We extend the results of Hasselblatt and Schmeling [Dimension product structure of hyperbolic sets. Modern Dynamical Systems and Applications. Eds. B. Hasselblatt, M. Brin and Y. Pesin. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2004, pp. 331–345] and of Rams and Simon [Hausdorff and packing measure for solenoids. Ergod. Th. & Dynam. Sys. 23 (2003), 273–292] for $C^{1+\varepsilon }$ hyperbolic, (partially) linear solenoids $\Lambda $ over the circle embedded in $\mathbb {R}^3$ non-conformally attracting in the stable discs $W^s$ direction, to nonlinear solenoids. Under the assumptions of transversality and on the Lyapunov exponents for an appropriate Gibbs measure imposing thinness, as well as the assumption that there is an invariant $C^{1+\varepsilon }$ strong stable foliation, we prove that Hausdorff dimension $\operatorname {\mathrm {HD}}(\Lambda \cap W^s)$ is the same quantity $t_0$ for all $W^s$ and else $\mathrm {HD}(\Lambda )=t_0+1$ . We prove also that for the packing measure, $0<\Pi _{t_0}(\Lambda \cap W^s)<\infty $ , but for Hausdorff measure, $\mathrm {HM}_{t_0}(\Lambda \cap W^s)=0$ for all $W^s$ . Also $0<\Pi _{1+t_0}(\Lambda ) <\infty $ and $\mathrm {HM}_{1+t_0}(\Lambda )=0$ . A technical part says that the holonomy along unstable foliation is locally Lipschitz, except for a set of unstable leaves whose intersection with every $W^s$ has measure $\mathrm {HM}_{t_0}$ equal to 0 and even Hausdorff dimension less than $t_0$ . The latter holds due to a large deviations phenomenon.

Wieler has shown that every irreducible Smale space with totally disconnected stable sets is a solenoid (i.e., obtained via a stationary inverse limit construction). Using her construction, we show that the associated stable $C^{\ast }$-algebra is the stationary inductive limit of a $C^{\ast }$-stable Fell algebra that has a compact spectrum and trivial Dixmier–Douady invariant. This result applies in particular to Williams solenoids along with other examples. Beyond the structural implications of this inductive limit, one can use this result to, in principle, compute the $K$-theory of the stable $C^{\ast }$-algebra. A specific one-dimensional Smale space (the $aab/ab$-solenoid) is considered as an illustrative running example throughout.

Let $X$ be a solenoid, i.e. a compact, finite-dimensional, connected abelian group with normalized Haar measure $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$, and let $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\rightarrow \operatorname{Aff}(X)$ be an action of a countable discrete group $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ by continuous affine transformations of $X$. We show that the probability measure preserving action $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\curvearrowright (X,\unicode[STIX]{x1D707})$ does not have the spectral gap property if and only if there exists a $p_{\text{a}}(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4})$-invariant proper subsolenoid $Y$ of $X$ such that the image of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ in $\operatorname{Aff}(X/Y)$ is a virtually solvable group, where $p_{\text{a}}:\operatorname{Aff}(X)\rightarrow \operatorname{Aut}(X)$ is the canonical projection. When $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ is finitely generated or when $X$ is the $a$-adic solenoid for an integer $a\geq 1$, the subsolenoid $Y$ can be chosen so that the image $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ in $\operatorname{Aff}(X/Y)$ is a virtually abelian group. In particular, an action $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\curvearrowright (X,\unicode[STIX]{x1D707})$ by affine transformations on a solenoid $X$ has the spectral gap property if and only if $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}\curvearrowright (X,\unicode[STIX]{x1D707})$ is strongly ergodic.