Invariant measures for Cherry flows (Q1936647)

Cherry flows are flows on the \(2\)-torus with a saddle, a source, and no other fixed points, closed orbits, or homoclinic points. Examples of this sort were introduced by \textit{T. M. Cherry} [Am. J. Math. 59, 957--982 (1937; Zbl 0017.35101)], and here it is shown that if the saddle is dissipative or conservative then the only invariant Borel probability measures are supported on the two fixed points, and that the point measure at the saddle is the physical measure. Without these hypotheses it is shown that there is also an invariant measure (conjectured to be the physical measure) supported on the quasi-minimal set. The proof exploits the integrability of the return time with respect to the invariant measure of the return map to a closed transversal to the flow.