The action of the mapping class group on metrics of positive scalar curvature (Q2122063)

The diffeomorphism group of a manifold acts on the space of positive scalar curvature (psc) metrics and, thus, induces an action of its mapping class group, \(\pi_0(Diff(M))\), by homotopy classes of homotopy self-equivalences of \(\mathcal{R}^+(M)\), giving a group homomorphism: \[ \pi_0(\mathsf{Diff(M)}) \longrightarrow \pi_0(h\mathsf{Aut}(\mathcal{R}^+(M)) ). \] The work under review displays sufficient conditions under which the previous map factors through a certain cobordism group \(\Omega_d\) of closed \(n\)-dimensional manifolds. For this, it is first required that the dimension of the manifold be \(n\geq 6\) and, secondly, that both the manifolds and cobordisms involved be spin or, else, enriched by a tangential structure. The key to the aforementioned factorization and, perhaps, the most important result of the paper (see Theorem G and its generalization Theorem 3.6), is the construction of a functor from the cobordism category (spin or with a tangential structure) to the homotopy category of spaces. This functor is completely determined by the following: on objects it sends a (cobordism class of a) manifold to \(\mathcal{R}^+(M) \in h\mathsf{Top}\), while a morphism, given by a cobordism \(W\) from \(M_0\) to \(M_1\), is sent to an automorphism \(\mathcal{S}_W\) of surgery-theoretic nature. The definition of \(\mathcal{S}_W\) relies on handle decompositions, specially on Hatcher-Igusa's 2-index theorem, and on the geometric deformation/construction of psc-metrics due to V. Chernysh and M. Walsh, which themselves can be seen as a refinement of the Surgery Theorem of Gromov-Lawson and Schoen-Yau. In this way, a diffeomorphism \(f \in \mathsf{Diff(M)}\) gives rise to its mapping torus \(T_f \in \Omega_d(M)\) which then gives the automorphism \(\mathcal{S}_{T_f}\). This factorization is presented as a rigidity result once the cobordism group is -first of all- abelian and, also, rather small and known in certain cases (see Theorem B). Furthermore, the functor \(\mathcal{S}_W\) is not just a diffeomorfism invariant of the cobordism \(W\) but an invariant of the cobordism (with corners) class of it. The paper has a detailed exposition of the categories involved while often relying on the technical details of \textit{M. Walsh} [Metrics of positive scalar curvature and generalised Morse functions. I. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS) (2011; Zbl 1251.53001); Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 141, No. 7, 2475--2484 (2013; Zbl 1285.57016); Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 366, No. 1, 1--50 (2014; Zbl 1294.53040)], which it subtly refines. However, it is not without its geometric merit. In particular, it is shown that if a spin diffeomorphism \(f\) of the \(n\)-sphere, \(n\geq 6\), sends the round metric \(g_0\) to an homotopic one, \(f^*g_0\), then the automorphism \(f^*\) is necessarily trivial, i.e., homotopic to the identity in \(\mathsf{Aut}(\mathcal{R}^+(\mathcal{S}^n))\). This last result generalizes to simply-connected spin manifolds of dimension at least \(7\), (see Corollary C and Proposition D).