Aspherical manifolds with relatively hyperbolic fundamental groups. (Q2467193)

The strict hyperbolization was defined by \textit{R. M. Charney} and \textit{M. W. Davis} [in Topology 34, No. 2, 329-350 (1995; Zbl 0826.53040)]. The article under review considers the properties of the relative version of the above procedure and tries to establish an analogy between the aspherical manifolds produced via relative strict hyperbolization and the open complete finite volume negatively pinched manifolds. Roughly, the relative strict hyperbolization is a procedure that takes as the input a pair of finite simplicial complexes \((K,L)\), where \(L\) is a nonempty subcomplex of \(K\), and produces a pair of simplicial complexes \((R_K,R_L)\), with the following properties: \(\bullet\) \(R_L\) is isomorphic to subdivision of \(L\), \(\bullet\) \(R_K\) is aspherical if and only if each path-component of \(L\) is aspherical; \(\bullet\) \(R_L\) is incompressible in \(R_K\); \(\bullet\) if \(K\) is a manifold with boundary \(L\), then \(R_K\) is a manifold with boundary \(R_L\); \(\bullet\) the space \(Z\) obtained from \(R_K\) by attaching a cone to each path-component of \(R_L\) admits a piecewise-hyperbolic locally-CAT\((-1)\) metric. The main theorem is following: If \((R_K,R_L)\) is a pair of finite (nonempty) simplicial complexes obtained via relative strict hyperbolization, and \(L_1,\dots,L_m\) are all the path-components of \(R_L\) that have infinite fundamental groups, then \(\pi_1(R_K)\) is a non-elementary relatively hyperbolic group in the sense of Bowditch, specifically, \(\pi_1(R_K)\) is hyperbolic relative to the subgroups \(\pi_1(L_1),\dots,\pi_1(L_m)\). In particular, if each component of \(R_L\) has finite fundamental group, then \(\pi_1(R_K)\) is a non-elementary hyperbolic group. We have to say that in some sense the above proves \textit{M. Gromov}'s statement (on pages 117 and 257) about the properties of the relative hyperbolization [see Hyperbolic groups, Essays in group theory, Publ., Math. Sci. Res. Inst. 8, 75-263 (1987; Zbl 0634.20015)]. Moreover in this interesting 25 pages long paper are also proved some other properties of the relative hyperbolization related to the co-Hopfian property and compact Kähler manifolds.