On Conjectures of Mathai and Borel

Mathai has conjectured that the Cheeger–Gromov invariant ₍₂₎ = ₍₂₎ - is a homotopy invariant of closed manifolds with torsion-free fundamental group. In this paper we prove this statement for closed manifolds M when the rational Borel conjecture is known for = ₁(M), i.e. the assembly map : H_*(B, ) L_*() is an isomorphism. Our discussion evokes the theory of intersection homology and results related to the higher signature problem.