1194 Communications of the Moscow Mathematical Society

On a p-adic Julia set

V. A. Dremov

Non-Archimedean dynamical systems have recently become the subject of intense study; see,
2
for example, [1]. In this note we consider the class of dynamical systems of the form x → x2 − a p2
on the set of p-adic numbers. We will study the structure of the Julia set, defined for these systems
by analogy with the classical case, and describe the action on it of our map, which reduces to
symbolic dynamics. We prove here that all periodic points are contained in the base field.
1. Definitions.
p-adic numbers. We fix an odd prime integer p.
Qp is the field of p-adic numbers, Zp is the ring of p-adic integers (see [2]).
If x ∈ Qp , then v(x) = k for x = pk r, where k ∈ Z and r ∈ Zp \ pZp .
a ≡ b (mod pk ) means that a − b ∈ pk Zp .
We will be considering P1 (Qp ) = Qp {∞} with the corresponding topology.
Notation.
2
T : P1 (Qp ) → P1 (Qp ) is the quadratic map x → x2 − a
p2
, where v(a) = 0.
xi := T i(x0 ) for i  1.
J := the Julia set, a minimal invariant set for both T and T −1 , closed and containing at least
two points. (See [3] for the equivalence of this to other definitions.)
K := {x | xn → ∞ n → ∞} (the map T has been chosen so that this set is not large and
coincides with the Julia set).
2. Theorem. a) J = K.
b) J is the closure of the set of finite periodic points of the map T .
3. Lemma 3.1. ∀ x0 (v(x0 ) = −1 ⇒ xn → ∞ as n → ∞).
Corollary 3.2. ∀ x0 (xn → ∞ ⇒ ∀ k ∈ N0 (xk ± a
p
∈ Zp )).

To prove this, use the fact that v(xk ) = v(xk+1 ) = −1.

Definition-notation 3.3. Using the result of Corollary 3.2, we have
∃!φ : K → {−1, 1}N such that xn − a
p
(φ(x)n) ∈ Zp .

Proposition 3.4. The map φ : K → {−1, 1}N is a homeomorphism. (The corresponding space
Σ+
2 and the left shift operation on it are defined in [4]; see also Proposition 3.5).

Proof. Let us consider the system

{x0 − a0 ∈ Zp & x1 − a1 ∈ Zp & . . . & xs − as ∈ Zp }. (1)

Here a0 , a1 , . . . , as ∈ {− a , a }.
p p
By induction on k, we prove that all the solutions of this system with s = k constitute a set of
the form y(k) + pk Zp , where y(k) ∈ p−1 Zp .
Observe now that the equation φ(x0) = (ε0 , ε1 , . . . ) is equivalent to the condition that (1)
holds for all s for an = a p n
ε . Therefore, the limit limk→∞ y(k) not only exists but is the unique
solution of the equation φ(x0) = (ε0 , ε1 , . . . ). From this we deduce bijectivity. Continuity of φ
and of φ−1 also follows from the proposition proved by induction.
Proposition 3.5. The map φ : K → {−1, 1}N satisfies the relation φT (x) = Lφ(x) for all x ∈ K,
where L is the left shift operation, L : (ε0 , ε1 , . . . , εk , . . . ) → (ε1 , ε2 , . . . , εk+1 , . . . ).
This proposition follows from the bijectivity of φ (Proposition 3.4) and Definition 3.3.

AMS 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 37A45; Secondary 37F50, 11K41.
DOI 10.1070/RM2003v058n06ABEH000682
 Communications of the Moscow Mathematical Society 1195

Proposition 3.6. All the finite periodic points of the map φ belong to K.
To prove this claim, we use Proposition 3.5 and the fact that the number of fixed points of T n
does not exceed 2n .
Proposition 3.7. K coincides with the closure of the set of finite periodic points of the map T .
Proof. Let us observe that K is closed, as the intersection of closed sets of the form x + pk Zp (see
the proof of Proposition 3.4). The fact that the set of periodic points of T is dense in K follows
from the fact that the set of periodic sequences is dense in the set {−1, 1}N of all sequences.

The question of the identity of the Julia set with the closure of the set of all repelling points
of the map was considered in [3]. It was conjectured there that the two sets are the same for any
rational map. Examples to support the conjecture were also given.
Proof of the theorem. Let us first prove assertion a).
The set K is invariant under T and T −1 . The closedness of K follows from Proposition 3.7. To
prove minimality, it is enough to consider the restriction of T to K. We use Proposition 3.5 and
note that we can consider only closed subsets Y of {−1, 1}N that are invariant under the action of L.
Then clearly ∀ y ∈ Y ∀ k ∈ N ∀ (a0 , a1 , . . . , ak ) ∈ {−1, 1}k+1 (Y  (a0 , a1 , . . . , ak , y0 , y1 , y2 , . . . )).
But then the fact that Y is closed implies that Y = {−1, 1}N.
Assertion b) follows now from Proposition 3.7.

Bibliography
[1] A. Yu. Khrennikov, Non-Archimedean analysis: quantum paradoxes, dynamical systems and
biological models, Kluwer, Dordrecht 1997.
[2] N. Koblitz, p-Adic numbers, p-adic analysis, and zeta functions, 2nd ed., Springer-Verlag,
New York–London 1984; Russian transl. of 1st ed., Mir, Moscow 1982.
[3] Liang-Chung Hsia, J. London Math. Soc. (2) 62 (2000), 685–700.
[4] R. Bowen, Methods of symbolic dynamics (collection of translations of Bowen’s papers), Mir,
Moscow 1979. (Russian)
Received 23/SEP/03