Extensions of cocycles for hyperfinite actions and applications (Q1358621)

Let \(T: (X,{\mathcal B},\mu)\to (X,{\mathcal B},\mu)\) be an ergodic automorphism on a standard Borel probability space, and \(G\) a compact metric group. A measurable transformation \(\phi: X\to G\) (called a cocycle) gives rise to the skew product transformation \(T_\phi: X\times G\to X\times G\) defined by \[ T_\phi(x, g)= (Tx, \phi(x)g), \] again an automorphism of the product space (using Haar measure on \(G\)). Suppose \(S\in C(T)\), the centralizer of \(T\), then \(S\) ``lifts'' to the centralizer of \(T_\phi\) if there is a measurable solution \(f: X\to G\) to the equation \[ f(Tx)\phi(Sx)f(x)^{-1}= \phi(x). \] It turns out that many questions regarding skew products reduce to questions about this functional equation. In an earlier paper [Ergodic Theory Dyn. Syst. 12, No. 4, 769-789 (1992; Zbl 0785.58030)], \textit{M. Lemańczyk}, \textit{P. Liardet} and \textit{J.-P. Thouvenot} approached this type of problem by considering the \(\mathbb{Z}^2\)-action \((S,T)\), defined by the commuting pair \(S\) and \(T\). The authors remark that this expresses the fact that the \(\mathbb{Z}\)-cocycle \(\phi:X\to G\) for \(T\) has been extended to a cocycle for the \(\mathbb{Z}^2\)-action \((S,T)\). This leads the authors to the study of the problem of extending a given cocycle for an action of a subgroup of some group of automorphisms to a cocycle of the whole group. Specifically, let \({\mathcal R}\) be a countable group which acts freely and ergodically on \((X,{\mathcal B},\mu)\), and let \(\mathcal H\) be a subgroup which also acts ergodically, then the authors answer questions of the following type: 1) Is the set of \({\mathcal H}\)-cocycles which have extensions to \({\mathcal R}\)-cocycles of first category in the set of \({\mathcal H}\)-cocycles? 2) Is the set of those \({\mathcal R}\)-cocycles whose restrictions to \({\mathcal H}\) are ergodic, residual in the set of \(\mathcal H\)-cocycles?