Abstract
Abstract. Given a nite irreducible set of real d d matrices A1; : : : ;AM and a real parameter s > 0, there exists a unique shift-invariant equilibrium state on f1; : : : ;MgN associated to (A1; : : : ;AM; s). In this article we characterise the ergodic properties of such equilibrium states in terms of the algebraic properties of the semigroup generated by the associated matrices. We completely characterise when the equilibrium state has zero entropy, when it gives distinct Lyapunov exponents to the natural cocycle generated by A1; : : : ;AM, and when it is a Bernoulli measure. We also give a general su cient condition for the equilibrium state to be mixing, and give an example where the equilibrium state is ergodic but not totally ergodic. Connections with a class of measures investigated by S. Kusuoka are explored in an appendix.