Rough index theory on spaces of polynomial growth and contractibility

Abstract: We will show that for a polynomially contractible manifold of bounded geometry and of polynomial volume growth every coarse and rough cohomology class pairs continuously with the K-theory of the uniform Roe algebra. As an application we will discuss non-vanishing of rough index classes of Dirac operators over such manifolds, and we will furthermore get higher-codimensional index obstructions to metrics of positive scalar curvature on closed manifolds with virtually nilpotent fundamental groups. We will give a computation of the homology of (a dense, smooth subalgebra of) the uniform Roe algebra of manifolds of polynomial volume growth.