We generalize the transgression formula for the eta form of Bismut, Cheeger and Berline, Getzler, Vergne for vertical Dirac operators on a fibre bundle with odd dimensional fibres where the Dirac operators have locally at most one eigenvalue of multiplicity one crossing zero transversally.
We compute eta invariants of various Dirac type operators on circle bundles over Riemann surfaces via two approaches: an adiabatic approach based on the results of Bismut-Cheeger-Dai and a direct elementary one. These results, coupled with some delicate spectral flow computations are then used to determine the virtual dimensions of Seiberg-Witten finite energy moduli spaces on any 4-manifold bounding unions of circle bundles. This belated paper should be regarded as the analytical backbone of dg-ga/9711006. There, we indicated only what changes are needed to extend the methods of the present p…
On a spin manifold with conformal cusps, we prove under an invertibility condition at infinity that the eta function of the twisted Dirac operator has at most simple poles and is regular at the origin. For hyperbolic manifolds of finite volume, the eta function of the Dirac operator twisted by any homogeneous vector bundle is shown to be entire.
Let $\mathcal{A}_0$ and $\mathcal{A}_1$ be two self-adjoint Fredholm Dirac-type operators defined on two non-compact manifolds. If they coincide at infinity so that the relative heat operator is trace-class, one can define their relative eta function as in the compact case. The regular value of this function at the zero point, which we call the relative eta invariant of $\mathcal{A}_0$ and $\mathcal{A}_1$, is a generalization of the eta invariant to non-compact situation. We study its variation formula and gluing law. In particular, under certain conditions, we show that this relative eta inva…
In this paper, we give proofs of the family index formula and the equivariant family index formula by the Greiner's approach to heat kernel asymptotics. We compute equivariant family JLO characters. We also define the equivariant eta form and give a proof of its regularity.
The integral of the top dimensional term of the multiplicative sequence of Pontryagin forms associated to an even formal power series is calculated for special Riemannian metrics on the unit ball of a hermitean vector space. Using this result we calculate the generating function of the reduced Dirac and signature eta-invariants for the family of Berger metrics on the odd dimensional spheres.
Several proofs have been published of the Mod Z gluing formula for the eta-invariant of a Dirac operator. However, so far the integer contribution to the gluing formula for the eta-invariant is left obscure in the literature. In this article we present a gluing formula for the eta-invariant which expresses the integer contribution as a triple index involving the boundary conditions and the Calderon projectors of the two parts of the decomposition. The main ingredients of our presentation are the Scott-Wojciechowski theorem for the determinant of a Dirac operator on a manifold with boundary and…
The zeta and eta-functions associated with massless and massive Dirac operators, in a D-dimensional (D odd or even) manifold without boundary, are rigorously constructed. Several mathematical subtleties involved in this process are stressed, as the intrisic ambiguity present in the definition of the associated fermion functional determinant in the massless case and, also, the unavoidable presence (in some situations) of a multiplicative anomaly, that can be conveniently expressed in terms of the noncommutative residue. The ambiguity is here seen to disappear in the massive case, giving rise to…
We establish the regularity theory for certain critical elliptic systems with an anti-symmetric structure under inhomogeneous Neumann and Dirichlet boundary constraints. As applications, we prove full regularity and smooth estimates at the free boundary for weakly Dirac-harmonic maps from spin Riemann surfaces. Our methods also lead to the full interior $ε$-regularity and smooth estimates for weakly Dirac-harmonic maps in all dimensions.
We show the smoothness of weakly Dirac-harmonic maps from a closed spin Riemann surface into stationary Lorentzian manifolds, and obtain a regularity theorem for a class of critical elliptic systems without anti-symmetry structures.
