The Pinsker subgroup of an algebraic flow

The algebraic entropy h, defined for endomorphisms f of abelian groups G, measures the growth of the trajectories of non-empty finite subsets F of G with respect to f. We show that this growth can be either polynomial or exponential. The greatest f-invariant subgroup of G where this growth is polynomial coincides with the greatest f-invariant subgroup P(G,f) of G (named Pinsker subgroup of f) such that h(f|_P(G,f))=0. We obtain also an alternative characterization of P(G,f) from the point of view of the quasi-periodic points of f. This gives the following application in ergodic theory: for every continuous injective endomorphism g of a compact abelian group K there exists a largest g-invariant closed subgroup N of K such that g|_N is ergodic; furthermore, the induced endomorphism g' of the quotient K/N has zero topological entropy.