Local rigidity for certain groups of toral automorphisms

Let Γ = SL(n, ℤ) or any subgroup of finite index, n ≥ 4. We show that the standard action of Γ on ⁿ is locally rigid, i.e., every action of Γ on ⁿ by C^∞ diffeomorphisms which is sufficiently close to the standard action is conjugate to the standard action by a C^∞ diffeomorphism. In the course of the proof, we obtain a global rigidity result (Theorem 4.12) for actions of free abelian subgroups of maximal rank in SL(n, ℤ). Partially supported by NSF grant DMS9011749.