Georgia Institute of Technology College of Sciences

I will revisit the relation between Anosov 3-flows and invariant volume forms, from a contact geometric point of view. Consequently, I will give a contact geometric characterization of when a flow with dominated splitting is Anosov based on its divergence, as well as a Reeb dynamical interpretation of when such flows are volume preserving. Moreover, I will discuss the implications of this study on the surgery theory of Anosov 3-flows. In particular, I will conclude that the Goodman-Fried surgery of Anosov flows can be reconstructed, using a bi-contact surgery of Salmoiraghi.