On the algebraic \(K\)-theory of orientable \(3\)-manifold groups (Q2078396)

The authors give a rather explicit description of the Whitehead groups \(Wh^R_*(\Gamma)\) of fundamental groups \(\Gamma\) of connected closed orientable \(3\)-manifolds for a ring \(R\). Using Perelmann's proof of the geometrization conjecture one knows that the Farrell Jones conjecture is valid for such fundamental groups. Moreover, in [\textit{L. J. Sánchez Saldaña}, Glasg. Math. J. 64, No. 1, 45--50 (2022; Zbl 07441892)] the author verifies that such fundamental groups satisfy two group theoretic properties, called (N) and (NM) in his article. These group theoretic properties (N) and (NM) indeed were already introduced way earlier in [\(K\)-Theory 30, No. 1, 71--104 (2003; Zbl 1051.55009)], and \textit{J. F. Davis} and \textit{W. Lück} in their article showed that the classical Whitehead group \(Wh_*(\Gamma)\) for a group \(\Gamma\) is isomorphic to the direct sum of the groups \(Wh_*(\Gamma')\) where the sum is running over a set of conjugacy classes of maximal finite subgroups \(\Gamma'\) in \(\Gamma\), provided that \(\Gamma\) is satisfying the Farrell-Jones conjecture, as well as the properties (N) and (NM). This result in fact already provides a special case of the main results of the article under review. In the article under review, the authors use a splitting result of \textit{A. C. Bartels}, proved in [Algebr. Geom. Topol. 3, 1037--1050 (2003; Zbl 1038.19001)], which in the case at hand yields that \(Wh^R_*(\Gamma)\) is the direct sum of the two homology groups \(H_*^\Gamma(E(\Gamma,VCyc),E(\Gamma,Fin); K_R)\) and \(H_*^\Gamma(E(\Gamma,Fin),E(\Gamma); K_R)\) respectively. Here \(E(\Gamma,VCyc)\) denotes the universal \(\Gamma\)-space for actions of \(\Gamma\) with virtually cyclic isotropy groups, \(E(\Gamma,Fin)\) denotes the universal \(\Gamma\)-space for actions of \(\Gamma\) with finite isotropy groups and \(E(\Gamma)\) denotes the universal free \(\Gamma\)-space, while \(H_*^\Gamma(X; K_R)\) for a \(\Gamma\)-space \(X\) stands for the \(\Gamma\)-equivariant Bredon homology of \(X\) with coefficients in the algebraic \(K\)-theory spectrum \(K_R\) of the ring \(R\). To attain a more specific description of the homology groups \(H_*^\Gamma(E(\Gamma,Fin),E(\Gamma); K_R)\) the authors use the result that \(\Gamma\) satisfies the properties (N) and (NM) mentioned above. They then conclude (essentially argueing completely analoguously to Davis and Lück) that \(H_*^\Gamma(E(\Gamma,Fin),E(\Gamma); K_R)\) is the direct sum of the \(Wh^R_*(\Gamma_i)\), where the \(\Gamma_i\subset \Gamma\) correspond to the fundamental groups of the spherical summands in a prime decomposition of a connected orientable \(3\)-manifold \(M\) with \(\pi_1(M) = \Gamma\). For the homology groups \(H_*^\Gamma(E(\Gamma,VCyc),E(\Gamma,Fin); K_R)\) the authors show that they can be placed in exact sequences where they provide every third term, while the neighboring terms can be described rather explicitely through groups related to the the algebraic \(K\)-theory groups of group rings \(R\Gamma'\) of certain virtually cyclic subgroups \(\Gamma'\subset\Gamma\) and copies of the Nil-groups \(NK_R\) of the ring \(R\). For some special fundamental groups the homology groups are also determined much more explicitely than that.