Geometric versus homotopy theoretic equivariant bordism

By results of Loeffler and Comezana, the Pontrjagin-Thom map from geometric G-equivariant bordism to homotopy theoretic equivariant bordism is injective for compact abelian G. If G = S^1 x ... x S^1, we prove that the associated fixed point square is a pull back square, thus confirming a recent conjecture of D. Sinha. This is used in order to determine the image of the Pontrjagin-Thom map for toral G.Comment: 19 pages, minor inaccuracies removed, to appear in Math. An

Enlargeability and index theory

Let M be a closed enlargeable spin manifold. We show non-triviality of the universal index obstruction in the K-theory of the maximal $C^*$-algebra of the fundamental group of M. Our proof is independent from the injectivity of the Baum-Connes assembly map for the fundamental group of M and relies on the construction of a certain infinite dimensional flat vector bundle out of a sequence of finite dimensional vector bundles on M whose curvatures tend to zero. Besides the well known fact that M does not carry a metric with positive scalar curvature, our results imply that the classifying map $M \to B \pi_1(M)$ sends the fundamental class of M to a nontrivial homology class in H_n(B \pi_1(M) ; \Q). This answers a question of Burghelea (1983).Comment: 32 pages, final version accepted for publication, added relation to Gromov's 1-systole, typos corrected; to appear in Journal of Differential Geometr

The space of metrics of positive scalar curvature

We study the topology of the space of positive scalar curvature metrics on high dimensional spheres and other spin manifolds. Our main result provides elements of infinite order in higher homotopy and homology groups of these spaces, which, in contrast to previous approaches, are of infinite order and survive in the (observer) moduli space of such metrics. Along the way we construct smooth fiber bundles over spheres whose total spaces have non-vanishing A-hat-genera, thus establishing the non-multiplicativity of the A-hat-genus in fibre bundles with simply connected base.Comment: 24 pages, v2: minor additions and corrections, based in particular on comments of referees, v3: minor corrections, final version, to appear in Publ.Math. IHE

Positive scalar curvature on manifolds with odd order abelian fundamental groups

We introduce Riemannian metrics of positive scalar curvature on manifolds with Baas-Sullivan singularities, prove a corresponding homology invariance principle and discuss admissible products. Using this theory we construct positive scalar curvature metrics on closed smooth manifolds of dimension at least five which have odd order abelian fundamental groups, are nonspin and atoral. This solves the Gromov-Lawson-Rosenberg conjecture for a new class of manifolds with finite fundamental groups.Comment: 31 pages; 2 figures; minor edits; published versio

K-cowaist of manifolds with boundary

We extend the K-cowaist inequality to generalized Dirac operators in the sense of Gromov and Lawson and study applications to manifolds with boundary.Comment: 6 page

Large and small group homology

For several instances of metric largeness like enlargeability or having hyperspherical universal covers, we construct non-large vector subspaces in the rational homology of finitely generated groups. The functorial properties of this construction imply that the corresponding largeness properties of closed manifolds depend only on the image of their fundamental classes under the classifying map. This is applied to construct examples of essential manifolds whose universal covers are not hyperspherical, thus answering a question of Gromov (1986), and, more generally, essential manifolds which are not enlargeable.Comment: 24 pages, small corrections and improvement

Boundary conditions for scalar curvature

Based on the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index formula, we construct an obstruction to positive scalar curvature metrics with mean convex boundaries on spin manifolds of infinite K-area. We also characterize the extremal case. Next we show a general deformation principle for boundary conditions of metrics with lower scalar curvature bounds. This implies that the relaxation of boundary conditions often induces weak homotopy equivalences of spaces of such metrics. This can be used to refine the smoothing of codimension-one singularites a la Miao and the deformation of boundary conditions a la Brendle-Marques-Neves, among others. Finally, we construct compact manifolds for which the spaces of positive scalar curvature metrics with mean convex boundaries have nontrivial higher homotopy groups.Comment: minor change