On algebraic automorphisms and their rational invariants

Let X be an affine irreducible variety over an algebraically closed field k of characteristic zero. Given an automorphism F, we denote by k(X)^F its field of invariants, i.e. the set of rational functions f on X such that f(F)=f. Let n(F) be the transcendence degree of k(X)^F over k. In this paper, we study the class of automorphisms F of X for which n(F)= dim X - 1. More precisely, we show that under some conditions on X, every such automorphism is of the form F=A_g, where A is an algebraic action of a linear algebraic group G of dimension 1 on X, and where g belongs to G. As an application, we determine the conjugacy classes of automorphisms of the plane for which n(F)=1.