Measure-theoretical properties of center foliations

Abstract

Center foliations of partially hyperbolic diffeomorphisms may exhibit pathological behavior from a measure-theoretical viewpoint: quite often, the disintegration of the ambient volume measure along the center leaves consists of atomic measures. We add to this theory by constructing stable examples for which the disintegration is singular without being atomic. In the context of diffeomorphisms with mostly contracting center direction, for which upper leafwise absolute continuity is known to hold, we provide examples where the center foliation is not lower leafwise absolutely continuous.