A certain category of infinite strings of letters on a finite alphabet is presented here, chosen among the 'simplest' possible one may build, both because they are very deterministic and because they are built by simple rules (a letter is replaced by a word, a sequence is produced by iteration). These substitutive sequences have a surprisingly rich structure. The authors describe the concepts of quantity of natural interactions, with combinatorics on words, ergodic theory, linear algebra, spectral theory, geometry of tilings, theoretical computer science, diophantine approximation, trancendence, graph theory. This volume fulfils the need for a reference on the basic definitions and theorems, as well as for a state-of-the-art survey of the more difficult and unsolved problems.

This book presents a panorama of recent developments in the theory of tilings and related dynamical systems. It contains an expanded version of courses given in 2017 at the research school associated with the Jean-Morlet chair program. Tilings have been designed, used and studied for centuries in various contexts. This field grew significantly after the discovery of aperiodic self-similar tilings in the 60s, linked to the proof of the undecidability of the Domino problem, and was driven futher by Dan Shechtman's discovery of quasicrystals in 1984. Tiling problems establish a bridge between the mutually influential fields of geometry, dynamical systems, aperiodic order, computer science, number theory, algebra and logic. The main properties of tiling dynamical systems are covered, with expositions on recent results in self-similarity (and its generalizations, fusions rules and S-adic systems), algebraic developments connected to physics, games and undecidability questions, and the spectrum of substitution tilings.

Surveys trends arising from the applications and interactions between combinatorics, symbolic dynamics and theoretical computer science.

This volume mainly deals with the dynamics of finitely valued sequences, and more specifically, of sequences generated by substitutions and automata. Those sequences demonstrate fairly simple combinatorical and arithmetical properties and naturally appear in various domains. As the title suggests, the aim of the initial version of this book was the spectral study of the associated dynamical systems: the first chapters consisted in a detailed introduction to the mathematical notions involved, and the description of the spectral invariants followed in the closing chapters. This approach, combined with new material added to the new edition, results in a nearly self-contained book on the subject. New tools - which have also proven helpful in other contexts - had to be developed for this study. Moreover, its findings can be concretely applied, the method providing an algorithm to exhibit the spectral measures and the spectral multiplicity, as is demonstrated in several examples. Beyond this advanced analysis, many readers will benefit from the introductory chapters on the spectral theory of dynamical systems; others will find complements on the spectral study of bounded sequences; finally, a very basic presentation of substitutions, together with some recent findings and questions, rounds out the book.

This volume contains a collection of articles from the special program on algebraic and topological dynamics and a workshop on dynamical systems held at the Max-Planck Institute (Bonn, Germany). It reflects the extraordinary vitality of dynamical systems in its interaction with a broad range of mathematical subjects. Topics covered in the book include asymptotic geometric analysis, transformation groups, arithmetic dynamics, complex dynamics, symbolic dynamics, statisticalproperties of dynamical systems, and the theory of entropy and chaos. The book is suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in dynamical systems.

Symbolic dynamics is essential in the study of dynamical systems of various types and is connected to many other fields such as stochastic processes, ergodic theory, representation of numbers, information and coding, etc. This graduate text introduces symbolic dynamics from a perspective of topological dynamical systems and presents a vast variety of important examples. After introducing symbolic and topological dynamics, the core of the book consists of discussions of various subshifts of positive entropy, of zero entropy, other non-shift minimal action on the Cantor set, and a study of the ergodic properties of these systems. The author presents recent developments such as spacing shifts, square-free shifts, density shifts, $mathcal{B}$-free shifts, Bratteli-Vershik systems, enumeration scales, amorphic complexity, and a modern and complete treatment of kneading theory. Later, he provides an overview of automata and linguistic complexity (Chomsky's hierarchy). The necessary background for the book varies, but for most of it a solid knowledge of real analysis and linear algebra and first courses in probability and measure theory, metric spaces, number theory, topology, and set theory suffice. Most of the exercises have solutions in the back of the book.

What is order that is not based on simple repetition, that is, periodicity? How must atoms be arranged in a material so that it diffracts like a quasicrystal? How can we describe aperiodically ordered systems mathematically? Originally triggered by the – later Nobel prize-winning – discovery of quasicrystals, the investigation of aperiodic order has since become a well-established and rapidly evolving field of mathematical research with close ties to a surprising variety of branches of mathematics and physics. This book offers an overview of the state of the art in the field of aperiodic order, presented in carefully selected authoritative surveys. It is intended for non-experts with a general background in mathematics, theoretical physics or computer science, and offers a highly accessible source of first-hand information for all those interested in this rich and exciting field. Topics covered include the mathematical theory of diffraction, the dynamical systems of tilings or Delone sets, their cohomology and non-commutative geometry, the Pisot substitution conjecture, aperiodic Schrödinger operators, and connections to arithmetic number theory.

This largely self-contained textbook on qualitative dynamics and chaos is intended for a broad audience of readers who are interested in describing systems that change over time using a mathematically simple, but conceptually rigorous, framework centered around descriptive sequences of symbols. This framework also allows readers who may not have a large amount of mathematical training to develop an unambiguous understanding of the notion of chaos and related aspects of dynamical systems theory. Concepts and techniques are introduced in the first parts of the book, which are later expanded to more mathematically abstract ideas in the latter parts of the book. For those who are already have some mathematical training, this text is intended to be an alternative to standard symbolic dynamics textbooks which both mildly generalizes their scope and specifically centers its discussion around dynamical systems theory aspects. It uses the notion of a "falsifiable system"—a type of set of infinite symbol sequences, which is an extension of both formal languages and symbolic dynamical systems—as a central conceptual link between the theory of formal languages and the study of chaos, and allows readers a method to identify chaos within such systems (and systems equivalent to them) by entirely graphical methods. The latter parts of the book then focus on how to apply these methods to understand the dynamics of more traditional, numerically-based systems.

This volume contains the proceedings of three conferences in Ergodic Theory and Symbolic Dynamics: the Oxtoby Centennial Conference, held from October 30–31, 2010, at Bryn Mawr College; the Williams Ergodic Theory Conference, held from July 27–29, 2012, at Williams College; and the AMS Special Session on Ergodic Theory and Symbolic Dynamics, held from January 17–18, 2014, in Baltimore, MD. This volume contains articles covering a variety of topics in measurable, symbolic and complex dynamics. It also includes a survey article on the life and work of John Oxtoby, providing a source of information about the many ways Oxtoby's work influenced mathematical thought in this and other fields.

This volume contains the proceedings of the conference Dynamics: Topology and Numbers, held from July 2–6, 2018, at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, Bonn, Germany. The papers cover diverse fields of mathematics with a unifying theme of relation to dynamical systems. These include arithmetic geometry, flat geometry, complex dynamics, graph theory, relations to number theory, and topological dynamics. The volume is dedicated to the memory of Sergiy Kolyada and also contains some personal accounts of his life and mathematics.