A space with two non-equivalent non-positively curved triangulations (Q1849803): Difference between revisions

The present paper faces the problem about uniqueness of triangulations on non-positively curved simplicial complexes, which naturally raises from results of \textit{D. R. Anderson} and \textit{W.-C. Hsiang} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 260, 223-253 (1980; Zbl 0455.57007)] and \textit{F. T. Farrell} and \textit{L. E. Jones} [Proc. Int. Congr. Math., Kyoto/Japan 1990, Vol. I, 653-663 (1991; Zbl 0745.57008)]: in fact, Anderson and Hsiang proved that obstructions to the existence of non PL-equivalent triangulations on a space that agree on each stratum depend on the lower K-groups of the links of the strata, while Farrell and Jones proved that the lower groups of a non-positively curved manifold are zero. Here, an example of a compact space with two nonequivalent piecewise flat nonpositively curved geodesically complete triangulations that agree on each stratum is explicitly produced. Note that the present example is different in nature both from existing ones within Riemannian manifold theory [the author, J. Differ. Geom. 40, 7-22 (1994; Zbl 0817.53026); \textit{F. T. Farrell, L. E. Jones} and \textit{P. Ontaneda}, ibid. 48, 319-322 (1998; Zbl 0909.53026)] and from \textit{J. W. Milnor}'s example [Ann. Math. (2) 74, 575-590 (1961; Zbl 0102.38103)] and similar ones.