Discrete dynamical systems associated with root systems of indefinite type

Abstract

A geometric charactrization of the equation found by Hietarinta and Viallet, which satisfies the singularity confinement criterion but which exhibits chaotic behavior, is presented. It is shown that this equation can be lifted to an automorphism of a certain rational surface and can therefore be considered to be a realization of a Cremona isometry on the Picard group of the surface. It is also shown that the group of Cremona isometries is isomorphic to an extended Weyl group of indefinite type. A method to construct the mappings associated with some root systems of indefinite type is also presented.