Difference cochains and Reidemeister traces (Q1688149)

Let \(X\) be a connected CW-complex with base point \(*\) and \(\pi:(\tilde{X},\tilde{*})\to(X,*)\) the universal covering. As usual we identify the deck transformation group of \(\pi\) with \(\pi_1(X,*)\) which we let operate on \(\tilde{X}\) from the right. This makes the cellular chain complex \(C_*(\tilde{X})\) into a free right \(\mathbb{Z}[\pi_1(X,*)]\)-module. If \(f:(X,*)\to(X,*)\) is cellular we have a unique lifting \(\tilde{f}\) which fixes \(\tilde{*}\). Denote by \(f_\pi:\pi_1(X,*)\to\pi_1(X,*)\) the endomorphism induced by \(f\) and by \(\tilde{f}_{\#}\) the \((\mathbb{Z}[\pi_1(X,*)],f_\pi)\)-chain map on \(C_*(\tilde{X})\) with \(\tilde{f}_{\#}(\tilde{\sigma}\alpha)=\tilde{f}_{\#}(\tilde{\sigma})f_\pi(\alpha)\) whenever \(\alpha\in\pi_1(X,*)\) and \(\tilde{\sigma}\) is a cell in \(C_*(\tilde{X})\). The Reidemeister trace of \(f\) is then defined to be \(\text{RT}(f)=\sum_{j=0}^\infty(-1)^j[\text{tr}(\tilde{f}_{{\#}_j})]_{f_\pi}\) where \(\tilde{f}_{{\#}_j}\) denotes the restriction to \(C_j(\tilde{X})\). Let \(f,f':(X,*)\to(X,*)\) be cellular maps on a connected \(n\)-dimensional finite CW-complex which restrict to the same map on the \((n-1)\)-skeleton of \(X\). Then the difference cochain \(\Delta(f,f')\) of \((f,f')\) is defined to be the element in \(C^n(X,\pi_n(X))\) given by \(\Delta(f,f')(\tau)=[d(f,f',\tau)]\) where \(\tau\) denotes an \(n\)-cell of \(X\) and \(d(f,f',\tau)(x)=f(\tau(x))\) if \(x\) belongs to the northern hemisphere \(\mathbb{S}^n_+\) and \(=f'(\tau(x))\) if \(x\in\mathbb{S}^n_-\) where we think of \(\mathbb{D}^n\) as \(\mathbb{S}^n_+\cup\mathbb{S}^n_-\). Let then \(Y\) be a connected, \(n\)-dimensional finite CW-complex with a unique \(0\)-cell \(*\) and \(n\geq2\). The universal cover \(\tilde{Y}\) with base point \(\tilde{*}\) then satisfies \(\pi_j(\tilde{Y},\tilde{*})=0\) for \(j<n\). Since \(Y\) is \(n\)-dimensional we have that \(H_n(\tilde{Y};\mathbb{Z})\) is a subgroup of \(C_n(\tilde{Y};\mathbb{Z})\). Suppose that there are \(r\) \(n\)-cells in \(Y\), \(\{\tau_1,\dotsc,\tau_r\}\), and choose a lift \(\tilde{\tau}_i\) for each cell. Then we have for \(1\leq i\leq r\) \[ C_n(\tilde{Y};\mathbb{Z})=\bigoplus_{k=1}^r\mathbb{Z}[\pi_1(Y,*)]\cdot\tilde{\tau}_k@>P_i>>\mathbb{Z}[\pi_1(Y,*)]\cdot\tilde{\tau}_i@>\epsilon_i>>\mathbb{Z}[\pi_1(Y,*)]\to\mathbb{Z}[\pi_1(Y,*)_{f_{\pi}}] \] Here, \(P_i\) is the projection, \(\epsilon_i\) is the augmentation, and the rightmost arrow is the quotient map. Call the composition of all maps on the right hand side \(\Phi_i\). The authors' main result then states that for \(Y\) as above and cellular maps \(f,f':Y\to Y\) with \(f_\pi=f'_\pi\) and liftings \(\tilde{f}\) and \(\tilde{f'}\) which fix \(\tilde{*}\) we have that \[ \text{RT}(f)-\text{RT}(f')=(-1)^n\sum_{i=1}^r\Phi_i\circ\theta(\Delta(f,f')(\tilde{\tau_i}) \] where \(\tilde{\tau_i}\) is a lifting of \(\tau_i\) and \(\theta:\pi_n(\tilde{Y},\tilde{*})\to H_n(\tilde{Y},\mathbb{Z})\) is the Hurewicz isomorphism.