Thermodynamic Formalism for Generalized Markov Shifts on Infinitely Many States

Abstract: Given a 0-1 infinite matrix $A$ and its countable Markov shift $\Sigma_A$, one of the authors and M. Laca have introduced a kind of {\it generalized countable Markov shift} $X_A=\Sigma_A \cup Y_A$, where $Y_A$ is a special set of finite admissible words. For some of the most studied countable Markov shifts $\Sigma_A$, $X_A$ is a compactification of $\Sigma_A$, and always it is at least locally compact. We developed the thermodynamic formalism on the space $X_A$, exploring the connections with standard results on $\Sigma_A$. New phenomena appear, such as new conformal measures and a {\it length-type phase transition}: the eigenmeasure lives on $\Sigma_A$ at high temperature and lives on $Y_A$ at low temperature. Using a pressure-point definition proposed by M. Denker and M. Yuri for iterated function systems, we proved that the Gurevich pressure is a natural definition for the pressure function in the generalized setting. For the gauge action, the Gurevich entropy is a critical temperature for the existence of new conformal measures (KMS states) living on $Y_A$. We exhibit examples with infinitely (even uncountable) many new extremal conformal measures, undetectable in the usual formalism. We prove that conformal measures always exist at low temperatures when the potential is coercive enough. We characterized a basis of the topology of $X_A$ to study the weak$^*$ convergence of measures on $X_A$, and we show some cases where the conformal measure living on $Y_A$ converges to a conformal one living on $\Sigma_A$. We prove the equivalence among several notions of conformality for locally compact Hausdorff second countable spaces, including quasi-invariant measures for generalized Renault-Deaconu groupoids.