Nonnegative Ricci curvature, stability at infinity and finite generation of fundamental groups (Q2279153)

A longstanding problem in Riemannian geometry is \textit{J. W. Milnor}'s conjecture [J. Differ. Geom. 2, 1--7 (1968; Zbl 0162.25401)] which states that any open \(n\)-manifold \(M\) of nonnegative Ricci curvature has a finitely generated fundamental group. This conjecture remains open, but has been verified under various additional assumptions. Several researchers have contributed to it (e.g., Anderson, Li, Sormani, to name a few). In this paper, the author verifies the Milnor conjecture for manifolds with additional conditions on the Riemannian universal cover at infinity. He shows that if there is an integer \(k\) such that any tangent cone at infinity of the Riemannian universal cover of \(M\) is a metric cone whose maximal Euclidean factor has dimension \(k\), then \(\pi_1(M)\) is finitely generated.