The surgery exact sequence, \(K\)-theory and the signature operator (Q887835)

The surgery exact sequence in topology describes the set of smooth manifolds with a given homotopy type. The structure set that appears in it consists of equivalence classes of such manifold structures. The surgery exact sequence also contains the \(L\)-groups of the integral group ring of the fundamental group. In a series of papers, Higson and Roe have constructed an analytic variant of this exact sequence involving the \(K\)-theory of certain \(C^*\)-algebras coming from coarse geometry, and a chain map from the surgery exact sequence to the analytic variant. Their construction of this chain map is based on Poincaré complexes. This article constructs this chain map between the two exact sequences using index theory. The main tool is a variant of the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem. The method is similar to the previous paper [\textit{P. Piazza} and \textit{T. Schick}, J. Topol. 7, No. 4, 965--1004 (2014; Zbl 1320.58012)], which dealt with another exact sequence related to positive scalar curvature metrics instead. The difference to [loc. cit.] is that Dirac operators are replaced by signature operators. A crucial ingredient in the construction are \(\rho\)-invariants. The signature operator on the disjoint union of two homotopy equivalent manifolds has index zero because of the homotopy equivalence. This reason for the index to vanish can be used to perturb the operator to one that is invertible. The projection onto the positive part of the spectrum for this perturbed signature operator is a secondary \(K\)-theoretic invariant that explains the vanishing of the index, called \(\rho\)-invariant. It figures in the delocalized Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem for perturbed Dirac operators. Much of the new work in this article is needed to control the perturbations needed for \(\rho\)-invariants.