A$generalized polynomial$is a real-valued function which is obtained from conventional polynomials by the use of the operations of addition, multiplication, and taking the integer part; a$generalized polynomial mapping$is a vector-valued mapping whose coordinates are generalized polynomials. We show that any bounded generalized polynomial mapping$u$:$Z$^{$d$}→$R$^{$l$}has a representation$u$($n$) =$f$($ϕ$($n$)$x$),$n$∈$Z$^{$d$}, where$f$is a piecewise polynomial function on a compact nilmanifold$X$,$x$∈$X$, and$ϕ$is an ergodic$Z$^{$d$}-action by translations on$X$. This fact is used to show that the sequence$u$($n$),$n$∈$Z$^{$d$}, is well distributed on a piecewise polynomial surface $\mathcal{S}\subset\mathbf{R}^{l}$ (with respect to the Borel measure on $\mathcal{S}$ that is the image of the Lebesgue measure under the piecewise polynomial function defining $\mathcal{S}$ ). As corollaries we also obtain a von Neumann-type ergodic theorem along generalized polynomials and a result on Diophantine approximations extending the work of van der Corput and of Furstenberg–Weiss.

We use microlocal and paradifferential techniques to obtain$L$^{8}norm bounds for spectral clusters associated with elliptic second-order operators on two-dimensional manifolds with boundary. The result leads to optimal$L$^{$q$}bounds, in the range 2⩽q⩽∞, for$L$^{2}- normalized spectral clusters on bounded domains in the plane and, more generally, for two-dimensional compact manifolds with boundary. We also establish new sharp$L$^{$q$}estimates in higher dimensions for a range of exponents q̅_{n}⩽$q$⩽∞.

We study property ($T$) and the fixed-point property for actions on$L$^{$p$}and other Banach spaces. We show that property ($T$) holds when$L$^{2}is replaced by$L$^{$p$}(and even a subspace/quotient of$L$^{$p$}), and that in fact it is independent of 1≤$p$<∞. We show that the fixed-point property for$L$^{$p$}follows from property ($T$) when 1<$p$< 2+$ε$. For simple Lie groups and their lattices, we prove that the fixed-point property for$L$^{$p$}holds for any 1<$p$<∞ if and only if the rank is at least two. Finally, we obtain a superrigidity result for actions of irreducible lattices in products of general groups on superreflexive spaces.

We prove the Zorich–Kontsevich conjecture that the non-trivial Lyapunov exponents of the Teichmüller ow on (any connected component of a stratum of) the moduli space of Abelian differentials on compact Riemann surfaces are all distinct. By previous work of Zorich and Kontsevich, this implies the existence of the complete asymptotic Lagrangian flag describing the behavior in homology of the vertical foliation in a typical translation surface.

Let$χ$be an analytic vector field defined in a real-analytic manifold of dimension three. We prove that all the singularities of$χ$can be made elementary by a finite number of blowing-ups in the ambient space.