Invariant distributions for homogeneous flows and affine transformations (Q316981)

A smooth flow generated by a smooth vector field \(X\) on a compact manifold \(M\) is called \textit{stable} if the range of the Lie derivative \(\mathcal{L}_{X}:\;C^{\infty}(M)\rightarrow C^{\infty}(M)\) is closed, and it is called \textit{cohomology-free} or \textit{rigid} if it is stable and the range of \(\mathcal{L}_{X}\) had codimension one. The Katok (or Katok-Hurder) conjecture for flows is that every cohomology-free smooth flow is smoothly conjugate to a linear flow on a torus with Diophantine frequencies. (For a smooth diffeomorphism \(f\) on \(M\), an analogous conjecture can be stated by defining stability and rigidity considering the range of the operator \(f^*-{\mathrm{Id}}\) on \(C^{\infty}(M)\).) Flows (or diffeomorphisms) on compact manifolds with range closure of codimension one in the space of smooth functions are called distributionally uniquely ergodic (DUE). Note that linear flows on tori with Liouvillean frequencies (i.e., non-Diophantine frequencies) are non-stable and DUE. Hence Katok's conjecture holds true for flows if every cohomology-free smooth flow is smoothly conjugate to a linear flow on a torus. In the present paper, the authors prove that DUE examples do not appear among non-toral homogeneous flows. More precisely, they show that for any homogeneous flow on a finite-volume homogeneous manifold \(M\), except for the case of flows smoothly isomorphic to linear toral flows, the closure of the range of the Lie derivative operator on the space of smooth functions has countable codimension. They draw the same conclusion for every affine transformation of a homogenous space which is not conjugate to a toral translation. For partially hyperbolic flows or diffeomorphisms, they show that every system has infinitely many distinct minimal sets. Thus, the Katok conjecture holds true in all of the above cases.