For a proper, Gromov-hyperbolic metric space and a discrete, non-elementary, group of isometries, we define a natural subset of the limit set at infinity of the group called the ergodic limit set. The name is motivated by the fact that every ergodic measure which is invariant for the geodesic flow on the quotient metric space is concentrated on geodesics with endpoints belonging to the ergodic limit set. We refine the classical Bishop–Jones theorem proving that the packing dimension of the ergodic limit set coincides with the critical exponent of the group.

We present a modified version of the well-known geometric Lorenz attractor. It consists of a $C^1$ open set ${\mathcal O}$ of vector fields in ${\mathbb R}^3$ having an attracting region ${\mathcal U}$ satisfying three properties. Namely, a unique singularity $\sigma $; a unique attractor $\Lambda $ including the singular point and the maximal invariant in ${\mathcal U}$ has at most two chain recurrence classes, which are $\Lambda $ and (at most) one hyperbolic horseshoe. The horseshoe and the singular attractor have a collision along with the union of $2$ codimension $1$ submanifolds which split ${\mathcal O}$ into three regions. By crossing this collision locus, the attractor and the horseshoe may merge into a two-sided Lorenz attractor, or they may exchange their nature: the Lorenz attractor expels the singular point $\sigma $ and becomes a horseshoe, and the horseshoe absorbs $\sigma $ becoming a Lorenz attractor.

Katok [Lyapunov exponents, entropy and periodic points of diffeomorphisms. Publ. Math. Inst. Hautes Études Sci. 51 (1980), 137–173] conjectured that every $C^{2}$ diffeomorphism f on a Riemannian manifold has the intermediate entropy property, that is, for any constant $c \in [0, h_{\mathrm {top}}(f))$, there exists an ergodic measure $\mu $ of f satisfying $h_{\mu }(f)=c$. In this paper, we obtain a conditional intermediate metric entropy property and two conditional intermediate Birkhoff average properties for basic sets of flows that characterize the refined roles of ergodic measures in the invariant ones. In this process, we establish a ‘multi-horseshoe’ entropy-dense property and use it to get the goal combined with conditional variational principles. We also obtain the same result for singular hyperbolic attractors.

We introduce a notion of sensitivity with respect to a continuous real-valued bounded map which provides a sufficient condition for a continuous transformation, acting on a Baire metric space, to exhibit a Baire generic subset of points with historic behavior (also known as irregular points). The applications of this criterion recover, and extend, several known theorems on the genericity of the irregular set, in addition to yielding a number of new results, including information on the irregular set of geodesic flows, in both negative and non-positive curvature, and semigroup actions.

We discuss a metric description of the divergence of a (projectively) Anosov flow in dimension 3, in terms of its associated expansion rates and give metric and contact geometric characterizations of when a projectively Anosov flow is Anosov. We then study the symmetries that the existence of an invariant volume form yields on the geometry of an Anosov flow, from various viewpoints of the theory of contact hyperbolas, Reeb dynamics, and Liouville geometry, and give characterizations of when an Anosov flow is volume preserving, in terms of those theories. We finally use our study to show that the bi-contact surgery operations of Salmoiraghi [Surgery on Anosov flows using bi-contact geometry. Preprint, 2021, arXiv:2104.07109; and Goodman surgery and projectively Anosov flows. Preprint, 2022, arXiv:2202.01328] can be applied in an arbitrary small neighborhood of a periodic orbit of any Anosov flow. In particular, we conclude that the Goodman surgery of Anosov flows can be performed using the bi-contact surgery operations of Salmoiraghi [Goodman surgery and projectively Anosov flows. Preprint, 2022, arXiv:2202.01328].

We construct one-dimensional foliations which are subfoliations of two-dimensional foliations in $3$ -manifolds. The subfoliation is by quasigeodesics in each two-dimensional leaf, but it is not funnel: not all quasigeodesics share a common ideal point in most leaves.

We define positively expansive semigroups of linear operators on Banach spaces. We characterize these semigroups in terms of the point spectrum of the infinitesimal generator. In particular, we prove that a positively expansive semigroup is neither uniformly bounded nor equicontinuous. We apply our results to the Lasota equation.

We prove by methods of harmonic analysis a result on the existence of solutions for twisted cohomological equations on translation surfaces with loss of derivatives at most $3+$ in Sobolev spaces. As a consequence we prove that product translation flows on (three-dimensional) translation manifolds which are products of a (higher-genus) translation surface with a (flat) circle are stable in the sense of A. Katok. In turn, our result on product flows implies a stability result of time- $\tau $ maps of translation flows on translation surfaces.

A zero-entropy system is said to be loosely Bernoulli if it can be induced from an irrational rotation of the circle. We provide a criterion for zero-entropy systems to be loosely Bernoulli that is compatible with mixing. Using this criterion, we show the existence of smooth mixing zero-entropy loosely Bernoulli transformations whose Cartesian square is loosely Bernoulli.

