Degrees of maps between locally symmetric spaces (Q293524)

Let \(G\) be a connected non-compact semisimple real Lie group with trivial centre and without compact factors and let \(K \subset G\) be a maximal compact subgroup. Then \(G/K\) is a Riemannian globally symmetric space which is contractible. If \(\Gamma\) is a torsion-free lattice in \(G\), then the locally symmetric space \(X=\Gamma\backslash G/K\) (of non-compact type) is a manifold which is an Eilenberg-MacLane space \(K(\Gamma, 1)\). Locally symmetric spaces are fundamental objects which arise in different areas of mathematics such as geometry, Lie groups, representation theory, number theory as well as topology. In this article the authors study the problem of homotopy classification of maps between two such spaces.