Measurable rigidity and disjointness for {\mathbb Z}^k actions by toral automorphisms (Q4544233)

For \(k \leq 1\) a \(\mathbb Z^k\)-action by automorphisms of an \(m\)-dimensional torus \(T^m \, (m \geq 1)\) is given by a homomorphism \(\mathbb Z^k \to \text{GL} (m; \mathbb Z)\) where the group \(\text{GL} (m, \mathbb Z)\) is the group of integral \(m \times m\)-matrices with determinant \(\pm 1\) which can naturally be identified with the automorphism group of \(T^m\). Given any two such actions \(\alpha_1, \alpha_2\) of \(\mathbb Z^k\) on tori \(T^{m_1}, T^{m_2}\), a joining of \(\alpha_1\) and \(\alpha_2\) is a Borel probability measure \(\mu\) on \(T^{m_1} \times T^{m_2}\) which is invariant under the diagonal action of \(\mathbb Z^k\) and projects onto the Lebesgue measures on \(T^{m_1}\) and \(T^{m_2}\). Thus the Lebesgue measure on \(T^{m_1} \times T^{m_2}\) is a joining which is called a trivial joining. The purpose of the paper is to derive nonexistence results for nontrivial joinings of so-called totally nonsymplectic \(\mathbb Z^k\)-actions \(\alpha_1, \alpha_2\) on tori \(T^{m_1}, T^{m_2}\) under the additional assumption that there is no subgroup \(\Gamma\) of \(\mathbb Z^k\) of finite index so that the action of \(\Gamma\) on \(T^{m_1}\) or \(T^{m_2}\) admits a nontrivial invariant rational subspace. The main result of the paper states that if these conditions hold then the existence of a nontrivial joining measure for \(\alpha_1, \alpha_2\) on \(T^{m_1} \times T^{m_2}\) implies that \(m_1 = m_2\) and that there is a subgroup \(\Gamma\) of \(\mathbb Z^k\) of finite index so that the restrictions to \(\Gamma\) of the actions \(\alpha_1, \alpha_2\) are conjugate over \(\mathbb Q\). Moreover, a detailed description of an ergodic nontrivial joining measure is given; such a measure is an extension of a zero-entropy measure in an algebraic factor of dimension \(m_1 = m_2\) with Haar measures in the fibres. The paper builds on earlier work of \textit{A. Katok} and \textit{R. J. Spatzier} [Ergodic Theory Dyn. Syst. 16, 751--778 (1996); correction ibid. 18, 503--507 (1998; Zbl 0859.58021)]. The proofs are based on a careful examination of the conditional measures of a joining measure on invariant Lyapunov foliations. This is possible because under the assumptions on the actions, all matrices in \(\text{GL} (m_i, \mathbb Z)\) defining the action \(\alpha_i\) \((i = 1, 2)\) are simultaneously diagonalizable over \(\mathbb C\).