The relationship between the boundedly controlled K1 and Whitehead groups

Let Z be a boundedness control space and p: X Z be a continuous map. The boundedly controlled Whitehead group Wh ^bc (X, p) is defined to be a quotient of the boundedly controlled K ₁-group K ₁ ^bc (X, p) by a certain subgroup whose generators are explicitly given. In general, little is known about this subgroup and it is even possible that it vanishes; i.e. that the boundedly controlled K ₁ and Whitehead groups are identical. This paper examines the structure of this subgroup in the case when p is the open cone on a PL map between compact polyhedra. As a byproduct, it calculates Wh ^bc (X, p) in some of these cases.Partially supported by the NSF under grant number DMS-8803149.