If a system like $f$ is topologically transitive every $f$-invariant continuous function is constant

analysisdynamical systemsgeneral-topology

Let $X$ is a compact metric space and $f: X \to X$ is a homeomorphism. I want to prove that If $f$ is topologically transitive any $f$-invariant continuous function $\phi : X \to \mathbb{R}$ is constant.($\phi$ is $f$-invariant if $\phi(f)=\phi$).

$f:X \to X$ is topologically transitive if for any open subsets $U,V \subseteq X$ there exists $n \geq 1$ such that $f^n(V) \cap U \neq \emptyset$.
It is equivalent to the following statement:

There exists $x \in X$ such that whose positive or negative orbit is dense in $X$.

I wrote a proof for this question:

There is $x \in X$ whose positive orbit is dense in $X$ so if $y \in X$ for every nbd of $y$ such as $U_y$ we have $U_y \cap O^+(x) \neq \emptyset$ this means there is $w \in U_y$ which also belongs to $O^+(x)$ so there is $m \geq 1$ such that $w = f^m(x)$ so $\phi(w) = \phi(f^m(x))$. since $\phi$ is $f$-invariant so
\begin{align}
\phi(w) =\phi(f^m(x))=\phi(x)
\end{align}

Since $ y \in X$ was arbitrary then we could conclude $\phi$ is constant.

Is there anything wrong with my proof?

Best Answer

There is a bit of a problem: at the end of your proof you conclude $\phi(w) = \phi(x)$, but we probably wanted to show that $\phi(y) = \phi(x)$?

How about this? I'm going to clarify your writing a little bit, because the first sentence of your proof is very long:

Fix $x \in X$ whose positive orbit is dense in $X$. Now let $w \in O^+(x)$ be arbitrary. Then there is $m \geq 1$ such that $w = f^m(x)$, and therefore $\phi(w) = \phi(f^m(x)) = \phi(x)$ since $\phi$ is $f$-invariant. Since $w \in X$ was arbitrary we conclude that $\phi$ is constant on $O^+(x)$. But by hypothesis $O^+(x)$ is dense in $X$, and since $f$ is continuous we conclude that $f$ is constant on all of $X$, as desired.

If you aren't quite sure why a continuous function which is constant on a dense subset of its domain is constant on the entire domain, the argument uses similar ideas to those from your original proof which have gone unused in mine above:

Lemma. If $f : X \to Y$ is continuous and constant on a dense subset $D \subset X$, then $f$ is constant on all of $X$.

Proof. By hypothesis $f(D) = \{ y \}$ for some $y \in Y$. Since $f$ is continuous the preimage of every closed subset of $Y$ is closed, hence $C = f^{-1}(\{y\}) \subset X$ is closed. Now $C$ is closed and contains $D$, so also contains the closure of $D$. But $D$ is dense in $X$, so the closure of $D$ is $X$---therefore $C = X$, too. It follows that $f(X) = \{y\}$, as desired.

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