An Ergodic Spectral Decomposition Theorem for Singular Star Flows

Abstract: For Axiom A diffeomorphisms and flows, the celebrated Spectral Decomposition Theorem of Smale states that the non-wandering set decomposes into a finite disjoint union of isolated compact invariant sets, each of which is the homoclinic class of a periodic orbit. For singular star flows which can be seen as ``Axiom A flows with singularities'', this result remains open and is known as the Spectral Decomposition Conjecture. In this paper, we will provide a positive answer to an ergodic version of this conjecture: $C^1$ open and densely, singular star flows with positive topological entropy can only have finitely many ergodic measures of maximal entropy. More generally, we obtain the finiteness of equilibrium states for any H\"older continuous potential functions satisfying a mild, yet optimal, condition. We also show that $C^1$ open and densely, star flows are almost expansive, and the topological pressure of continuous functions varies continuously with respect to the vector field in $C^1$ topology.