Strong shift equivalence of 2 × 2 matrices of non-negative integers

Abstract

Abstract The concept of strong shift equivalence of square non-negative integral matrices has been used by R. F. Williams to characterize topological isomorphism of the associated topological Markov chains. However, not much has been known about sufficient conditions for strong shift equivalence even for 2×2 matrices (other than those of unit determinant). The main theorem of this paper is: If A and B are positive 2×2 integral matrices of non-negative determinant and are similar over the integers, then A and B are strongly shift equivalent.