Ray-Singer Type Theorem for the Refined Analytic Torsion
Maxim Braverman, Thomas Kappeler
备注：
To appear in Journal of Functional Analysis The definition of the refined torsion was slightly changed, which made it more invariant, some references and remarks are added
We show that the refined analytic torsion is a holomorphic section of the determinant line bundle over the space of complex representations of the fundamental group of a closed oriented odd dimensional manifold. Further, we calculate the ratio of the refined analytic torsion and the Farber-Turaev combinatorial torsion.
As an application, we establish a formula relating the eta-invariant and the phase of the Farber-Turaev torsion, which extends a theorem of Farber and earlier results of ours. This formula allows to study the spectral flow using methods of combinatorial topology.
We express explicitly the analytic torsion functions associated with the Rumin complex on lens spaces in terms of the Hurwitz zeta function. In particular, we find that the functions vanish at the origin and determine the analytic torsions. Moreover, we have a formula between this torsion and the Ray-Singer torsion.
In the spirit of Ray and Singer we define a complex valued analytic torsion using non-selfadjoint Laplacians. We establish an anomaly formula which permits to turn this into a topological invariant. Conjecturally this analytically defined invariant computes the complex valued Reidemeister torsion, including its phase. We establish this conjecture in some non-trivial situations.
Ray Singer torsion is a numerical invariant associated with a compact Riemannian manifold equipped with a flat bundle and a Hermitian structure on this bundle. In this note we show how one can remove the dependence on the Riemannian metric and on the Hermitian structure with the help of a base point and of an Euler structure, in order to obtain a topological invariant. A numerical invariant for an Euler structure and additional data is also constructed.
In this paper we extend Witten-Helffer-Sjöstrand theory from selfadjoint Laplacians based on fiber wise Hermitian structures, to non-selfadjoint Laplacians based on fiber wise non-degenerate symmetric bilinear forms. As an application we verify, up to sign, the conjecture about the comparison of the Milnor-Turaev torsion with the complex valued analytic torsion, for odd dimensional manifolds. This is done along the lines of Burghelea, Friedlander and Kappeler's proof of the Cheeger-Müller theorem.
This paper is devoted to a proof of a generalized Ray-Singer conjecture for a manifold with boundary (the Dirichlet and the Neumann boundary conditions are independently given on each connected component of the boundary and the transmission boundary condition is given on the interior boundary). The Ray-Singer conjecture \cite{RS} claims that for a closed manifold the combinatorial and the analytic torsion norms on the determinant of the cohomology are equal. For a manifold with boundary the ratio between the analytic torsion and the combinatorial torsion is computed. Some new general propertie…
Starting with topological field theories we investigate the Ray-Singer analytic torsion in three dimensions. For the lens Spaces L(p;q) an explicit analytic continuation of the appropriate zeta functions is contructed and implemented. Among the results obtained are closed formulae for the individual determinants involved, the large $p$ behaviour of the determinants and the torsion, as well as an infinite set of distinct formulae for zeta(3): the ordinary Riemann zeta function evaluated at s=3. The torsion turns out to be trivial for the cases L(6,1), L((10,3) and L(12,5) and is, in general, gr…
We obtain explicit expressions for the determinants of the Laplacians on zero and one forms for an infinite class of three dimensional lens spaces $L(p,q)$. These expressions can be combined to obtain the Ray-Singer torsion of these lens spaces. As a consequence we obtain an infinite class of formulae for the Riemann zeta function $ζ(3)$. The value of these determinants (and the torsion) grows as the size of the fundamental group of the lens space increases and this is also computed. The triviality of the torsion for just the three lens spaces $L(6,1)$, $L(10,3)$ and $L(12,5)$ is also noted. (…
We give a quantum field theoretic derivation of the formula obeyed by the Ray-Singer torsion on product manifolds. Such a derivation has proved elusive up to now. We use a BRST formalism which introduces the idea of an infinite dimensional Universal Gauge Fermion, and is of independent interest being applicable to situations other than the ones considered here. We are led to a new class of Fermionic topological field theories. Our methods are also applicable to combinatorially defined manifolds and methods of discrete approximation such as the use of a simplicial lattice or finite elements. Th…
It is shown that for any piecewise-linear closed orientable manifold of odd dimension there exists an invariantly defined metric on the determinant line of cohomology with coefficients in an arbitrary flat bundle E over the manifold (E is not required to be unimodular). The construction of this metric (called Poincare - Reidemeister metric) is purely combinatorial; it combines the standard Reidemeister type construction with Poincare duality. The main result of the paper states that the Poincare-Reidemeister metric computes combinatorially the Ray-Singer metric. It is shown also that the Ray-S…
Consider a flat vector bundle F over compact Riemannian manifold M and let f be a self-indexing Morse function on M. Let g be a smooth Euclidean metric on F. Set g_t=exp(-2tf)g and let ρ(t) be the Ray-Singer analytic torsion of F associated to the metric g_t. Assuming that the vector field $grad f$ satisfies the Morse-Smale transversality conditions, we provide an asymptotic expansion for log(ρ(t)) for t\to\infty of the form a_0+a_1t+b log(t)+o(1). We present explicit formulae for coefficients a_0,a_1 and b. In particular, we show that b is a half integer.
