Mean dimension of $\mathbb{Z}^k$-actions

Abstract

Mean dimension is a topological invariant for dynamical systems that is meaningful for systems with infinite dimension and infinite entropy. Given a $\mathbb{Z}^k$-action on a compact metric space $X$, we study the following three problems closely related to mean dimension. (1) When is $X$ isomorphic to the inverse limit of finite entropy systems? (2) Suppose the topological entropy $h_{\mathrm{top}}(X)$ is infinite. How much topological entropy can be detected if one considers $X$ only up to a given level of accuracy? How fast does this amount of entropy grow as the level of resolution becomes finer and finer? (3) When can we embed $X$ into the $\mathbb{Z}^k$-shift on the infinite dimensional cube $([0,1]^D)^{\mathbb{Z}^k}$? These were investigated for $\mathbb{Z}$-actions in [Lindenstrauss, Mean dimension, small entropy factors and an embedding theorem, Inst. Hautes \'Etudes Sci. Publ. Math. \textbf{89} (1999) 227-262], but the generalization to $\mathbb{Z}^k$ remained an open problem. When $X$ has the marker property, in particular when $X$ has a completely aperiodic minimal factor, we completely solve (1) and a natural interpretation of (2), and give a reasonably satisfactory answer to (3). A key ingredient is a new method to continuously partition every orbit into good pieces.