Sharp ergodic theorems for group actions and strong ergodicity

Let $\mu$ be a probability measure on a locally compact group $G$, and suppose $G$ acts measurably on a probability measure space $(X,m)$, preserving the measure $m$. We study ergodic theoretic properties of the action along $\mu$-i.i.d. random walks on $G$. It is shown that under a (necessary) spectral assumption on the $\mu$-averaging operator on $L^2(X,m)$, almost surely the mean and the pointwise (Kakutani's) random ergodic theorems have roughly $n^{-1/2}$ rate of convergence. We also prove a central limit theorem for the pointwise convergence. Under a similar spectral condition on the diagonal $G$-action on $(X\times X,m\times m)$, an almost surely exponential rate of mixing along random walks is obtained.The imposed spectral condition is shown to be connected to a strengthening of the ergodicity property, namely, the uniqueness of $m$-integration as a $G$-invariant mean on $L^\infty(X,m)$. These related conditions, as well as the presented sharp ergodic theorems, never occur for amenable $G$. Nevertheless, we provide many natural examples, among them automorphism actions on tori and actions on Lie groups' homogeneous spaces, for which our results can be applied.