We construct a canonical element, called the refined analytic torsion, of the determinant line of the cohomology of a closed oriented odd-dimensional manifold M with coefficients in a flat complex vector bundle E. We compute the Ray-Singer norm of the refined analytic torsion. In particular, if there exists a flat Hermitian metric on E, we show that this norm is equal to 1. We prove a duality theorem, establishing a relationship between the refined analytic torsions corresponding to a flat connection and its dual.
In the previous work ([14]) we introduced the well-posed boundary conditions ${\mathcal P}_{-, {\mathcal L}_{0}}$ and ${\mathcal P}_{+, {\mathcal L}_{1}}$ for the odd signature operator to define the refined analytic torsion on a compact manifold with boundary. In this paper we discuss the gluing formula of the refined analytic torsion for an acyclic Hermitian connection with respect to the boundary conditions ${\mathcal P}_{-, {\mathcal L}_{0}}$ and ${\mathcal P}_{+, {\mathcal L}_{1}}$. In this case the refined analytic torsion consists of the Ray-Singer analytic torsion, the eta invariant an…
The spectrum of the Laplace-Dolbeault operator for any line bundle with parallel curvature on a flat complex torus is computed. The Ray-Singer analytic torsion is then deduced, generalizing thus Bost's result for ample line bundles and Ray-Singer's ones for flat bundles, of which we a geometric interpretation is given.
The purpose of this article is to study the asymptotic expansion of Ray-Singer analytic tosion associated with increasing powers p of a given positive line bundle. Here we prove that the asymptotic expansion associated to a manifold contains only the terms of the form $p^{n-i} \log p, p^{n-i}$ for $i$-natural. For the two leading terms it was proved by Bismut and Vasserot in 1989. We will calculate the coefficients of the terms $p^{n-1} \log p, p^{n-1}$ in the Kahler case and thus answer the question posed in the recent work of Klevtsov, Ma, Marinescu and Wiegmann about quantuum Hall effect. O…
In this paper, we extend Su-Zhang's Cheeger-Mueller type theorem for symmetric bilinear torsions to manifolds with boundary in the case that the Riemannian metric and the non-degenerate symmetric bilinear form are of product structure near the boundary. Our result also extends Bruening-Ma's Cheeger-Mueller type theorem for Ray-Singer metric on manifolds with boundary to symmetric bilinear torsions in product case. We also compare it with the Ray-Singer analytic torsion on manifolds with boundary.
For an acyclic representation of the fundamental group of a compact oriented odd-dimensional manifold, which is close enough to a unitary representation, we define a refinement of the Ray-Singer torsion associated to this representation. This new invariant can be viewed as an analytic counterpart of the refined combinatorial torsion introduced by Turaev. The refined analytic torsion is a holomorphic function of the representation of the fundamental group. When the representation is unitary, the absolute value of the refined analytic torsion is equal to the Ray-Singer torsion, while its phase i…
In this paper we extend and Poincare dualize the concept of Euler structures, introduced by Turaev for manifolds with vanishing Euler-Poincare characteristic, to arbitrary manifolds. We use the Poincare dual concept, co-Euler structures, to remove all geometric ambiguities from the Ray-Singer torsion by providing a slightly modified object which is a topological invariant. We show that when the co-Euler structure is integral then the modified Ray-Singer torsion when regarded as a function on the variety of generically acyclic complex representations of the fundamental group of the manifold is …
The refined analytic torsion associated to a flat vector bundle over a closed odd-dimensional manifold canonically defines a quadratic form $τ$ on the determinant line of the cohomology. Both $τ$ and the Burghelea-Haller torsion are refinements of the Ray-Singer torsion. We show that whenever the Burghelea-Haller torsion is defined it is equal to $\pmτ$. As an application we obtain new results about the Burghelea-Haller torsion. In particular, we prove a weak version of the Burghelea-Haller conjecture relating their torsion with the square of the Farber-Turaev combinatorial torsion.
