We study the equidistribution of orbits of the form $b_1^{a_1(n)}\cdots b_k^{a_k(n)}\Gamma $ in a nilmanifold X, where the sequences $a_i(n)$ arise from smooth functions of polynomial growth belonging to a Hardy field. We show that under certain assumptions on the growth rates of the functions $a_1,\ldots ,a_k$, these orbits are equidistributed on some subnilmanifold of the space X. As an application of these results and in combination with the Host–Kra structure theorem for measure-preserving systems, as well as some recent seminorm estimates of the author for ergodic averages concerning Hardy field functions, we deduce a norm convergence result for multiple ergodic averages. Our method mainly relies on an equidistribution result of Green and Tao on finite segments of polynomial orbits on a nilmanifold [The quantitative behaviour of polynomial orbits on nilmanifolds. Ann. of Math. (2) 175 (2012), 465–540].

Every discrete definable subset of a closed asymptotic couple with ordered scalar field ${\boldsymbol {k}}$ is shown to be contained in a finite-dimensional ${\boldsymbol {k}}$-linear subspace of that couple. It follows that the differential-valued field $\mathbb {T}$ of transseries induces more structure on its value group than what is definable in its asymptotic couple equipped with its scalar multiplication by real numbers, where this asymptotic couple is construed as a two-sorted structure with $\mathbb {R}$ as the underlying set for the second sort.