A multiplicative ergodic theorem and nonpositively curved spaces (Q1969100)

Let \((Y,d)\) be a uniformly convex complete metric space with nonpositive curvature in the sense of Busemann. Consider an ergodic, probability measure \(\mu\)-preserving system \((X, \mu, L)\) and a cocycle \(\omega: X \mapsto S\) into semicontractions of a subset \(D\subset Y\) satisfying for a fixed point \(y\in D\) \[ \int_Y d(y, \omega(x)y) \text{d}\mu(x) < \infty. \] It follows from the subadditive ergodic theorem, that then limit \[ \lim_{n\to\infty} \tfrac 1n d(y, y_n(x)) = A \] exists for \(\mu\)-almost every \(x\), where \(y_n(x) = \omega(x) \omega(Lx) \dots \omega(L^{n-1}x)y\). The main result of the paper asserts that if \(A>0\) then for almost every \(x\) there exists in \(Y\) a unique geodesic ray \(\gamma(\cdot, x)\) starting at \(y\), such that \[ \lim_{n\to\infty} \tfrac 1n d(\gamma(An,x), y_n(x)) = 0. \] The above generalizes the Oseledets multiplicative ergodic theorem, which concerns the case where \(Y\) is the symmetric space \(GL_N(\mathbb{R})/O_N(\mathbb{R})\) and the cocycle takes values in \(O_N(\mathbb{R})\). The result is obtained by proving two key lemmas, the second being a kind of ``maximal ergodic inequality'' for subadditive real-valued cocycles (the Kingman's subadditive ergodic theorem is derived as a corollary). The paper is concluded by two applications. The first is an identification (via Kaimanovich theorem) of the Poisson boundary of a group of isometries acting on \(Y\) in terms of the generated random walk on the boundary of \(Y\), the second concerns Hilbert-Schmidt operators and Lyapunov regularity of certain operator-valued cocycles.