Chern character for torsion-free ample groupoids

Abstract: For an ample groupoid with torsion-free stabilizers, we construct a Chern character map going from the domain of the Baum-Connes assembly map of G to the groupoid homology groups of G with rational coefficients. As a main application, assuming the (rational) Baum-Connes conjecture, we prove the rational form of Matui's HK conjecture, i.e., we show that the operator K-groups of the groupoid C*-algebra are rationally isomorphic to the periodicized groupoid homology groups. Our construction hinges on the recent $\infty$-categorical viewpoint on bivariant K-theory, and does not rely on typical noncommutative geometry tools such as the Chern-Connes character and the periodic cyclic homology of smooth algebras. We also present applications to the homology of hyperbolic dynamical systems, the homology of topological full groups, the homotopy type of the algebraic K-theory spectrum of ample groupoids, and the Elliott invariant of classifiable C*-algebras.