Flow coboundary ($h=Fu$)

A smooth function $h$ is a flow coboundary if $h=Fu$ for some smooth function $u$, where $F$ is the flow generator. Equivalently $u({\varphi }_{t}x)-u(x)={\int }_0^{t}h({\varphi }_{s}x)ds$. Thus its integral over every periodic orbit is zero. For a transitive Anosov flow, the Livsic theorem supplies the converse and smooth regularity.

For a volume form $\Omega$, define divergence by ${\mathcal{L}}_F\Omega =({\mathrm{div}}_{\Omega }F)\Omega$. The product rule for the Lie derivative gives ${\mathrm{div}}_{e^h\Omega }F={\mathrm{div}}_{\Omega }F+Fh$. Consequently the flow preserves a smooth positive volume precisely when its divergence in any reference volume is a smooth flow coboundary. The displayed density has the minus sign dictated by this product rule.