| Abstract: | We consider a broad class of linear Perron–Frobenius operators \({\Lambda:X \rightarrow X}\), where \({X}\) is a real Banach space of \({C^m}\) functions. We prove the existence of a strictly positive \({C^m}\) eigenvector \({v}\) with eigenvalue \({r=r(\Lambda) =}\) the spectral radius of \({\Lambda}\). We prove (see Theorem 6.5 in Sect. 6 of this paper) that \({r(\Lambda)}\) is an algebraically simple eigenvalue and that, if \({\sigma(\Lambda)}\) denotes the spectrum of the complexification of \({\Lambda,\sigma(\Lambda) \backslash \{r(\Lambda)\}\subseteq \{\zeta \in \mathbb{C} \big| |\zeta| \le r_*\}}\), where \({r_* < r(\Lambda)}\). Furthermore, if \({u \in X}\) is any strictly positive function, \({(\frac 1r \Lambda)^k(u) \rightarrow s_u v}\) as \({k \rightarrow \infty}\), where \({s_u > 0}\) and convergence is in the norm topology on \({X}\). In applications to the computation of Hausdorff dimension, one is given a parametrized family \({\Lambda_s,s > s_*}\), of such operators and one wants to determine the (unique) value \({s_0}\) such that \({r(\Lambda_{s_0})=1}\). In another paper (Falk and Nussbaum in C\({^{\rm m}}\) Eigenfunctions of Perron–Frobenius operators and a new approach to numerical computation of Hausdorff dimension, submitted) we prove that explicit estimates on the partial derivatives of the positive eigenvector \({v_s}\) of \({\Lambda_s}\) can be obtained and that this information can be used to give rigorous, sharp upper and lower bounds for \({s_0}\). |
