Approximating \(L^2\) invariants of amenable covering spaces: A combinatorial approach (Q1268770)

Let \(Y\) be a connected simplicial complex with a free simplicial action of the amenable (discrete) group \(\pi\) such that the quotient \(Y/\pi\) is compact. Let \({\mathcal F}\) be a subcomplex of \(Y\) which is a fundamental domain for the \(\pi\)-action. A regular exhaustion of \(Y\) is a sequence of finite subcomplexes \((Y_m)_{m\geq 1}\) of \(Y\) such that \(Y\) is the union of the \(Y_m\)-s, each \(Y_m\) consists of \(N_m\) translates of \({\mathcal F}\) and the following Følner condition is satisfied. Let \(\overline N_{m,\delta}\) be the number of elements \(g \in\pi\) which have distance less to \(\delta\) with respect to the word metric from any element \(g'\in\pi\) such that the intersection of \(g'{\mathcal F}\) with the topological boundary \(\partial Y_m\) of \(Y_m\) is not empty. Then it is required for each \(\delta>0\) that \(\lim_{m\to \infty} \overline N_{m,\delta}/N_m=0\). Then the main result of the paper says \[ \lim_{m\to\infty} {b_j(Y_m)\over N_m}= b_j^{(2)} (Y;\pi); \quad\lim_{m\to\infty} {b_j(Y_m, \partial Y_m)\over N_m}= b_j^{(2)} (Y;\pi) \] where \(b_j(Y_m)\) denotes the ordinary Betti number of the finite simplicial complex \(Y_m\) and \(b_j^{(2)}(Y;\pi)\) denotes the \(L^2\)-Betti number of the \(\pi\)-space \(Y\). It is also shown that \(Y\) is of determinant class, a condition which is needed to define \(L^2\)-torsion.