Compound Poisson statistics in conventional and nonconventional setups

Abstract

Given a periodic point $\omega$ in a $\psi$-mixing shift with countable alphabet, the sequence $\{S_{n}\}$ of random variables counting the number of multiple returns to shrinking cylindrical neighborhoods of $\omega$ is considered. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the convergence in distribution of $\{S_{n}\}$ are obtained, and it is shown that the limit is a Polya-Aeppli distribution. A global condition on the shift system, which guarantees the convergence in distribution of $\{S_{n}\}$ for every periodic point, is introduced. This condition is used to derive results for $f$-expansions and Gibbs measures. Results are also obtained concerning the possible limit distribution of sub-sequences $\{S_{n_{k}}\}$. A family of examples in which there is no convergence is presented. We exhibit also an example for which the limit distribution is pure Poissonian.