Let (X,[ω]) be a compact Kaehler manifold with a fixed Kaehler class [ω]. Let K_ωbe the set of all Kaehler metrics on X whose Kaehler class equals [ω]. In this paper we investigate the critical points of the functional Q(g)= |v|_g T_0(X,g)^{1/2} for g \in K_ω, where v is a fixed nonzero vector of the determinant line λ(X) associated to H^*(X) and T_0(X,g) is the Ray-Singer analytic torsion. For a polarized algebraic manifold (X,L) we consider a twisted version Q_L(g) of this functional and assume that c_1(L)=[ω]. Then the critical points of Q_L are exactly the metrics g\in K_ωof constant scala…
I consider the semiclassical approximation of the graded Chern-Simons field theories describing certain systems of topological A type branes in the large radius limit of Calabi-Yau compactifications. I show that the semiclassical partition function can be expressed in terms of a certain (differential) numerical invariant which is a version of the analytic torsion of Ray and Singer, but associated with flat graded superbundles. I also discuss a `twisted' version of the Ray-Singer norm, and show its independence of metric data. As illustration, I consider graded D-brane pairs of unit relative gr…
Let $E$ be a flat complex vector bundle over a closed oriented odd dimensional manifold $M$ endowed with a flat connection $\nabla$. The refined analytic torsion for $(M,E)$ was defined and studied by Braverman and Kappeler. Recently Mathai and Wu defined and studied the analytic torsion for the twisted de Rham complex with an odd degree closed differential form $H$, other than one form, as a flux and with coefficients in $E$. In this paper we generalize the construction of the refined analytic torsion to the twisted de Rham complex. We show that the refined analytic torsion of the twisted de …
We prove equality between the renormalized Ray-Singer analytic torsion and the intersection R-torsion on a Witt-manifold with cusps, up to an error term determined explicitly by the Betti numbers of the cross section of the cusp and the intersection R-torsion of a model cone. In the first step of the proof we compute explicitly the renormalized Ray-Singer analytic torsion of a model cusp in general dimension and without the Witt-condition. In the second step we establish a gluing formula for renormalized Ray-Singer analytic torsion on a general class of non-compact manifolds in any dimension t…
Braverman and Kappeler introduced a refinement of the Ray-Singer analytic torsion associated to a flat vector bundle over a closed odd-dimensional manifold. We study this notion and improve the Braverman-Kappeler theorem comparing the refined analytic torsion with Farber-Turaev refinement of the combinatorial torsion. Using this result we establish, modulo sign, the Burghelea-Haller conjecture, comparing their complex analytic torsion with Farber-Turaev torsion in the case, when the flat connection can be deformed in the space of flat connections to a Hermitian connection. We also compute the …
We study an analogue of the analytic torsion for elliptic complexes that are graded by $\mathbb{Z}_2$, orignally constructed by Mathai and Wu. Motivated by topological T-duality, Bouwknegt an Mathai study the complex of forms on an odd-dimensional manifold equipped with with the twisted differential $d_H = d+H$, where $H$ is a closed odd-dimensional form. We show that the Ray-Singer metric on this twisted determinant is equal to the untwisted Ray-Singer metric when the determinant lines are identified using a canonical isomorphism. We also study another analytical invariant of the twisted diff…
Let $X$ be a compact connected strongly pseudoconvex CR manifold of dimension $2n+1, n \ge 1$ with a transversal CR $S^1$-action on $X$. We introduce the Fourier components of the Ray-Singer analytic torsion on $X$ with respect to the $S^1$-action. We establish an asymptotic formula for the Fourier components of the analytic torsion with respect to the $S^1$-action. This generalizes the asymptotic formula of Bismut and Vasserot on the holomorphic Ray-Singer torsion associated with high powers of a positive line bundle to strongly pseudoconvex CR manifolds with a transversal CR $S^1$-action.
