Orbit equivalence and total weak mixing of free group actions

Abstract

We prove that the orbit equivalence class of every free ergodic probability-measure-preserving (pmp) action of a free group contains a totally weak mixing action. Equivalently, every ergodic treeable pmp equivalence relation of cost $n\in\mathbf{N}\cup\{\infty\}$ is generated by a free totally weak mixing action of $\mathbf{F}_n$. This answers a question of Miller and Tserunyan. The proof goes by considering a Polish space of edge slidings along a fixed mixing transformation and proving that for every $w\not=e\in\mathbf{F}_n$ the set of edge slidings that produce an action with $w$ weakly mixing forms a comeager set.