We show that the R/Z part of the analytically defined eta invariant of Atiyah-Patodi-Singer for a Dirac operator on an odd dimensional closed spin manifold can be expressed purely geometrically through a stable Chern-Simons current on a higher dimensional sphere. As a preliminary application, we discuss the relation with the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer R/Z index theorem for unitary flat vector bundles, and prove an R refinement in the case where the Dirac operator is replaced by the Signature operator. We also extend the above discussion to the case of eta invariants associated to Hermitian vector bu…
Let P be a selfadjoint elliptic operator of order m>0 acting on the sections of a Hermitian vector bundle over a compact Riemannian manifold of dimension n. General arguments show that its zeta and eta functions may have poles only at points of the form s=k/m, where k ranges over all non-zero integers less than or equal to n. In this paper, we construct elementary and explicit examples of perturbations of P which make the zeta and eta functions be singular at all the points at which they are allowed to have singularities. We proceed within three classes of operators: Dirac-type operators, self…
For any $n$-dimensional compact spin Riemannian manifold $M$ with a given spin structure and a spinor bundle $ΣM$, and any compact Riemannian manifold $N$, we show an $ε$-regularity theorem for weakly Dirac-harmonic maps . As a consequence, any weakly Dirac-harmonic map is proven to be smooth when n = 2. A weak convergence theorem for approximate Dirac-harmonic maps is established when $n = 2$. For $n \ge 3$, we introduce the notation of stationary Dirac-harmonic maps and obtain a Liouville theorem for stationary Dirac-harmonic maps in $R^n$. If, additions, $ψ\in W^{1,p}$ for some $p>2n/3$, th…
We study the adiabatic limit of the eta invariant of the Dirac operator over cofinite quotient of PSL(2,R), which is a noncompact manifold with a nonexact fibred-cusp metric near the ends.
We prove an asymptotic bound on the eta invariant of a family of coupled Dirac operators on an odd dimensional manifold. In the case when the manifold is the unit circle bundle of a positive line bundle over a complex manifold, we obtain precise formulas for the eta invariant.
We derive a formula for the eta invariants of equivariant Dirac operators on quotients of compact Lie groups, and for their infinitesimally equivariant extension. As an example, we give some computations for spheres.
We consider families of Dirac operators on the unit interval which depend on parameters via boundary conditions. We study the associated eta forms and Maslov cocyles. With this simple example we show how previous results of Lesch/Woiciechowski and the first author on the eta invariant of cylinders generalize to the family case.
We study the eta invariants of Dirac operators and the regularized determinants of Dirac Laplacians over hyperbolic manifolds with cusps. We follow Werner M"uller and use relative traces to define these spectral invariants. We show the regularity of eta and zeta functions at s=0. The Selberg trace formula and the detailed analysis of the unipotent terms give the relation between the eta invariant and the Selberg zeta function of odd type. This allows us to show the vanishing of the unipotent contribution. We show that the eta invariant and the Selberg zeta function of odd type satisfy certain …
We first apply the method and results in the previous paper to give a new proof of a result (hold in $ {\bf C}/{\bf Z}$) of Gilkey on the variation of h-invariants associated to non self-adjoint Dirac type operators. We then give an explicit local expression of certain h-invariant appearing in recent papers of Braverman-Kappeler on what they call refined analytic torsion, and propose an alternate formulation of their definition of the refined analytic torsion. A refinement in ${\bf C}$ of the above variation formula is also proposed.
We consider a generalized APS boundary problem for a G-invariant Dirac-type operator, which is not of product type near the boundary. We establish a delocalized version (a so-called Kirillov formula) of the equivariant index theorem for this operator. We obtain more explicit formulas for different geometric Dirac-type operators. In particular, we get a formula for the equivariant signature of a local system over a manifold with boundary. In case of a trivial local system, our formula can be viewed as a new way to compute the infinitesimal equivariant eta-invariant of S. Goette. We explicitly c…
The Chern classes of a K-theory class which is represented by a vector bundle with connection admit refinements to Cheeger-Simons classes in Deligne cohomology. In the present paper we consider similar refinements in the case where the classes in K-theory are represented by geometric families of Dirac operators. In low dimensions these refinements correspond to the exponentiated eta-invariant, the determinant line bundle with Quillen metric and Bismut-Freed connection, and Lott's index gerbe with connection and curving. We give a unified treatement of these cases as well as their higher genera…
We establish existence of the eta-invariant as well as of the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer and the Cheeger-Gromov rho-invariants for a class of Dirac operators on an incomplete edge space. Our analysis applies in particular to the signature, the Gauss-Bonnet and the spin Dirac operator. We derive an analogue of the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem for incomplete edge spaces and their non-compact infinite Galois coverings with edge singular boundary. Our arguments employ microlocal analysis of the heat kernel asymptotics on incomplete edge spaces and the classical argument of Atiyah-Patodi-Singer. As…
In this paper, using the equivariant version of the Dai-Zhang higher spectral flow, we generalize the variation formula, embedding formula and the adiabatic limit formula for the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer eta invariants to the equivariant Bismut-Cheeger eta forms for a fiberwise compact Lie group action when the kernels of corresponding fiberwise Dirac operators form equivariant vector bundles.
