Codimension two index obstructions to positive scalar curvature (Q5962655)

The main result of this paper is the weakening of the condition behind \textit{M. Gromov} and \textit{H. B. Lawson jun.}'s [Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 58, 83--196 (1983; Zbl 0538.53047)] obstruction to positive scalar curvature (hereafter abbreviated PSC). To wit, Gromov and Lawson's obstruction is that, if \(M\) is a closed aspherical spin manifold with an enlargeable submanifold \(N\) of codimension 2 with trivial normal bundle, and if the homotopy map \(\pi_1(N)\to \pi_1(M)\) induced by inclusion is injective, then \(M\) does not admit a Riemannian metric with PSC. The authors of the present paper demonstrate that the asphericity condition on \(M\) may be replaced with the vanishing of the 2nd homotopy group and that the enlageability condition on \(N\) may be replaced with the nonvanishing of the Rosenberg index. Their approach uses the coarse index theory for Dirac operators twisted by Hilbert-module bundles. The analytic properties of such Dirac operators -- in particular, their regularity and self-adjointness -- has to be addressed first, but a satisfactory account has not been documented in the literature. This lack is satiated by the present paper. In the course of obtaining the main result, the authors also prove a generalized vanishing theorem for the coarse index over noncompact manifolds. To be specific, let \(M\) be a complete, connected, noncompact, and spin manifold, such that, outside of a compact subset, the scalar curvature is uniformly positive. Let \(E\to M\) be a smooth Hilbert A-module bundle that is equipped with a flat connection compatible with the inner product and whose fibers are finitely generated and projective. Under such hypothesis, the authors prove that the coarse index of a Dirac operator twisted by \(E\) vanishes. The results mentioned so far are derived as particular instances of more general principles which are proved in the paper.