Connectedness at infinity of systolic complexes and groups. (Q2369825)

Given a natural number \(k\geq 4\), a simplicial complex \(X\) is called \(k\)-large if it is flag (every finite subset of vertices pairwise connected by edges spans a simplex in \(X\)) and if every cycle \(\gamma\) in \(X\) with \(4\leq|\gamma|\leq k\) has a diagonal. A simplicial complex \(X\) is locally \(k\)-large if the link \(X_\sigma\) of every simplex \(\sigma\neq 0\) is \(k\)-large. \(X\) is \(k\)-systolic if it is locally \(k\)-large, connected and simply connected. When \(k=6\), the \(k\)-systolic complex \(X\) is called systolic. The subject of the paper is the topology at infinity of systolic complexes and systolic groups -- groups acting geometrically (properly discontinuously and cocompactly) on systolic complexes. For the topological space \(X\) the condition \(\text{Conn}_k^\infty(X)\) is vanishing at infinity of the \(k\)-th homotopy group condition: for every compact \(K\subset X\) there exists a compact \(L\subset X\) such that \(K\subset L\) and every map \(S^k\to X\setminus L\) extends to a map \(B^{k+1}\to X\setminus K\). For the group \(G\) the condition \(\text{Conn}_k^\infty(G)\) means that \(\text{Conn}_k^\infty(X)\) holds for some contractible, rigid CW-complex \(X\) on which \(G\) acts geometrically. The most significant results are the following. Every locally finite systolic complex \(X\) satisfies the condition \(\text{Conn}_k^\infty(X)\) for \(k\geq 2\). Every systolic group satisfies the condition \(\text{Conn}_k^\infty(G)\) for \(k\geq 2\). Systolic groups are not simply connected at infinity. It follows from the last statement that for \(n\geq 3\) fundamental groups of closed manifolds covered by \(\mathbb{R}^n\) are not systolic.