Best possible rates of distribution of dense lattice orbits in homogeneous spaces (Q1628522)

The authors study a very general problem of a Diophantine nature in dynamics on homogeneous spaces. Namely, let \(G\) be a locally compact second countable \(\sigma\)-compact group, let \(H \subset G\) be a closed subgroup and let \(\Gamma \subset G\) be a lattice subgroup. Let \(X = G/H\) and suppose \(\Gamma\) acts ergodically on \(X\) with respect to the natural measure. A metric, \(\text{dist}\), and a norm, \(| \cdot |_D\), satisfying certain coarse regularity properties are now fixed on \(G\). Furthermore, it is assumed that the volume of a ball of radius \(t\) in \(H\) with respect to the the norm \(| \cdot |_D\) satisfies a coarse upper and lower exponential growth estimate, that the local upper and lower dimensions are finite and positive at all points of \(X\), and that a quantitative form of the von Neumann ergodic theorem holds true on the quotient \(\Gamma \setminus G\). For a point \(x \in X\) with dense \(\Gamma\)-orbit and a generic point \(x_0 \in X\) let \(\kappa_\Gamma(x,x_0)\) be the infimum of all \(\zeta > 0\), such that for some \(\epsilon_0 > 0\), the system \[ \text{dist}(\gamma^{-1}x, x_0) \leq \epsilon \quad \text{and } \quad | \gamma|_D \leq \epsilon^{-\zeta}, \] has a solution \(\gamma \in \Gamma\) for any \(\epsilon \in (0, \epsilon_0)\). This can be seen as an extension of the so-called exponent of uniform approximation from usual Diophantine approximation. Under the stated assumptions, \(\kappa_\Gamma (x,x_0)\) is constant for almost all pairs \((x,x_0)\), and the common value is denoted by \(\kappa_\Gamma(G/H)\), the Diophantine approximation exponent of \(G/H\). The authors derive general lower and upper bounds on the exponent \(\kappa_\Gamma(G/H)\). The bounds coincide when the local upper and lower dimensions coincide, the upper and lower (coarse) exponential growth rates of the \(t\)-ball in \(H\) coincide and a spectral parameter in the quantitative ergodic theorem is equal to \(1/2\). This allows the autors to apply their main result to a plethora of examples, for which the Diophantine exponent can be calculated.