Iterating sine, equivalence classes of variable changes, and groups with few conjugacy classes
History and Overview
2025-06-23 v1
Abstract
This is an expository paper about iterations of a smooth real function on such that , , and for , i.e., the sequence defined by . This sequence has interesting asymptotics, whose study leads to the question of classifying conjugacy classes in the group of formal changes of variable , i.e., formal series with real coefficients (under composition). The same classification applies over a finite field for suitably truncated series , defining a family of -groups which have the smallest number of conjugacy classes for a given order, i.e., are the ``most noncommutative" finite groups currently known. The paper should be accessible to undergraduates and at least partially to advanced high school students.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2506.16364,
title = {Iterating sine, equivalence classes of variable changes, and groups with few conjugacy classes},
author = {Pavel Etingof},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.16364},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
9 pages, latex