The Euler characteristic and finiteness obstruction of manifolds with periodic ends (Q997918)

Let \(M\) be a complete orientable manifold with bounded geometry, finitely generated rational homology, and finitely many ends, each of which is quasi-periodic. The author identifies weighted \(L^{2}\) spaces of differential forms on which the de Rham operator is Fredholm with index equal to the Euler characteristics of the manifold. Under an assumption of convenience on the fundamental groups of the ends, the author extends this result to apply to the de Rham operator with coefficients in the canonical bundle with fibers \(C^{*} \pi\), where \(\pi\) is the group of a regular covering of \(M\). The operator has index in \(K_{0}( C^{*} \pi )\). If the local coefficient chains with coefficients in the \(C^{*} \pi\)-bundle are \(C^{*} \pi\)-finitely dominated, but \(M\) is not finitely dominated (so that Wall's finiteness obstruction is not defined), then the image of this index in reduced \(K\)-theory is a candidate to replace Wall's finiteness obstruction as an obstruction to manifolds \(M\) having the homotopy type of a finite complex.