We show meromorphic extension and analyze the divisors of a Selberg zeta function of odd type $Z_{Γ,Σ}^{\rm o}(λ)$ associated to the spinor bundle $Σ$ on odd dimensional convex co-compact hyperbolic manifolds $X:=Γ\backslash\hh^{2n+1}$. We define a natural eta invariant $η(D)$ associated to the Dirac operator $D$ on $X$ and prove that $η(D)=\frac{1}{πi}\log Z_{Γ,Σ}^{\rm o}(0)$, thus extending Millson's formula to this setting. As a byproduct, we do a full analysis of the spectral and scattering theory of the Dirac operator on asymptotically hyperbolic manifolds. We also define an eta invariant…
Starting from an even definite lattice, we construct a principal circle bundle covered by a certain three-step nilpotent Lie group G. On the base space, which is again a nilmanifold, we then study the Dirac operator twisted by the associated complex line bundles. Noting that the whole situation fibers over the circle, we are able to determine the reduced eta-invariant of these Dirac operators in the adiabatic limit. As an application, we consider the total space of the circle bundle, equipped with a parallelism induced by G, as an element in the stable homotopy groups of the sphere and use the…
We study a new set of coupled field equations motivated by the non-linear supersymmetric sigma model of quantum field theory. These equations couple a map into a Riemannian manifold controlled by a harmonic map like action with a spinor field along that map. We study the solutions which we call Dirac-harmonic maps from a Riemann surface to a sphere $§^n$. We show that a weakly Dirac-harmonic map is in fact smooth, and prove that the energy identity holds during the blow-up process.
In previous work, we introduced eta invariants for even dimensional manifolds. It plays the same role as the eta invariant of Atiyah-Patodi-Singer, which is for odd dimensional manifolds. It is associated to $K^1$ representatives on even dimensional manifolds and is closely related to the so called WZW theory in physics. In fact, it is an intrinsic interpretation of the Wess-Zumino term without passing to the bounding 3-manifold. Spectrally the eta invariant is defined on a finite cylinder, rather than on the manifold itself. Thus it is an interesting question to find an intrinsic spectral int…
In this paper we prove a formula for the analytic index of a basic Dirac-type operator on a Riemannian foliation, solving a problem that has been open for many years. We also consider more general indices given by twisting the basic Dirac operator by a representation of the orthogonal group. The formula is a sum of integrals over blowups of the strata of the foliation and also involves eta invariants of associated elliptic operators. As a special case, a Gauss-Bonnet formula for the basic Euler characteristic is obtained using two independent proofs.
In a series of papers, we will develop systematically the basic spectral theory of (self-adjoint) boundary value problems for operators of Dirac type. We begin in this paper with the characterization of (self-adjoint) boundary conditions with optimal regularity, for which we will derive the heat asymptotics and index theorems in subsequent publications. Along with a number of new results, we extend and simplify the proofs of many known theorems. Our point of departure is the simple structure which is displayed by Dirac type operators near the boundary. Thus our proofs are given in an abstract …
For a $n$-dimensional spin manifold $M$ with a fixed spin structure and a spinor bundle $ΣM$, we prove an $ε$-regularity theorem for weak solutions to the nonlinear Dirac equation of cubic nonlinearity. This, in particular, answers a regularity question raised by Chen-Jost-Wang when $n=2$.
We study the dependence of the eta invariant $η_D$ on the spin structure, where $D$ is a twisted Dirac operator on a (4k+3)-dimensional spin manifold. The difference between the eta invariants for two spin structures related by a cohomolgy class which is the reduction of a $H^1(M,\Za)$-class is shown to be a half integer. As an application of the technique of proof the generalized Rokhlin invariant is shown to be equal modulo 8 for two spin structures related in this way.
