Tubular configurations: equivariant scanning and splitting

Abstract: Replacing configurations of points by configurations of tubular neighbourhoods (or discs) in a manifold, we are able to define a natural scanning map that is equivariant under the action of the diffeomorphism group of the manifold. We also construct the so-called power set map of configuration spaces diffeomorphism equivariantly. Combining these two constructions yields stable splittings in the sense of Snaith and generalisations thereof that are equivariant. In particular one deduces stable splittings of homotopy orbit spaces. As an application the homology injectivity is proved for diffeomorphism of manifolds that fix an increasing number of points. Throughout we work with configurations spaces with labels in a fibre bundle.