Weighted equilibrium states for factor maps between subshifts

Let $\pi:X\to Y$ be a factor map, where $(X,\sigma_X)$ and $(Y,\sigma_Y)$ are subshifts over finite alphabets. Assume that $X$ satisfies weak specification. Let $\ba=(a_1,a_2)\in \R^2$ with $a_1>0$ and $a_2\geq 0$. Let $f$ be a continuous function on $X$ with sufficient regularity (H\"{o}lder continuity, for instance). We show that there is a unique shift invariant measure $\mu$ on $X$ that maximizes $\mu(f)+a_1h_\mu(\sigma_X)+ a_2h_{\mu\circ \pi^{-1}}(\sigma_Y)$. In particular, taking $f\equiv 0$ we see that there is a unique invariant measure $\mu$ on $X$ that maximizes the weighted entropy $a_1h_\mu(\sigma_X)+ a_2h_{\mu\circ \pi^{-1}}(\sigma_Y)$. This answers an open question raised by Gatzouras and Peres in \cite{GaPe96}. An extension is also given to high dimensional cases. As an application, we show the uniqueness of invariant measures with full Hausdorff dimension for certain affine invariant sets on the $k$-torus under a diagonal endomorphism.