The rational HK-conjecture: transformation groupoids and a revised version (Q6914384)

Motivated by the fact that \(K\)-theory is often difficult to compute explicitly for \(C^*\)-algebras, \textit{H.~Matui} proposed the so-called \(HK\)-conjecture [Adv. Math. 303, 502--548 (2016; Zbl 1352.19003)] that suggests an isomorphism between the \(K\)-theory of a sufficiently nice groupoid \(C^*\)-algebra with the more manageable homology of the groupoid defined by \textit{M.~Crainic} and \textit{I.~Moerdijk} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 521, 25--46 (2000; Zbl 0954.22002)]. In 2020, \textit{E.~Scarparo} gave a counter-example to the \(HK\)-conjecture [Ergodic Theory Dyn. Syst. 40, No.~9, 2541--2551 (2020; Zbl 1460.46065)].\N\NOne way out is to formulate a weaker version of the conjecture. For instance, one could ask whether an isomorphism could exist rationally (i.e., after tensoring with the rational numbers). A slight modification of the existing counter-examples reveals, however that such a rational version of the conjecture is unlikely unless the groupoid is principal. Indeed, Scarparo's counter-example is already a counter-example to the rational version in the essentially principal case. On the other hand, the existing counter-examples in the principal case are known to satisfy the rational version.\N\NIn this paper, the authors establish the rational version of the \(HK\)-conjecture for a large class of transformation groupoids coming from Cantor systems with torsion-free stabilizers. The basic idea is to use the Baum-Connes conjecture [\textit{P.~Baum} and \textit{A.~Connes}, Pap. Dedic. Itiro Tamura, 163--232 (1988; Zbl 0656.55005)] and \textit{J.~Raven}'s Chern character [An equivariant bivariant Chern character. Pennsylvania State University (PhD thesis) (2004)]. They indeed prove something more, leading to a revised version of the rational \(HK\)-conjecture, that coincides with the original version for principal and ample groupoids but not so when the groupoid has torsion in its isotropy groups. The advantage of the revised rational \(HK\)-conjecture is that it holds for a rather large class of transformation groupoids, including those coming from zero-dimensional dynamics.