For a given self-adjoint first order elliptic differential operator on a closed smooth manifold, we prove a list of results on when the delocalized eta invariant associated to a regular covering space can be approximated by the delocalized eta invariants associated to finite-sheeted covering spaces. One of our main results is the following. Suppose $M$ is a closed smooth spin manifold and $\widetilde M$ is a $Γ$-regular covering space of $M$. Let $\langle α\rangle$ be the conjugacy class of a non-identity element $α\in Γ$. Suppose $\{Γ_i\}$ is a sequence of finite-index normal subgroups of $Γ$…
Let X be a closed Riemannian manifold and let H\hookrightarrow X be an embedded hypersurface. Let X=X_+ \cup_H X_- be a decomposition of X into two manifolds with boundary, with X_+ \cap X_- = H. In this expository article, surgery -- or gluing -- formulæfor several geometric and spectral invariants associated to a Dirac-type operator ð_X on X are presented. Considered in detail are: the index of ð_X, the index bundle and the determinant bundle associated to a family of such operators, the eta invariant and the analytic torsion. In each case the precise form of the surgery theorems, as well as…
In this paper we study the asymptotic behavior of the spectral flow of a one-parameter family $\{D_s\}$ of Dirac operators acting on the spinor bunldle $S$ twisted by a vector bundle $E$ of rank $k$, with the parameter $s\in [0,r]$ when $r$ gets sufficiently large. Our method uses the variation of eta invariant and local index theory technique. The key is a uniform estimate of the eta invariant $\barη(D_r)$ which is established via local index theory technique and heat kernel estimate.
Cobordism invariance shows that the index, in K-theory, of a family of pseudodifferential operators on the boundary of a fibration vanishes if the symbol family extends to be elliptic across the whole fibration. For Dirac operators with spectral boundary condition, Dai and Freed \cite{dai-freed1} gave an explicit version of this at the level of the determinant bundle. Their result, that the eta invariant of the interior family trivializes the determinant bundle of the boundary family, is extended here to the wider context of pseudodifferential families of cusp type.
On a compact spin manifold we study the space of Riemannian metrics for which the Dirac operator is invertible. The first main result is a surgery theorem stating that such a metric can be extended over the trace of a surgery of codimension at least three. We then prove that if non-empty the space of metrics with invertible Dirac operators is disconnected in dimensions $n \equiv 0,1,3,7 \mod 8$, $n \geq 5$. As a corollary follows results on the existence of metrics with harmonic spinors by Hitchin and Bär. Finally we use computations of the eta invariant by Botvinnik and Gilkey to find metrics…
We announce a Godbillon-Vey index formula for longitudinal Dirac operators on a foliated bundle $(X,\F)$ with boundary; in particular, we define a Godbillon-Vey eta invariant on the boundary foliation, that is, a secondary invariant for longitudinal Dirac operators on type III foliations. Our theorem generalizes the classic Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index formula for $(X,\F)$. Moreover, employing the Godbillon-Vey index as a pivotal example, we explain a new approach to higher index theory on geometric structures with boundary. This is heavily based on the interplay between the absolute and relativ…
We prove a formula for the multiplicities of the index of an equivariant transversally elliptic operator on a $G$-manifold. The formula is a sum of integrals over blowups of the strata of the group action and also involves eta invariants of associated elliptic operators. Among the applications, we obtain an index formula for basic Dirac operators on Riemannian foliations, a problem that was open for many years.
Let $M$ be an orientable compact flat Riemannian manifold endowed with a spin structure. In this paper we determine the spectrum of Dirac operators acting on smooth sections of twisted spinor bundles of $M$, and we derive a formula for the corresponding eta series. In the case of manifolds with holonomy group $\Z_2^k$, we give a very simple expression for the multiplicities of eigenvalues that allows to compute explicitly the $η$-series in terms of values of Riemann-Hurwitz zeta functions, and the $η$-invariant. We give the dimension of the space of harmonic spinors and characterize all $\Z_2^…
We prove an Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem for Dirac operators twisted by C*-vector bundles. We use it to derive a general product formula for eta-forms and to define and study new rho-invariants generalizing Lott's higher rho-form. The higher Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem of Leichtnam-Piazza can be recovered by applying the theorem to Dirac operators twisted by the Mishenko-Fomenko bundle associated to the reduced C*-algebra of the fundamental group.
We prove a Godbillon-Vey index formula for longitudinal Dirac operators on a foliated bundle with boundary; in particular, we define a Godbillon-Vey eta invariant on the boundary-foliation; this is a secondary invariant for longitudinal Dirac operators on type-III foliations. Moreover, employing the Godbillon-Vey index as a pivotal example, we explain a new approach to higher index theory on geometric structures with boundary. This is heavily based on the interplay between the absolute and relative pairings of K-theory and cyclic cohomology for an exact sequence of Banach algebras which in the…
We consider a hyperbolic Dirac-type operator with growing potential on a a spatially non-compact globally hyperbolic manifold. We show that the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer boundary value problem for such operator is Fredholm and obtain a formula for this index in terms of the local integrals and the relative eta-invariant introduced by Braverman and Shi. This extends recent results of Bär and Strohmaier, who studied the index of a hyperbolic Dirac operator on a spatially compact globally hyperbolic manifold.
