An introduction to torsion subcomplex reduction

Abstract: This survey paper introduces to a technique called Torsion Subcomplex Reduction (TSR) for computing torsion in the cohomology of discrete groups acting on suitable cell complexes. TSR enables one to skip machine computations on cell complexes, and to access directly the reduced torsion subcomplexes, which yields results on the cohomology of matrix groups in terms of formulas. TSR has already yielded general formulas for the cohomology of the tetrahedral Coxeter groups as well as, at odd torsion, of SL2 groups over arbitrary number rings. The latter formulas have allowed to refine the Quillen conjecture. Furthermore, progress has been made to adapt TSR to Bredon homology computations. In particular for the Bianchi groups, yielding their equivariant K-homology, and, by the Baum-Connes assembly map, the K-theory of their reduced C *-algebras. As a side application, TSR has allowed to provide dimension formulas for the Chen-Ruan orbifold cohomology of the complexified Bianchi orbifolds, and to prove Ruan's crepant resolution conjecture for all complexified Bianchi orbifolds.