English

A Matrix Analogue of Rational Number Systems

Number Theory 2026-07-09 v1

Abstract

Let P,QZd×dP,Q \in \mathbb{Z}^{d\times d} be invertible coprime matrices such that all the eigenvalues of Q1PQ^{-1}P have modulus greater than 1, and Zd[Q1P]\mathbb{Z}^d[Q^{-1}P] be the smallest non-trivial Q1PQ^{-1}P-invariant Z\mathbb{Z}-module containing Zd\mathbb{Z}^d. Suppose there is a finite digit set DZd+PZd[Q1P]\mathcal{D}\subseteq \mathbb{Z}^d + P\mathbb{Z}^d[Q^{-1}P] for which every vector xZd+PZd[Q1P]x \in \mathbb{Z}^d + P\mathbb{Z}^d[Q^{-1}P] can be represented in the form x=i=01(Q1P)iQ1di, x = \sum_{i=0}^{\ell-1} (Q^{-1}P)^i Q^{-1}d_i, where the digits diDd_i \in \mathcal{D} for all i{0,1,,1}i \in \{0,1,\ldots,\ell-1\}. We call such a representation a P/QP/Q-expansion of xx, and we say that the digit system (P,Q,D)(P,Q,\mathcal{D}) has the finiteness property. If, in addition, D\mathcal{D} is a complete set of residues of the quotient group (Zd+PZd[Q1P])/PZd[Q1P](\mathbb{Z}^d + P\mathbb{Z}^d[Q^{-1}P])/P\mathbb{Z}^d[Q^{-1}P], then the digits d0,d1,,d1d_0, d_1, \dots, d_{\ell-1} in the P/QP/Q-expansion of xx are unique whenever Z+\ell \in \mathbb{Z}^+ is minimal, and the resulting digit system is said to have the uniqueness property. We present sufficient conditions for the existence of a digit set D\mathcal{D} in which (P,Q,D)(P,Q,\mathcal{D}) has the finiteness property. For d=2d=2, we make use of finite automata to construct digit systems (P,Q,D)(P,Q,\mathcal{D}) having both the finiteness and uniqueness properties. We also obtain the P/QP/Q-expansion of a vector xx in Rd\mathbb{R}^d by means of the so-called expansion tree of the digit system (P,Q,D)(P,Q,\mathcal{D}).

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.08732,
  title  = {A Matrix Analogue of Rational Number Systems},
  author = {Anjelo Gabriel R. Cruz and Manuel Joseph C. Loquias},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.08732},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

22 pages, 9 figures