Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/iii/paper-16/3/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 16 3 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the separated-set definition of topological entropy. For a compatible metric and , define the Bowen metric and separated-set count byFor fixed , the metric generates the original topology: it includes the term and all finitely many iterations of a map are continuous. Thus its space is compact and is finite. With natural logarithms, setThe last limit exists, possibly with value infinity, because decreasing can only increase separated-set counts.
Let be another compatible metric. The identity is a continuous function on a compact domain, hence uniformly continuous. For every , choose such that implies . The same implication at every iterate givesBy its contrapositive, every -separated set for is -separated for . Consequently for every , andTaking gives . Interchanging the two compatible metrics gives the reverse inequality. ThereforeCompactness is used for uniform continuity, not merely for pointwise equivalence of the two metrics.
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