Almost flat relative vector bundles and the almost monodromy correspondence

Abstract

In this paper we introduce the notion of almost flatness for (stably) relative bundles on a pair of topological spaces and investigate basic properties of it. First, we show that almost flatness of topological and smooth sense are equivalent. This provides a construction of an almost flat stably relative bundle by using the enlargeability of manifolds. Second, we show the almost monodromy correspondence, that is, a correspondence between almost flat (stably) relative bundles and (stably) relative quasi-representations of the fundamental group.