Stable ergodicity of certain linear automorphisms of the torus (Q816323)

For a linear automorphism of a higher-dimensional torus, ergodicity amounts to that no root of unity is an eigenvalue of the defining matrix. Stable ergodicity means small perturbations are still ergodic. The author calls a linear automorphism of a torus pseudo-Anosov if it is ergodic and the characteristic polynomial of its matrix is irreducible over the integers and is not a polynomial in a higher power of its variable. Then by his main theorems, pseudo-Anosov toral automorphisms are \(C^5\)-stably ergodic in dimensions greater than 5 if the center space is two-dimensional, and, in dimension 4, pseudo-Anosov automorphisms are \(C^{22}\)-stably ergodic. It follows that all ergodic linear toral automorphisms are stably ergodic in dimensions less than 6. A prominent notion in the proof is the essential accessibility property of an automorphism, which means that the set of points pathwise reachable from a given point via stable and unstable leaves of the invariant foliations, has null or full Lebesgue measure. By a result of Pugh and Shub, this property is sufficient for ergodicity if certain additional conditions are met. In smoothing conjugations, KAM theory comes into play.