A solution to de Groot's absolute cone conjecture

Abstract: A compactum X is an `absolute cone' if, for each of its points x, the space X is homeomorphic to a cone with x corresponding to the cone point. In 1971, J. de Groot conjectured that each n-dimensional absolute cone is an n-cell. In this paper, we give a complete solution to that conjecture. In particular, we show that the conjecture is true for n<4 and false for n>4. For n=4, the absolute cone conjecture is true if and only if the 3-dimensional Poincare Conjecture is true.

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A compactum \(X\) is an abolute cone if for each \(x\) in \(X\) the pair \((X,x)\) is pairwise homeomorphic to \((Cone(Y),c)\), where \(c\) is the cone point of the cone on some space \(Y\). Classical results on low-dimensional generalized manifolds being curves or surfaces are used to show that \(n\)-dimensional absolute cones are \(n\)-cells if \(n\leq3\), and that this also follows from the Poincaré Conjecture when \(n=4\). The double suspension theorem of Cannon and Edwards is used to construct counter examples in every higher dimension \(n\geq5\).

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