Branched covers of hyperbolic manifolds and harmonic maps (Q856791)

The authors examine homotopy equivalences \(f:M\to N\) between closed negatively curved manifolds which are not homotopy equivalent to a closed locally symmetric space (and hence not equivalent to a closed hyperbolic manifold), -- called examples of non-hyperbolic homotopy type, -- manifolds. They prove that a series of results which have been obtained in the last decade for examples of hyperbolic homotopy type (where the two manifolds have the homotopy type of a closed hyperbolic manifold), hold true as well for examples of non-hyperbolic homotopy type.