Hausdorff Convergence and Universal Covers
arXiv:math/0008218
Abstract
We prove that if is the Gromov-Hausdorff limit of a sequence of compact manifolds, , with a uniform lower bound on Ricci curvature and a uniform upper bound on diameter, then has a universal cover. We then show that, for sufficiently large, the fundamental group of has a surjective homeomorphism onto the group of deck transforms of . Finally, in the non-collapsed case where the have an additional uniform lower bound on volume, we prove that the kernels of these surjective maps are finite with a uniform bound on their cardinality. A number of theorems are also proven concerning the limits of covering spaces and their deck transforms when the are only assumed to be compact length spaces with a uniform upper bound on diameter.
17 Pages