An Ambrose-Kakutani representation theorem for countable-to-1 semiflows (Q733813)

\textit{W. Ambrose} and \textit{S. Kakutani} [Ann. Math. (2) 42, 723--739 (1941; Zbl 0025.26901) and Duke Math. J. 9, 25--42 (1942; Zbl 0063.00065)] showed that any jointly measurable flow (action of \(\mathbb R\)) on a standard probability space is measurably isomorphic to a suspension flow built under a function if the flow is aperiodic. This important result opened the door to the notion of Kakutani equivalence and thence to many other aspects of equivalence between measure-preserving flows. This paper is concerned with the more problematical setting of a measure-preserving semiflow (that is, action of \(\mathbb R_{\geq0}\)) by surjective measure-preserving maps. Under the assumption that \(T\) is such a flow on a Polish space \(X\), preserving a Borel measure, that each \(T_t\) is countable-to-one, and satisfies a `discrete branching property', an isomorphism to a `semiflow under a function' is constructed. This builds on earlier work of \textit{U. Krengel} [Math. Ann. 182, 1--39 (1969; Zbl 0167.32801)], who showed that any measure-preserving semiflow is a factor of a suspension semiflow. Krengel also obtained a measurable representation of any semiflow; here the topological part of the picture is controlled well enough to obtain a suspension. Finally the deep result of \textit{D. Rudolph} [Math. Z. 150, 201--220 (1976; Zbl 0325.28019)] (extended by \textit{U. Krengel} [Ann. Inst. Henri Poincaré, Nouv. Sér., Sect. B 12, 319--338 (1976; Zbl 0356.28005)] to give precise control of the measure on the base of the two pre-image sets), giving a two-valued step coding for any measure-preserving flow, is shown not to hold for Borel semiflows even under the assumption that they are suspension semiflows.