Large deviation principle for harmonic/geometric/arithmetic mean of digits in backward continued fraction expansion

TL;DR

This paper proves large deviation principles for harmonic, geometric, and arithmetic means of digits in backward continued fractions, revealing distinct behaviors of their rate functions through thermodynamic and multifractal analysis.

Contribution

It introduces the first large deviation principles for these means in backward continued fractions, using thermodynamic formalism and multifractal analysis.

Findings

Rate functions vanish at one point for harmonic and geometric means.

Rate function for arithmetic mean is degenerate, vanishing on entire domain.

Complete characterization of unbounded functions with vanishing rate functions.

Abstract

We establish the (level-1) large deviation principles for three kinds of means associated with the backward continued fraction expansion. We show that: for the harmonic and geometric means, the rate functions vanish exactly at one point; for the arithmetic mean, it is completely degenerate, vanishing at every point in its effective domain. Our method of proof employs the thermodynamic formalism for finite Markov shifts, and a multifractal analysis for the R\'enyi map generating the backward continued fraction digits. We completely determine the class of unbounded arithmetic functions for which the rate functions vanish at every point in unbounded intervals.