We prove an extension of the Cheeger-Müller theorem to spaces with isolated conical singularities: the $L^2$-analytic torsion coincides with the Ray-Singer intersection torsion on an even dimensional space, and they are trivial, while the ratio is non trivial on an odd dimensional space, and the anomaly depends only on the link of the singularities. For this aim, we develop on one side a combinatorial cellular theory whose homology coincides with the intersection homology of Gregory and Macpherson, and where the Ray-Singer intersection torsion is well defined. On the other side, we elaborate t…
The refined analytic torsion, defined by M. Braverman and T. Kappeler on closed manifolds, can be viewed as a refinement of the Ray-Singer torsion, since it is a canonical choice of an element with Ray-Singer norm one, in case of unitary representations. The complex phase of the refinement is given by the rho-invariant of the odd-signature operator. Unfortunately there seems to be no canonical way to extend the construction of Braverman and Kappeler to compact manifolds with boundary. In particular a gluing formula seems to be out of reach. We propose a different refinement of analytic torsion…
The Ray-Singer analytic torsion is the zeta-function trace of a certain sum of logarithm operators on the de Rham complex. In this note we examine the residue analytic torsion, defined using the residue-trace instead of the spectral zeta function quasi-trace.
Torsion invariants for manifolds which are not simply connected were introduced by K. Reidemeister and generalized to higher dimensions by W. Franz. The Reidemeister torsion, was the first invariant of manifolds which was not a homotopy invariant. The analytic counterpart of the combinatorial Reidemeister torsion was introduced by D. B. Ray and I. M. Singer in form of a weighted product of zeta-regularized determinants of Laplace operators on differential forms. The celebrated Cheeger-Mueller Theorem, established independently by J. Cheeger and W. Mueller, proved equality between the analytic …
Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University（拉德堡德大学数学、天体物理学和粒子物理研究所）；Australian Institute for Machine Learning, Adelaide University（阿德莱德大学澳大利亚机器学习研究所）
In this paper we show that the Ray-Singer complex analytic torsion is trivial for even dimensional Calabi-Yau manifolds. Then we define the quaternionic analytic torsion for quaternionic manifolds and prove that they are metric independent. In dimension four, the quaternionic analytic torsion equals to the self-dual analytic torsion. For higher dimensional manifolds, the self-dual analytic torsion is a conformal invariant.
In the previous article "Refined Analytic Torsion on Manifolds with Boundary" we have presented a construction of refined analytic torsion in the spirit of Braverman and Kappeler, which does apply to compact manifolds with and without boundary. We now derive a gluing formula for our construction, which can be viewed as a gluing law for the original definition of refined analytic torsion by Braverman and Kappeler. A gluing formula allows to compute the torsion invariant by cutting the manifold into elementary pieces and performing computations on each component. Certainly, the general fact of e…
Inspired by the work of Boris Vertman on refined analytic torsion for manifolds with boundary, in this paper we extend the construction of the Cappell-Miller analytic torsion to manifolds with boundary. We also compare it with the refined analytic torsion on manifolds with boundary. As a byproduct of the gluing formula for refined analytic torsion and the comparison theorem for the Cappell-Miller analytic torsion and the refined analytic torsion, we establish the gluing formula for the Cappell-Miller analytic torsion in the case that the Hermitian metric is flat.
We prove that refined analytic torsion on a manifold with boundary is an analytic section of the determinant line bundle over the representation variety. As a fundamental application we establish a gluing formula for refined analytic torsion on connected components of the complex representation space which contain a unitary point. Finally we provide a new proof of Bruening-Ma gluing formula for the Ray-Singer torsion associated to a non-Hermitian connection. Our proof is quite different from the one given by Bruening and Ma and uses a temporal gauge transformation.
