Random matrix products and applications to cellular automata

Let λ be the upper Lyapunov exponent corresponding to a product of i.i.d. randomm×m matrices (X _i) _i ^0/∞ over ℂ. Assume that theX _i's are chosen from a finite set {D ₀,D ₁...,D _t-1(ℂ), withP(X _i=D_j)>0, and that the monoid generated byD ₀, D₁,…, D_q−1 contains a matrix of rank 1. We obtain an explicit formula for λ as a sum of a convergent series. We also consider the case where theX _i's are chosen according to a Markov process and thus generalize a result of Lima and Rahibe 22]. Our results on λ enable us to provide an approximation for the numberN _≠0(F(x)ⁿ,r) of nonzero coefficients inF(x) ⁿ.(modr), whereF(x) ∈ ℤx] andr≥2. We prove the existence of and supply a formula for a constant α (<1) such thatN _≠0(F(x)ⁿ,r) ≈n ^α for “almost” everyn. Supported in part by FWF Project P16004-N05