On the classification of Cartan actions (Q2370119)

The properties of (totally) Anosov and (totally) Cartan action are studied. Let us recall that the Anosov action one if all is Cartan one if all coarse Lyapunov foliations are one-dimensional. The main technical result is the following: Let \(\alpha\) be a totally Cartan action of \(\mathbb{R}^k\), \(k\geq 2\), on a compact smooth manifold \(M\) preserving an ergodic probability measure \(\mu\) with full support. Suppose, that every Lyapunov hyperplane contains a generic one-parameter subgroup with a dense orbit. Then there exists a Hölder continuous Riemannian metric \(g\) on \(M\) such that for any \(a\in\mathbb{R}^k\) and any Lyapunov exponent \(\chi\) \[ \| a_*(v)\|= e^{\chi(a)}\| v\|\quad\text{for any }v\in E_\chi. \] (Here \(a_*:TM\to TM\) denotes the differential of \(a\).) Further the authors have proved that if every one-parameter subgroup of \(\mathbb{R}^k\), \(k\geq 3\), has a dense orbit, then \(\alpha\) is \(C^\infty\) conjugate to an almost algebraic action, i.e. the lift of the action to some finite cover of \(M\) is \(C^\infty\) conjugate to an \(\mathbb{R}^k\)-action by left translation on a homogeneous space.