On the isomorphism conjecture in algebraic \(K\)-theory. (Q1420505)

Let \(R\) be an associative ring with unit, and \(\Gamma\) a discrete group. The Farrell-Jones isomorphism conjecture proposes that the algebraic \(K\)-theory groups \(K_i(R\Gamma)\) should be computable out of the corresponding \(K\)-theory groups of the virtually cyclic subgroups of \(\Gamma\) and homological information. More concretely, let us denote by \(\mathcal{F}\) the family of virtually cyclic subgroups of \(\Gamma\), where \(G\) is virtually cyclic if it contains a cyclic subgroup of finite index. Let \(E\mathcal{F}\) denote a universal space for \(\mathcal{F}\). There is a functor \(\mathbb{K}R\) that encodes the algebraic \(K\)-theory groups \(K_i(RG)\), for \(G\in\mathcal{F}\). These may be used to build up a coefficient system in a generalized equivariant homology theory for \(\Gamma\)-\(CW\) complexes \(\mathbf{H}_*(E\mathcal{F}; \mathbb{K} R)\). Moreover, there is a natural map \(\mathbf{A}_*: \mathbf{H}_*(E\mathcal{F}; \mathbb{K} R)\to K_*(R\Gamma)\). The Farrell-Jones isomorphism conjecture states that this map is an isomorphism for any group \(\Gamma\) and every \(*\in\mathbb{Z}\). In this paper the authors verify this conjecture under the following hypotheses: (a) \(R\) is any associative ring with unit, (b) \(\Gamma\) is the fundamental group of a closed Riemannian manifold with strictly negative sectional curvature, and (c) \(*\leq 1\). Furthermore, they also prove that \(\mathbf{A}_*\) is injective for all \(*\in \mathbb{Z}\). This, in principle, reduces the computations of \(K_i(R\Gamma)\) to those of \(K_i(\Gamma)\), the corresponding nil groups of \(R\) and homological properties of \(\Gamma\). The controlled techniques used by the authors have brought two important improvements from previous works. Namely, they worked directly with the \(K\)-theory spectrum and they may now use general rings as coefficients in the group ring. In a recent work \textit{A. Bartels} and \textit{H. Reich} have announced the surjectivity of \(\mathbf{A}_*\) for all \(*\in\mathbb{Z}\)