Rough index theory on spaces of polynomial growth and contractibility (Q2327774)

The \(K\)-theory of the uniform Roe algebra \(C_u^*(M)\) of a complete Riemannian manifold of bounded geometry \(M\) is the receptacle for rough indices of elliptic operators over \(M\). This paper's title phrase ``rough index theory'' is to be understood rather broadly as the study of \(K_*(C_u^*(M))\) in general. The ubiquitous assumption for all of the main results is that \(M\) has bounded geometry and polynomial volume growth and is either (A) polynomially \(k\)-connected for some \(k\in\mathbb{N}\) or (B) polynomially contractible. Polynomial \(k\)-connected means that there is a polynomial \(P\) such that for all \(i\leq k\) every \(L\)-Lipschitz map \(S^i\to M\) is contractible by a \(P(L)\)-Lipschitz contraction and polynomial contractibility means polynomial \(k\)-connectedness for all \(k\). The first main result of the paper is that in the case (A) for all \(q\leq k\) every element in the coarse cohomology \(HX^q(M)\) and the rough cohomology \(HR^q(M)\) pairs continuously with \(K_*(C_u^*(M))\). In the case (B), these pairings are used to detect the non-vanishing of the rough index of the Dirac operator and hence the non-existence of a metric of uniformly positive scalar curvature in the same strict quasi-isometry class. Furthermore, higher codimension obstructions to the existence of positive scalar curvature metrics are derived for closed connected manifolds with virtually nilpotent fundamental group. As a main tool for the proofs but also as objects of independent interest, the author introduces ``polynomial'' versions of well-established objects: A smooth subalgebra \(C_{\mathrm{pol}}^*(M)\) of \(C_u^*(M)\) is constructed as the closure of the algebraic smooth uniform Roe algebra in a certain Fréchet topology, such that its continuous periodic cyclic homology is the target of a chern character for \(C_u^*(M)\). Also, the chain complex of uniformly finite homology \(H_*^{uf}(Y)\) is completed in a Fréchet topology, yielding homology groups \(H_*^{\mathrm{pol}}(Y)\) (\(Y\subset M\) a discretization). The relation between all of these groups as well as the uniform \(K\)-homology \(K_*^u(M)\) and the \(L^\infty\)-simplicial homology \(H^\infty_*(M)\) are studied using assembly maps, chern characters and character maps and they are shown to be (topological) isomorphisms in certain cases. Most notably it is shown that if \(M\) satisfies (B) and the rough Baum-Connes conjecture, then the chern character map \[ \mathrm{ch}_*: K_*(C_u^*(M))\mathbin{\overline{\otimes}}\mathbb{C}\to PHC_*^{\mathrm{cont}}(C_{\mathrm{pol}}^*(M)) \] is an isomorphism. In contrast to the rough Baum-Connes isomorphism, this map does not go into but out of \(K_*(C_u^*(M))\) which makes it useful for the study of particular elements.