We describe topological obstructions (involving periodic points, topological entropy and rotation sets) for a homeomorphism on a compact manifold to embed in a continuous flow. We prove that homeomorphisms in a $C^{0}$-open and dense set of homeomorphisms isotopic to the identity in compact manifolds of dimension at least two are not the time-1 map of a continuous flow. Such property is also true for volume-preserving homeomorphisms in compact manifolds of dimension at least five. In the case of conservative homeomorphisms of the torus $\mathbb {T}^{d} (d\ge 2)$ isotopic to identity, we describe necessary conditions for a homeomorphism to be flowable in terms of the rotation sets.

In this survey we prove the sharpest results on the loss of Sobolev regularity for solutions of the cohomological equation for translation flows on translation surfaces, available to the methods developed by the author in Forni [Solutions of the cohomological equation for area-preserving flows on compact surfaces of higher genus. Ann. of Math. (2)146(2) (1997), 295–344] and Forni [Deviation of ergodic averages for area-preserving flows on surfaces of higher genus. Ann. of Math. (2)155(1) (2002), 1–103]. The paper was mostly written between 2005 and 2006 while the author was at the University of Toronto, Canada, and was posted on arXiv in July 2007 [Forni. Sobolev regularity of solutions of the cohomological equation. Preprint, 2007, arXiv:0707.0940v2]. In an updated introduction we describe our results, taking into account later work on the problem and relevant recent progress in the field of Teichmüller dynamics, interval exchange transformations and translation flows.

Several perturbation tools are established in the volume-preserving setting allowing for the pasting, extension, localized smoothing and local linearization of vector fields. The pasting and the local linearization hold in all classes of regularity ranging from $C^{1}$ to $C^{\infty }$ (Hölder included). For diffeomorphisms, a conservative linearized version of Franks’ lemma is proved in the $C^{r,\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}}$ ($r\in \mathbb{Z}^{+}$, $0<\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}<1$) and $C^{\infty }$ settings, the resulting diffeomorphism having the same regularity as the original one.

This review paper is concerned with the stability analysis of the continuity equation in the DiPerna–Lions setting in which the advecting velocity field is Sobolev regular. Quantitative estimates for the equation were derived only recently, but optimality was not discussed. We revisit the results from our 2017 paper, compare the new estimates with previously known estimates for Lagrangian flows and demonstrate how these can be applied to produce optimal bounds in applications from physics, engineering and numerical analysis.

In this paper, semidefinite optimization method is proposed to estimate bounds on linear functionals defined on solutions of linear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with smooth coefficients. The method can get upper and lower bounds by solving two semidefinite programs, not solving ODEs directly. Its convergence theorem is proved. The theorem shows that the upper and lower bounds series of linear functionals discussed can approach their exact values infinitely. Numerical results show that the method is effective for the estimation problems discussed. In addition, in order to reduce calculation amount, Cheybeshev polynomials are applied to replace Taylor polynomials of smooth coefficients in computing process.

We present an efficient algorithm for calculating the minimum energy path (MEP) and energy barriers between local minima on a multidimensional potential energy surface (PES). Such paths play a central role in the understanding of transition pathways between metastable states. Our method relies on the original formulation of the string method [Phys. Rev. B, 66,052301 (2002)], i.e. to evolve a smooth curve along a direction normal to the curve. The algorithm works by performing minimization steps on hyperplanes normal to the curve. Therefore the problem of finding MEP on the PES is remodeled as a set of constrained minimization problems. This provides the flexibility of using minimization algorithms faster than the steepest descent method used in the simplified string method [J. Chem. Phys., 126(16), 164103 (2007)]. At the same time, it provides a more direct analog of the finite temperature string method. The applicability of the algorithm is demonstrated using various examples.

The space of admissible vector fields, consistent with the structure of a network of coupled dynamical systems, can be specified in terms of the network's symmetry groupoid. The symmetry groupoid also determines the robust patterns of synchrony in the network – those that arise because of the network topology. In particular, synchronous cells can be identified in a canonical manner to yield a quotient network. Admissible vector fields on the original network induce admissible vector fields on the quotient, and any dynamical state of such an induced vector field can be lifted to the original network, yielding an analogous state in which certain sets of cells are synchronized. In the paper, necessary and sufficient conditions are specified for all admissible vector fields on the quotient to lift in this manner. These conditions are combinatorial in nature, and the proof uses invariant theory for the symmetric group. Also the symmetry groupoid of a quotient is related to that of the original network, and it is shown that there is a close analogy with the usual normalizer symmetry that arises in group-equivariant dynamics.

The Hopf bifurcation and homoclinic bifurcation of the quintic Hamiltonian system is analyzed under quintic perturbations by using unfolding theory in this paper. We show that a quintic system can have at least 29 limit cycles.