Algebraic polymorphisms

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper we consider a special class of polymorphisms with invariant measure, the algebraic polymorphisms of compact groups. A general polymorphism is—by definition—a many-valued map with invariant measure, and the conjugate operator of a polymorphism is a Markov operator (i.e. a positive operator on L2 of norm 1 which preserves the constants). In the algebraic case a polymorphism is a correspondence in the sense of algebraic geometry, but here we investigate it from a dynamical point of view. The most important examples are the algebraic polymorphisms of a torus, where we introduce a parametrization of the semigroup of toral polymorphisms in terms of rational matrices and describe the spectra of the corresponding Markov operators. A toral polymorphism is an automorphism of $\mathbb {T}^m$ if and only if the associated rational matrix lies in $\mathrm {GL}(m,\mathbb {Z})$. We characterize toral polymorphisms which are factors of toral automorphisms.