QUADRATIC MAPS WITHOUT ASYMPTOTIC MEASURE

An interval map is said to have an asymptotic measure if the time averages of the iterates of Lebesgue measure converge weakly. We construct quadratic maps which have no asymptotic measure. We also find examples of quadratic maps which have an asymptotic measure with very unexpected properties, e.g. a map with the point mass on an unstable fix point as asymptotic measure. The key to our construction is a new characterization of kneading sequences. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.