Weak isomorphism of measure-preserving diffeomorphisms (Q1802774)

\textit{Ya. G. Sinai} [Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 147, 797-800 (1964; Zbl 0205.135)] asked whether it was possible to find two ergodic measure- preserving transformations \(T_ 1\) and \(T_ 2\) which are weakly isomorphic, but not isomorphic. \textit{S. Polit} [Thesis, Stanford University (1975)] constructed a zero entroy example for which this is the case. Later, in J. Anal. Math. 35, 97-122 (1979; Zbl 0446.28018), \textit{D. J. Rudolph} introduced the notion of minimal self joinings (MSJ) and showed that if \(T\) has MSJ then \(T\times T\times T\dots\) has a weakly isomorphic factor which is not isomorphic to it. Various other authors considered this problem, and the question arose as to whether or not \(T_ 1\) and \(T_ 2\) may be chosen to be \(C^ \infty\)- diffeomorphisms. The main result of this paper is a construction of two \(C^ \infty\)- diffeomorphisms \(T_ 1\) and \(T_ 2\) satisfying: (i) \(T_ 1\), \(T_ 2\) are ergodic with respect to Lebesgue measure. (ii) \(T_ 1\) and \(T_ 2\) are measurable factors of each other. (iii) \(T_ 1\) and \(T_ 2\) are not measure theoretically isomorphic. The construction uses properties of Anzai skew products, \[ T_ \phi: X\times X\to X\times X,\quad T_ \phi(x,y)=(Tx,\;\phi(x)\cdot y), \] where \(T\) is an irrational rotation, \(X\) -- the unit circle, and the measure is product Lebesgue measure. The proof uses the fact that \(T\) and \(\phi\) can be chosen so that \(T_ \phi\) and \(T_{\phi^ 4}\) are isomorphic diffeomorphisms, but \(T_{\phi^ 2}\) is a factor of \(T_ \phi\) which is not isomorphic to \(T_ \phi\).