On sets of periodic orbit lengths in finitely presented dynamical systems

Abstract We classify the sets of natural numbers n for which certain dynamical systems ( X , f ) $(X,f)$ left parenthesis upper X comma f right parenthesis on a compact metric space X have a periodic point of (least) period n . Interest in this question dates back to Sharkovskii’s theorem for continuous maps on intervals of the real line, but it also ties to checkable conditions for Krieger’s embedding theorem for symbolic dynamical systems. Given a system for which the logarithmic derivative of the Artin–Mazur zeta function is rational, we use the Skolem–Mahler–Lech theorem to classify for which n the system has a periodic point of (not necessarily least) period n . Moreover, we build on work on finitely presented (FP) systems and their relationship to symbolic dynamics to classify the set of least periods, that is, periodic orbit lengths, for arbitrary FP systems, extending a known classification for shifts of finite type. We also provide several constructions to realize any such least period sets.