Ergodic properties of linear actions of \((2\times 2)\)-matrices (Q1872817)

For \(n\geq 2\) let \(\Gamma\subset SO(n,1)\) be a discrete cocompact subgroup and let \(\overline\Gamma \triangleleft\Gamma\) be a normal subgroup with the property that \(\Gamma/ \overline\Gamma\) is infinite abelian. Then \(\Gamma, \overline\Gamma\) define oriented hyperbolic manifolds \(V=\mathbb{H}^n/ \Gamma\), \(\widehat V=\mathbb{H}^n/ \overline\Gamma\). The frame bundle \(St_n(V)\), \(St_n( \widehat V)\) of \(V,\widehat V\) is the fibre bundle of oriented orthonormal frames in the tangent bundle of \(V\), \(\widehat V\). The frame flow \(f_t\) acts on \(St_n (V)\), \(St_n(\widehat V)\) by parallel transport of a frame along a geodesic whose tangent is the first vector of the frame. The Lebesgue-Leonville measure combined with the Haar measure on the group \(SO(n-1)\) naturally defines an invariant measure for \(f_t\). By a result of \textit{M. Brin} and \textit{H. Karcher} [Compos. Math. 52, 275-297 (1984; Zbl 0561.58039)], the frame flow on \(St_n(V)\) is ergodic. The purpose of the paper is to show that the foliation of \(St_n(V)\), \(St_n(\widehat V)\) by the strong stable manifolds of the frame flow is ergodic. The proof uses earlier ideas of \textit{F. Ledrappier} for the case \(n=2\) [C. R. Acad Sci., Paris, Sér. I, Math. 329, 61-64 (1999; Zbl 0928.22012)] and a suitable version of symbolic dynamics. It extends to a wide class of closed manifolds of variable negative curvature and their abelian covers including all even-dimensional manifolds of dimension not equal to 6 and manifolds with sufficiently pinched curvature. By an observation of \textit{L. V. Ahlfors} [Möbius transformations and Clifford numbers, Differential geometry and complex analysis, Springer, Berlin, 65-73 (1985; Zbl 0569.30040)], the group \(SO(n,1)\) is naturally isomorphic to the group \(PSL(2,\Gamma_{n-1})\) of \((2 \times 2)\)-matrices of (generalized) determinant 1 and entries in the set \(\Gamma_{n-1}\) of products of nonzero Clifford numbers devided by \(\pm 1\). The group \(PSL(2, \Gamma_{n-1})\) acts linearly on a suitable subset of \((\Gamma_{n-1}\cup \{0\})^2\), and this action is conjugate to the action of \(SO(n,1)\) on the space of strong stable manifolds for the frame flow on the hyperbolic space \(\mathbb{H}^n\). As a consequence, the authors derive that for every cocompact lattice \(\Gamma\) in \(SL(2,\mathbb{C})\) and a normal subgroup \(\overline \Gamma \triangleleft \Gamma\) such that \(\Gamma/ \overline\Gamma\) is infinite abelian the standard linear action of \(\Gamma\) or \(\overline\Gamma\) on \(\mathbb{C}^2\) is ergodic. An analogous result also holds for subgroups of \(SL(2,\mathbb{H})\).