Transience and thermodynamic formalism for infinitely branched interval maps

We study a one-parameter family of countably piecewise linear interval maps, which, although Markov, fail the `large image property'. This leads to conservative as well as dissipative behaviour for different maps in the family with respect to Lebesgue. We investigate the transition between these two types, and study the associated thermodynamic formalism, describing in detail the second order phase transitions (i.e. the pressure function is $C^1$ but not $C^2$ at the phase transition) that occur in transition to dissipativity. We also study the various natural definitions of pressure which arise here, computing these using elementary recurrence relations.Comment: Corrected the proof of the lower bound in Proposition 2 in the case $\lambda\leq 1/2

Wild attractors and thermodynamic formalism

Fibonacci unimodal maps can have a wild Cantor attractor, and hence be Lebesgue dissipative, depending on the order of the critical point. We present a one-parameter family $f_\lambda$ of countably piecewise linear unimodal Fibonacci maps in order to study the thermodynamic formalism of dynamics where dissipativity of Lebesgue (and conformal) measure is responsible for phase transitions. We show that for the potential $\phi_t = -t\log|f'_\lambda|$, there is a unique phase transition at some $t_1 \le 1$, and the pressure $P(\phi_t)$ is analytic (with unique equilibrium state) elsewhere. The pressure is majorised by a non-analytic $C^\infty$ curve (with all derivatives equal to 0 at $t_1 < 1$) at the emergence of a wild attractor, whereas the phase transition at $t_1 = 1$ can be of any finite order for those $\lambda$ for which $f_\lambda$ is Lebesgue conservative. We also obtain results on the existence of conformal measures and equilibrium states, as well as the hyperbolic dimension and the dimension of the basin of $\omega(c)$

Equilibrium states, pressure and escape for multimodal maps with holes

For a class of non-uniformly hyperbolic interval maps, we study rates of escape with respect to conformal measures associated with a family of geometric potentials. We establish the existence of physically relevant conditionally invariant measures and equilibrium states and prove a relation between the rate of escape and pressure with respect to these potentials. As a consequence, we obtain a Bowen formula: we express the Hausdorff dimension of the set of points which never exit through the hole in terms of the relevant pressure function. Finally, we obtain an expression for the derivative of the escape rate in the zero-hole limit.Comment: Minor edits. To appear in Israel J. Mat

Hitting times and periodicity in random dynamics

We prove quenched laws of hitting time statistics for random subshifts of finite type. In particular we prove a dichotomy between the law for periodic and for non-periodic points. We show that this applies to random Gibbs measures

Markov extensions and lifting measures for complex polynomials

For polynomials $f$ on the complex plane with a dendrite Julia set we study invariant probability measures, obtained from a reference measure. To do this we follow Keller in constructing canonical Markov extensions. We discuss ``liftability'' of measures (both $f$-invariant and non-invariant) to the Markov extension, showing that invariant measures are liftable if and only if they have a positive Lyapunov exponent. We also show that $\delta$-conformal measure is liftable if and only if the set of points with positive Lyapunov exponent has positive measure.Comment: Some changes have been made, in particular to Sections 2 and 3, to clarify the exposition. Typos have been corrected and references update