Mixing and decorrelation in infinite measure: the case of the periodic Sinai billiard (Q1731149)

For a measure-preserving dynamical system \((M,\nu,T)\), the correlation function for two observables \(f,g:M\to \mathbb{C}\) is given by \(C_n(f,g)=\int_Mf\cdot g\circ T^nd\nu\). A problem is to find \(\alpha_n\) such that \(\lim_{n\to+\infty}\alpha_nC_n(f,g)=\int_Mfd\nu\int_Mgd\nu\), where \(\alpha_n\) is dependent on the system \(T\) and the function spaces of the observables. This is often called the mixing rate estimate. In this paper, the author studies this problem for the Sinai billiard with finite or infinite horizon. The Sinai billiard is simplified to a discrete measure-preserving system, that is, the reflection on the boundaries of the obstacles on the plane or higher-dimensional spaces, then the transfer operator method, the classical Young tower construction, and many elegant analysis are applied to obtain the accurate estimates of the mixing rates. For the Sinai billiard with infinite horizon, the first order of mixing rate is obtained; for the billiard with finite horizon, an asymptotic formula for any order of mixing rate is obtained.