Density of group languages in shift spaces

We study the density of group languages (i.e. rational languages recognized by morphisms onto finite groups) inside shift spaces. The density of a rational language can be understood as the frequency of some "pattern" in the shift space, for example a pattern like "words with an even number of a given letter." In this paper, we handle density of group languages via ergodicity of skew products between the shift space and the recognizing group. We consider both the cases of shifts of finite type (with a suitable notion of irreducibility), and of minimal shifts. In the latter case, our main result is a closed formula for the density which holds whenever the skew product has minimal closed invariant subsets which are ergodic under the product of the original measure and the uniform probability measure on the group. The formula is derived in part from a characterization of minimal closed invariant subsets for skew products relying on notions of cocycles and coboundaries. In the case where the whole skew product itself is ergodic under the product measure, then the density is completely determined by the cardinality of the image of the language inside the recognizing group. We provide sufficient conditions for the skew product to have minimal closed invariant subsets that are ergodic under the product measure. Finally, we investigate the link between minimal closed invariant subsets, return words and bifix codes.