Cartan actions of higher rank abelian groups and their classification

We study R k × Z ℓ \mathbb {R}^k \times \mathbb {Z}^\ell actions on arbitrary compact manifolds with a projectively dense set of Anosov elements and 1-dimensional coarse Lyapunov foliations. Such actions are called totally Cartan actions. We completely classify such actions as built from low-dimensional Anosov flows and diffeomorphisms and affine actions, verifying the Katok-Spatzier conjecture for this class. This is achieved by introducing a new tool, the action of a dynamically defined topological group describing paths in coarse Lyapunov foliations, and understanding its generators and relations. We obtain applications to the Zimmer program.