Introduction to hierarchical tiling dynamical systems

Abstract

This paper is about the tiling dynamical systems approach to the study of aperiodic order. We compare and contrast four related types of systems: ordinary (one-dimensional) symbolic systems, one-dimensional tiling systems, multidimensional $Z^d$-systems, and multidimensional tiling systems. Aperiodically ordered structures are often hierarchical in nature, and there are a number of different yet related ways to define them. We will focus on what we are calling "supertile construction methods": symbolic substitution in one and many dimensions, S-adic sequences, self-similar and pseudo-self-similar tilings, and fusion rules. The techniques of dynamical analysis of these systems are discussed and a number of results are surveyed. We conclude with a discussion of the spectral theory of supertile systems from both the dynamical and diffraction perspectives.