Type III factors with unique Cartan decomposition

Abstract

We prove that for any free ergodic nonsingular nonamenable action \Gamma\ \actson (X,\mu) of all \Gamma\ in a large class of groups including all hyperbolic groups, the associated group measure space factor $L^\infty(X) \rtimes \Gamma$ has L^\infty(X) as its unique Cartan subalgebra, up to unitary conjugacy. This generalizes the probability measure preserving case that was established in [PV12]. We also prove primeness and indecomposability results for such crossed products, for the corresponding orbit equivalence relations and for arbitrary amalgamated free products $M_1 *_B M_2$ over a subalgebra B of type I.