Equidistribution of expanding translates of curves and Dirichlet's theorem on Diophantine approximation

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Publication:834797



Abstract: We show that for almost all points on any analytic curve on R^{k} which is not contained in a proper affine subspace, the Dirichlet's theorem on simultaneous approximation, as well as its dual result for simultaneous approximation of linear forms, cannot be improved. The result is obtained by proving asymptotic equidistribution of evolution of a curve on a strongly unstable leaf under certain partially hyperbolic flow on the space of unimodular lattices in R^{k+1}. The proof involves ergodic properties of unipotent flows on homogeneous spaces.


Dirichlet found a simultaneous approximation result of the following shape. Given reals \(\alpha_1,\dots,\alpha_n\) and \(N\geq1\), there are integers \(x_1, \dots, x_n\), \(y\) (not all zero) with \(|\alpha_1x_1+\cdots+\alpha_nx_n+y|< N^{-n}\), and with \(\max(|x_1|,\dots,|x_n|)\leq N\). Dually, for each \(N\geq1\), there are integers \(x_1,\dots,x_n\), \(y\) (not all zero) with \({\max(|\alpha_1y-x_1|,\dots,|\alpha_ny-x_n|)}< N^{-1}\), and with \(|y|\leq N^n\). \textit{H. Davenport} and \textit{W. M. Schmidt} [Acta Arith. 16, 413--424 (1970; Zbl 0201.05501)] proved that each of these statements is false for almost every \((\alpha_1,\dots,\alpha_n)\) if the right-hand sides of the inequalities are multiplied by any number \(\mu < 1\). This remarkable sharpness -- that Dirichlet's theorems `cannot be \(\mu\)-improved' for almost all points in \(\mathbb R^n\) -- has several generalizations and extensions due to Baker, Dodson, Rynne, Vickers, Bugeaud, Kleinbock and Weiss. In particular, \textit{D. Kleinbock} and \textit{B. Weiss} [J. Mod. Dyn. 2, No. 1, 43--62 (2008; Zbl 1143.11022)] expressed the problem using the language of flows on homogeneous spaces and exploited results of \textit{S. G. Dani} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 359, 55--89 (1985; Zbl 0578.22012); correction, J. Reine Angew. Math. 360, 214 (1985; Zbl 0578.22013)] and of \textit{D. Y. Kleinbock} and \textit{G. A. Margulis} [Ann. Math. (2) 148, No. 1, 339--360 (1998; Zbl 0922.11061)]. They proved that the Dirichlet theorems cannot be \(\mu\)-improved for almost all points lying on any nondegenerate curve in \(\mathbb R^n\) for some small \(\mu < 1\). In this paper, Ratner's theorem on ergodic properties of unipotent flows on homogeneous spaces is used to prove generalizations of the following form. Let \(\phi:[a,b] \rightarrow\mathbb R^n\) be an analytic curve whose image is not contained in any proper affine subspace. Then Dirichlet's theorems cannot be improved (for any \(\mu\in(0,1)\)) for \(\phi(s)\) for almost all \(s\in [a,b]\). This is deduced from a more general result: Let \(\Lambda\) be a lattice in a Lie group \(L\), and let \(\rho:\text{SL}(n+1,\mathbb R) \rightarrow L\) be a continuous homomorphism; let \(x_0 \in L/\Lambda\) have the property that its orbit \(Hx_0\) under a minimal closed subgroup \(H\) of \(L\) containing the image of \(\rho\) is closed, and admits a finite \(H\)-invariant measure \(\mu_H\). Denote by \(a_t\) the diagonal matrix \(\text{diag}(e^{nt},e^{-t},e^{-t}, \dots, e^{-t})\) in \(\text{SL}(n+1,\mathbb R)\) for and by \(u(x_1, \dots,x_n)\) the unipotent matrix with first row \(1,x_1, \dots, x_n\) (and other rows as in the identity matrix). Then, for any bounded continuous \(f\) on \(L/\Lambda\), \[ \lim_{t \rightarrow \infty} \frac{1}{|b-a|} \int_a^b f(\rho(a_t u(\phi(s)))x_0)\,ds = \int_{Hx_0} f \,d \mu_H. \] An intermediate result (Proposition 4.2) describes how the linear actions of various copies of \(\text{SL}(2,\mathbb R)\) (whose action has been studied by the author [Duke Math. J. 148, No. 2, 281--304 (2009; Zbl 1171.37004)]) inside \({\text{SL}(n+1,\mathbb R)}\) interact.




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