Normal amenable subgroups of the automorphism group of sofic shifts
Kitty Yang · Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems · 2020
Let $(X,\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E})$ be a transitive sofic shift and let $\operatorname{Aut}(X)$ denote its automorphism group. We generalize a result of Frisch, Schlank, and Tamuz to show that any normal amenable subgroup of $\operatorname{Aut}(X)$ must be contained in the subgroup generated by the shift. We also show that the result does not extend to higher dimensions by giving an example of a two-dimensional mixing shift of finite type due to Hochman whose automorphism group is amenable and not generated by the shift maps.