It is proved that each Gaussian cocycle over a mildly mixing Gaussian transformation is either a Gaussian coboundary or sharply weak mixing. The class of non-singular infinite direct products T of transformations $T_n$ , $n\in \mathbb N$ , of finite type is studied. It is shown that if $T_n$ is mildly mixing, $n\in \mathbb N$ , the sequence of Radon–Nikodym derivatives of $T_n$ is asymptotically translation quasi-invariant and T is conservative then the Maharam extension of T is sharply weak mixing. This technique provides a new approach to the non-singular Gaussian transformations studied recently by Arano, Isono and Marrakchi.

By previous work of Giordano and the author, ergodic actions of $\mathbf{Z}$ (and other discrete groups) are completely classified measure-theoretically by their dimension space, a construction analogous to the dimension group used in $\text{C}^{\ast }$-algebras and topological dynamics. Here we investigate how far from approximately transitive (AT) actions can be that derive from circulant (and related) matrices. It turns out not very: although non-AT actions can arise from this method of construction, under very modest additional conditions, approximate transitivity arises. KIn addition, if we drop the positivity requirement in the isomorphism of dimension spaces, then all these ergodic actions satisfy an analogue of AT. Many examples are provided.