This book is devoted to group-theoretic aspects of topological dynamics such as studying groups using their actions on topological spaces, using group theory to study symbolic dynamics, and other connections between group theory and dynamical systems. One of the main applications of this approach to group theory is the study of asymptotic properties of groups such as growth and amenability. The book presents recently developed techniques of studying groups of dynamical origin using the structure of their orbits and associated groupoids of germs, applications of the iterated monodromy groups to hyperbolic dynamical systems, topological full groups and their properties, amenable groups, groups of intermediate growth, and other topics. The book is suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in group theory, transformations defined by automata, topological and holomorphic dynamics, and theory of topological groupoids. Each chapter is supplemented by exercises of various levels of complexity.

Self-similar groups (groups generated by automata) initially appeared as examples of groups that are easy to define but have exotic properties like nontrivial torsion, intermediate growth, etc. This book studies the self-similarity phenomenon in group theory and shows its intimate relationship with dynamical systems and more classical self-similar structures, such as fractals, Julia sets, and self-affine tilings. This connection is established through the central topics of the book, which are the notions of the iterated monodromy group and limit space.A wide variety of examples and different applications of self-similar groups to dynamical systems and vice versa are discussed. In particular, it is shown that Julia sets can be reconstructed from the respective iterated monodromy groups and that groups with exotic properties can appear not just as isolated examples, but as naturally defined iterated monodromy groups of rational functions. The book offers important, new mathematics that will open new avenues of research in group theory and dynamical systems. It is intended to be accessible to a wide readership of professional mathematicians.