Quantitative behavior of non-integrable systems. IV (Q2166113)

This long paper is Part 4 in a series of papers where a time-quantitative theory describing the behavior of individual orbits in non-integrable flat dynamical systems is developed; the earlier parts are [the authors, Acta Math. Hung. 161, No. 1, 66--184 (2020; Zbl 1474.37033); Acta Math. Hung. 162, No. 1, 220--324 (2020; Zbl 1474.37034); Acta Math. Hung. 166, No. 2, 254--372 (2022; Zbl 07551258)]. As the authors write, in the present paper they ``assume that the reader is more or less familiar with the earlier parts'' of the series, and throughout the paper reference is made to notions and methods developed in earlier parts of the series. In the three earlier parts, the authors developed a method called the ``surplus shortcut method'' (which has an eigenvalue-based and an eigenvalue-free version) in the setup of the the geodesic flow on an L-surface associated to a quadratic irrational. Now, in the first half of the present paper, the eigenvalue-based version of this method is applied in the setup of finite polysquare translation surfaces to determine quantities such as the irregularity exponents of some infinite orbits, and to describe the time-quantitative behavior of edge-cutting and face-crossing numbers, together with certain equidistribution results. In the second half, the surplus shortline method (both in the eigenvalue-based and in the eigenvalue-free setup) is extended to cover a general class of 2-dimensional flat dynamical systems beyond polysquares (all ``street-rational polyrectangle translation surfaces''). Again time-quantitative results on edge-cutting and face-crossing numbers, equidistribution and superdensity for some infinite orbits are established. Editorial remark: A ``a fatal error has since been found'' in this article, according to the retraction notice of another article from the authors in the Journal of the Australian Mathematical Society (see [the authors, J. Aust. Math. Soc. 113, No. 2, 288 (2022; Zbl 07636562)]).