Properties of equilibrium states for geodesic flows over manifolds without focal points (Q2227268)

Let \(M\) be a closed Riemannian manifold satisfying two conditions: \(M\) has no focal points and \(M\) is a rank-1 manifold. Let \(\mathcal{F}\) be the geodesic flow on the unit tangent bundle \({T^1M}\) and \(\mathrm{Sing}\) is a closed \(\mathcal{F}\)-invariant set without hyperbolic properties, more precisely \[ \mathrm{Sing}=\{v\in T^1M: \mathrm{rank}(v)\geq 2\}. \] The main result states that for any Hölder potential \({\varphi:T^1M\to\mathbb{R}}\) satisfying the pressure gap condition \[ P(\varphi)>P(\varphi|_{\mathrm{Sing}}) \] there exists a unique equilibrium state \({\mu_\varphi}.\) The proof is based on Climenhaga-Thompson theorem [\textit{V. Climenhaga} and \textit{D. J. Thompson}, Adv. Math. 303, 745--799 (2016; Zbl 1366.37084)]. This result generalizes the previous work of the authors for surfaces [\textit{D. Chen} et al., Nonlinearity 33, No. 3, 1118--1155 (2020; Zbl 1437.37043)]. It is also proved that \(\mu_\varphi\) is fully supported and has the \(K\)-property. The authors also prove that if \(\varphi\) is locally constant on a neighborhood of Sing then the pressure gap condition is satisfied.