Continuous Transitive Maps on the Interval Revisited

Abstract

In this note, continuous transitive maps $f$ on the interval $I$ are re-addressed, where $I$ denotes one of the intervals: $(-\infty, \infty)$, $(-\infty, a]$, $[b, \infty)$, $[a, b]$, where $a < b$ are real numbers. Such maps must have a fixed point, say $z$, in the interior of $I$. Some well-known properties of such maps are re-proved in a systematic way according to the following : (1) $f$ moves some point $c \ne z$ away from $z$, i.e., fo some point $c \ne z$, we have $f(c) \le c < z$ or $z < c \le f(c)$; (2) $f$ moves some point $\hat c \ne z$ towards but not "over" $z$, i.e., for some point $\hat c \ne z$, we have $\hat c < f(\hat c) < z$ or $z < f(\hat c) < \hat c$; and (3) $f$ moves all points $x \ne z$ to the other side of $z$, i.e., for all points $x \ne z$, we have $x < z \le f(x)$ and $f(x) \le x < z$. The proofs are arranged in such ways that they yield the same results. For example, Theorem 3 treats maps satisfying Condition (1) or Condition (2) while Theorem 4 treats separately maps satisfying Condition (1) and, Conditions (2) or (3). Characterizations of continuous bitransitive maps on an interval are re-addressed and a new chaotic property of continuous bitransitive maps is also introduced (Theorem 8, p.21). In this revision, we correct Corollary 9 and some errors in the proof of Theorem 8 and move the Appendix to a different paper [15] in which we generalize Theorem 8 for continuous weakly mixing (i.e., bitransitive) maps on intervals to continuous weakly mixing maps and continuous mixing maps on infinite separable locally compact metric spaces.