Characters and \(K\)-theory of discrete groups (Q1319202)

A well-known result due to \textit{M. Atiyah} [Characters and cohomology of finite groups, Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 9, 247-288 (1961; Zbl 0107.023)] asserts that if \(G\) is a finite group, then the complex \(K\)-theory \(K^*(BG)\) of the classifying space \(BG\) is isomorphic to the completion \(R(G)^ \wedge\) of the complex representation ring \(R(G)\) at its augmentation ideal. The paper under review shows that a similar result holds for certain infinite discrete groups. More specifically, for groups \(\Gamma\) of finite virtual cohomological dimension acting with finite isotropy on a contractible complex \(X\) such that the orbit space \(X/\Gamma\) is compact, the author considers a modified version \(R_{\mathcal F} (\Gamma)\) of \(R(\Gamma)\) using families \({\mathcal F}\) of subgroups of \(\Gamma\). Then, he defines a ``completed map'' \(K^*(B\Gamma)\to R_{\mathcal F} (\Gamma)^ \wedge\) which coincides with Atiyah's isomorphism when \(\Gamma= G\), a finite group, and \({\mathcal F}= \{G\}\). This map is studied in detail on the \(p\)-local level for a prime \(p\). More precisely, using \(K\)-theory \(K_ p(\;)\) with coefficients in the \(p\)- adic integers \(\mathbb{Z}_ p\) and the field \(\mathbb{Q}_ p\) of \(p\)-adic numbers, the author obtains the main result of the paper asserting that there is an epimorphism, a surjection of rings, \[ K^*_ p (B\Gamma)\otimes \mathbb{Q}_ p\to R_{{\mathcal F}(p)} (\Gamma) \otimes \mathbb{Q}_ p, \] where \({\mathcal F}(p)\) is the family of all finite \(p\)- subgroups of \(\Gamma\). Moreover, the author describes explicitely the kernel of this epimorphism.