The Arithmetic of Dynamical Systems (Graduate Texts in Mathematics, 241)

This book provides an introduction to the relatively new discipline of arithmetic dynamics. Whereas classical discrete dynamics is the study of iteration of self-maps of the complex plane or real line, arithmetic dynamics is the study of the number theoretic properties of points under repeated application of a polynomial or rational function. A principal theme of arithmetic dynamics is that many of the fundamental problems in the theory of Diophantine equations have dynamical analogs. This graduate-level text provides an entry for students into an active field of research and serves as a standard reference for researchers.