We consider the semi-classical Dirac operator coupled to a magnetic potential on a large class of manifolds including all metric contact manifolds. We prove a sharp local Weyl law and a bound on its eta invariant. In the absence of a Fourier integral parametrix, the method relies on the use of almost analytic continuations combined with the Birkhoff normal form and local index theory.
We study eta-invariants on odd dimensional manifolds with boundary. The dependence on boundary conditions is best summarized by viewing the (exponentiated) eta-invariant as an element of the (inverse) determinant line of the boundary. We prove a gluing law and a variation formula for this invariant. This yields a new, simpler proof of the holonomy formula for the determinant line bundle of a family of Dirac operators, also known as the ``global anomaly'' formula. This paper is written using AMSTeX 2.1, which can be obtained via ftp from the American Mathematical Society (instructions included)…
Let X be a compact manifold with boundary, and suppose that the boundary is the total space of a fibration with base Y and fibre Z. Let D be a generalized Dirac operator associated to a Phi-metric g on X. Under the assumption that D is fully elliptic we prove an index formula for D. The proof is in two steps: first, using results of Melrose and Rochon, we show that the index is unchanged if we pass to a certain b-metric h(s), with s a positive real number. Next we write the b- (i.e. the APS) index formula for h(s); the Phi-index formula follows by analyzing the limiting behaviour as s goes to …
Let $Γ$ be a discrete finitely generated group. Let $\hat{M}\to T$ be a $Γ$-equivariant fibration, with fibers diffeomorphic to a fixed even dimensional manifold with boundary $Z$. We assume that $Γ\to \hat{M}\to \hat{M}/Γ$ is a Galois covering of a compact manifold with boundary. Let $(D^+ (θ))_{θ\in T}$ be a $Γ$-equivariant family of Dirac-type operators. Under the assumption that the boundary family is $L^2$-invertible, we define an index class in the K-theory of the cross-product algebra, $K_0 (C^0 (T)\rtimes_r Γ)$. If, in addition, $Γ$ is of polynomial growth, we define higher indeces by …
We compute the index of the Dirac operator on spin Riemannian manifolds with conical singularities, acting from $L^p(Σ^+)$ to $L^q(Σ^-)$ with $p,q>1$. When $1+\frac{n}{p}-\frac{n}{q}>0$ we obtain the usual Atiyah-Patodi-Singer formula, but with a spectral cut at $\frac{n+1}{2}-\frac{n}{q}$ instead of 0 in the definition of the eta invariant. In particular we reprove Chou's formula for the $L^2$ index. For $1+\frac{n}{p}-\frac{n}{q}\leq 0$ the index formula contains an extra term related to the Calderón projector.
We study primary and secondary invariants of leafwise Dirac operators on foliated bundles. Given such an operator, we begin by considering the associated regular self-adjoint operator $D_m$ on the maximal Connes-Skandalis Hilbert module and explain how the functional calculus of $D_m$ encodes both the leafwise calculus and the monodromy calculus in the corresponding von Neumann algebras. When the foliation is endowed with a holonomy invariant transverse measure, we explain the compatibility of various traces and determinants. We extend Atiyah's index theorem on Galois coverings to these foliat…
We consider first-order differential operators with locally bounded measurable coefficients on vector bundles with measurable coefficient metrics. Under a mild set of assumptions, we demonstrate the equivalence between the essential self-adjointness of such operators to a negligible boundary property. When the operator possesses higher regularity coefficients, we show that higher powers are essentially self-adjoint if and only if this condition is satisfied. In the case that the low-regularity Riemannian metric induces a complete length space, we demonstrate essential self-adjointness of the o…
We review the concepts of the index of a Fredholm operator, the spectral flow of a curve of self-adjoint Fredholm operators, the Maslov index of a curve of Lagrangian subspaces in symplectic Hilbert space, and the eta invariant of operators of Dirac type on closed manifolds and manifolds with boundary. We emphasize various (occasionally overlooked) aspects of rigorous definitions and explain the quite different stability properties. Moreover, we utilize the heat equation approach in various settings and show how these topological and spectral invariants are mutually related in the study of add…