Bounds for the rank of the finite part of operator \(K\)-theory (Q2032754)

As mentioned in the abstract of the paper, lower and upper bounds for the rank of the finite part of the $K$-theory groups of the maximal and reduced \(C^*\)-algebras of finitely generated groups are derived, based on polynomially growing conjugacy classes of finite order elements in the lower case, and based on torsion elements in the upper case. The lower bound is used for the structure group and the group of positive scalar curvature metrics for an oriented manifold. The class of groups is defined for which the upper and lower bounds become the same, called polynomial full groups (PF). It is shown that the class of PF groups contains virtually nilpotent groups. For finitely generated abelian groups, symmetric groups and dihedral groups, explicit formulae for the rank are given as well. As a note, a finitely generated group is in PF if its finite order elements have polynomial growth in their conjugacy classes. Also, the structure group of a compact oriented manifold \(M\) is defined to be the abelian group generated by equivalence classes of compact oriented manifolds with orientation preserving homotopy equivalence with \(M\). Moreover, for a compact spin manifold \(M\) with a positive scalar curvature metric and dimension \(\geq 5\), the abelian group of equivalence classes of positive scalar curvature metrics on \(M\) is defined.