page
Infinity
This essay surveys the different types of infinity that occur in pure and applied mathematics, with emphasis on: 1. the contrast between potential infinity and actual infinity; 2. Cantor's distinction between transfinite sets and absolute infinity; 3. the constructivist view of infinite quantifiers and the meaning of constructive proof; 4. the concept of feasibility and the philosophical problems surrounding feasible arithmetic; 5. Zeno's paradoxes and modern paradoxes of physical infinity involving supertasks
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