Groups with a polynomial dimension growth. (Q2498422)

\textit{G. Yu}, [in Invent. Math. 139, No. 1, 201-240 (2000; Zbl 0956.19004)], proved the Novikov conjecture for a large class of finitely generated groups that satisfy a condition called property A. This condition holds, for example, when the group has finite asymptotic dimension [\textit{N. Higson, J. Roe}, J. Reine Angew. Math. 519, 143-153 (2000; Zbl 0964.55015)]. However, it is easy to construct groups that do not have finite asymptotic dimension and it is an interesting question to know whether such groups have property A or not. When studying discrete groups, one often considers the volume growth, i.e., the growth of the balls \(B_r(e)\) as \(r\to\infty\). In the paper under review, the author considers a so-called dimension function of \(X\), \(ad_X(\lambda)\), defined to be one less than the minimal multiplicity of a uniformly bounded cover with Lebesgue number at least \(\lambda\). It is clear that \(\lim_{\lambda\to\infty}ad_X(\lambda)=\text{asdim}(X)\) provided the latter is finite. While the growth of this function is a quasi-isometry invariant, it is not a coarse invariant (unlike asdim, which is a coarse invariant). On the other hand, for finitely generated groups, the notion of quasi-isometry is the correct notion of equivalence, and the growth of \(ad_\Gamma(\lambda)\) is well-defined for a finitely generated group \(\Gamma\). The main theorem in the paper under review states that a discrete metric space with polynomial dimension growth has property A. In particular, then, the Novikov conjecture and coarse Baum-Connes conjecture hold for such groups. This result extends a theorem from [Russ. Math. Surv. 55, No. 6, 1085-1129 (2000); translation from Usp. Mat. Nauk 55, No. 6, 71-116 (2000; Zbl 1028.54032)] that proves that property A is implied by sublinear growth of \(ad_X(\lambda)\). Finally, to demonstrate the usefulness of this result, the author provides an example of a group with infinite asymptotic dimension, whose dimension function grows polynomially in the form of a restricted wreath product.