Transfer maps in generalized group homology via submanifolds (Q2043770)

In the paper under review, the authors construct a transfer map \(E_*(B\pi_1(M)) \to E_{*-k}(B\pi_1(N))\) for generalized homology theories \(E_*(-)\) corresponding to an inclusion \(i: N \hookrightarrow M\) of submanifolds into manifolds. The authors think of the Rosenberg obstruction \(\alpha(M)\) of a spin manifold \(M\) as the image of the spin bordism fundamental class under a sequence of homomorphisms: from the spin bordism group to the \(K\)-theory groups of the manifold, to the \(K\)-theory groups of the classifying space and to the \(K\)-theory groups of the \(C^*\)-algebra completion (especially, with respect to the \(C^*_{max}\) or \(C^*_{red}\) norms) of the fundamental groups \(\Omega^{Spin}_*(M) \to KO_n(M) \to KO_n(B\pi_1(M))\to KO_n(E\pi_1(M)\stackrel {\mu}\to KO_n(C^*\pi_1(M))\) modulo the Baum-Connes conjecture (i.e. the assembly map \(\mu\) is an isomorphism) and the strong Novikov conjecture (i.e. \(\mu\circ i_*\) is injective). For the image \(\pi = i_{N*} \pi_1(N)\subset \pi_1(M)\) the transfer \(\sigma_{\Gamma,\pi}\) is defined through the classical transfer map \(\tau_{M,N} \) following the diagram \[ \begin{tikzcd} \Omega^{\mathrm{Spin}}_*(M)\dar["\tau_{M,N}"]\rar["c_{\Gamma_\ast}"] & \Omega^{\mathrm{Spin}}_*(\mathrm{B}\Gamma) \dar["\tau_{\Gamma,\pi}"]\rar["T_{ABS}"] & \mathrm{KO}_\ast(B\Gamma) \dar["\tau_{\Gamma,\pi}"]\rar["\imath_\ast"] & \mathrm{KO}_n^\Gamma(\underline{\mathrm{E}}\Gamma) \rar["\mu"]\dar["\underline{\tau}_{\Gamma, \pi}"] & \mathrm{KO}_\ast(\mathrm{C}^*\Gamma)\dar["\sigma_{\Gamma,\pi}"] \\ \Omega^{\mathrm{spin}}_{*-k}(N)\rar["q_{\pi\ast}\circ c_{\pi\ast}"] & \Omega^{\mathrm{spin}}_{*-k}(\mathrm{B}\pi)\rar["T_{ABS}"] & \mathrm{KO}_{*-k}(\mathrm{B}\pi) \rar["\imath_*"] & \mathrm{KO}^\pi_{*-k}(\underline{\mathrm{E}}\pi) \rar["\mu"] & \mathrm{KO}_{*-k}(\mathrm{C}^*\pi) \end{tikzcd} \] where \(\Gamma = \pi_1(M)\) is the fundamental group of \(M\), \(\pi \) is the image of the homomorphism \(\pi_1(N)\) into \(\pi_1(M)\) under the inclusion \(N \hookrightarrow M\). It is shown that if \(M\) is spin and the Rosenberg obstruction \(\alpha(N) \ne 0\) in \(KO_{m-k}(C^*\pi)\) then \(\alpha(M) \ne 0\) in \(KO_m(C^*\Gamma)\) and \(M\) does not admit a metric of positive scalar curvature (Theorem 3.1). The main result of the paper is the construction of an extended transfer map \(E_*(B\pi_1(M)) \to E_{*-k}(B\pi_1(N))\), compatible with the classical transfer map induced by the inclusion \(N\hookrightarrow M\) with chosen orientation on the normal bundles, for a generalized homology theory \(E_*(-)\). For singular homology (Theorem 5.1) \(E_*=H_*(-; A)\) with coefficients in a commutative ring \(A\), under some restrictions, this is done and then if the Rosenberg obstruction \(\alpha(M) \ne 0\) then the manifold \(M\) does not admit a metric of positive scalar curvature. In complex \(K\)-homology the extension of the transfer map is possible for \(k\leq 3\). In equivariant \(KO\)-homology the same extension is possible for \(k\leq 2\) (Theorems 5.11, 5.12, 5.15).