Limit distributions of expanding translates of certain orbits on homogeneous spaces (Q1126320)

A simplified version of the main result of this paper is the following. Let \(\Gamma\) be a lattice in a Lie group \(H\) and let \(G\) be a non-compact simple Lie subgroup of \(H\) such that \(\overline {G\cdot\Gamma} =H\). Let \(\Omega\) be an open subset of \(\{g\in G:a^{-n} ga^n\to e\) as \(n\to\infty\}\), where \(a\in G\) is such that \(Ad(a)\) is semisimple and is not contained in a compact subgroup of \(\Aut(Lie(G))\). Then the author shows that \(H= \overline {\cup^\infty_{i=1} a^{n_j} \Omega\Gamma}\), for any sequence \(n_j\to\infty\). The proof of this result depends heavily on Ratner's classification of the ergodic probability measures on \(H/\Gamma\) which are invariant under the action of a unipotent subgroup, and uses techniques of Dani, Margulis, Mozes and the author himself (see, for instance, \textit{S. G. Dani} and \textit{G. A. Margulis} [Limit distributions of orbits of unipotent flows and values of quadratic forms, in: \textit{S. Gelfand} (ed.) et al., I. M. Gelfand Seminar. Part 1: Papers of the Gelfand seminar in functional analysis (Moscow University 1993), Providence, RI: Am. Math. Soc., Adv. Sov. Math. 16, 91-137 (1993; Zbl 0814.22003)] or the author [Math. Ann. 289, 315-334 (1991; Zbl 0715.22011)]). A particular case of this theorem together with another application of Ratner's theorem and techniques of \textit{S. G. Dani} [Ann. Math., II. Ser. 119, 111-119 (1984; Zbl 0548.22006)] provides a classification of \(G\)-equivariant topological factors of \(H/ \Gamma \times G/P\), where \(G\) acts diagonally and \(P\subset G\) is a parabolic subgroup. The author also gives a complete description of \(G\)-equivariant factors of \(G/ \Gamma\).