On the ergodicity of partially hyperbolic systems (Q974043)

A partially hyperbolic diffeomorphism of a compact manifold \(M\) is called accessible if any point of \(M\) can be reached from any other point along a path that is a concatenation of finitely many subpaths each of which lies entirely in a single leaf of the strong stable (or unstable) foliation. A diffeomorphism \(f\) is called essentially accessible if every measurable set that is a union of entire accessibility classes has either full or zero measure. It was conjectured by \textit{C. Pugh} and \textit{M. Shub} [J. Complexity 13, No. 1, 125--179 (1997; Zbl 0883.58025)] that if \(f\) is a \(C^2\), partially hyperbolic, volume preserving diffeomorphism, then essential accessibility of \(f\) implies ergodicity. The authors prove this conjecture under a so-called center bunching condition (which is satisfied, for example, if the center bundle is one-dimensional).