Indices of the iterates of ({\Bbb R}^3)-homeomorphisms at fixed points which are isolated invariant sets

Patrice Le Calvez, Francisco R. Ruiz del Portal, José M. Salazar

Published 2009-05-01Version 1

Let (U \subset {\mathbb R}^3) be an open set and (f:U \to f(U) \subset {\mathbb R}^3) be a homeomorphism. Let (p \in U) be a fixed point. It is known that, if (\{p\}) is not an isolated invariant set, the sequence of the fixed point indices of the iterates of (f) at (p), ((i(f^n,p))_{n\geq 1}), is, in general, unbounded. The main goal of this paper is to show that when (\{p\}) is an isolated invariant set, the sequence ((i(f^n,p))_{n\geq 1}) is periodic. Conversely, we show that for any periodic sequence of integers ((I_n)_{n \geq1}) satisfying Dold's necessary congruences, there exists an orientation preserving homeomorphism such that (i(f^n,p)=I_n) for every (n\geq 1). Finally we also present an application to the study of the local structure of the stable/unstable sets at (p).