We introduce multi-torsion, a spectral invariant generalizing Ray-Singer analytic torsion. We define multi-torsion for compact manifolds with a certain local geometric product structure that gives a bigrading on differential forms. We prove that multi-torsion is metric-independent in a suitable sense. Our definition of multi-torsion is inspired by an interpretation of each of analytic torsion and the eta invariant as a regularized integral of a closed differential form on a space of metrics on a vector bundle or on a space of elliptic operators. We generalize the Stokes' theorem argument expla…
Microlocal index theorems and analytic torsion invariants in the geometric theory of partial differential equations
Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences（保加利亚科学院数学与信息学研究所）；University of Angers, CNRS, LAREMA, SFR MATHSTIC and IITP RAS（昂热大学、法国国家科学研究中心、LAREMA、SFR MATHSTIC 和俄罗斯科学院信息传输问题研究所）；Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), IAiFi Institute（麻省理工学院（MIT）、IAiFi研究所）；Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications（北京国际数学研究中心）；Yau Mathematical Sciences Center, Tsinghua University（清华大学丘成桐数学科学中心）
In this paper we discuss the refined analytic torsion on an odd dimensional compact oriented Riemannian manifold with boundary under some assumption. For this purpose we introduce two boundary conditions which are complementary to each other and well-posed for the odd signature operator $\mathcal{B}$ in the sense of Seeley. We then show that the zeta-determinants of $\mathcal{B}^2$ and eta-invariants of $\mathcal{B}$ subject to these boundary conditions are well defined by using the method of the asymptotic expansions of the traces of the heat kernels. We use these facts to define the refined …
We extend the complex-valued analytic torsion, introduced by Burghelea and Haller on closed manifolds, to compact Riemannian bordisms. We do so by considering a flat complex vector bundle over a compact Riemannian manifold, endowed with a fiberwise nondegenerate symmetric bilinear form. The Riemmanian metric and the bilinear form are used to define non-selfadjoint Laplacians acting on vector-valued smooth forms under absolute and relative boundary conditions. In the process to define the complex-valued analytic torsion, we study spectral properties associated to these generalized Laplacians. A…
We generalize a theorem of Bismut-Zhang, which extends the Cheeger-Mueller theorem on Ray-Singer torsion and Reidemeister torsion, to the case where the flat vector bundle over a closed manifold carries a nondegenerate symmetric bilinear form. As a consequence, we prove the Burghelea-Haller conjecture which gives an analytic interpretation of the Turaev torsion. It thus also provides an analytic interpretation of (not merely the absolute value of) the Alexander polynomial in knot theory.
We propose a definition for analytic torsion of the contact complex on contact manifolds. We show it coincides with Ray-Singer torsion on any 3-dimensional CR Seifert manifold equipped with a unitary representation. In this particular case we compute it and relate it to dynamical properties of the Reeb flow. In fact the whole spectral torsion function we consider may be interpreted on CR Seifert manifolds as a purely dynamical function through Selberg-type trace formulae.
We define geometric zeta functions for locally symmetric spaces as generalizations of the zeta functions of Ruelle and Selberg. As a special value at zero we obtain the Reidemeister torsion of the manifold. For hermitian spaces these zeta functions have as special value the quotient of the holomorphic torsion of Ray and Singer and the holomorphic $L^2$-torsion, where the latter is defined via the $L^2$-theory of Atiyah. For higher fundamental rank twisted torsion numbers appear.
The work of Ray and Singer which introduced analytic torsion, a kind of determinant of the Laplacian operator in topological and holomorphic settings, is naturally generalized in both settings. The couplings are extended in a direct way in the topological setting to general flat bundles and in the holomorphic setting to bundles with (1,1) connections, which using the Newlander-Nirenberg Theorem are seen to be the bundles with both holomorphic and anti-holomorphic structures. The resulting natural generalizations of Laplacians are not always self-adjoint and the corresponding generalizations of…
The refined analytic torsion on compact Riemannian manifolds with boundary has been discussed by B. Vertman and the authors, but these two constructions are completely different. Vertman used a double of de Rham complex consisting of the minimal and maximal closed extensions of a flat connection and the authors used well-posed boundary conditions ${\mathcal P}_{-, {\mathcal L}_{0}}$, ${\mathcal P}_{+, {\mathcal L}_{1}}$ for the odd signature operator. In this paper we compare these two constructions by using the BFK-gluing formula for zeta-determinants, the adiabatic method for stretching cyli…
We define analytic torsion of Z_2-graded elliptic complexes as an element in the graded determinant line of the cohomology of the complex, generalizing most of the variants of Ray-Singer analytic torsion in the literature. It applies to a myriad of new examples, including flat superconnection complexes, twisted analytic and twisted holomorphic torsions, etc. The definition uses pseudo-differential operators and residue traces. We also study properties of analytic torsion for Z_2-graded elliptic complexes, including the behavior under variation of the metric. For compact odd dimensional manifol…
Bismut and Zhang computed the ratio of the Ray-Singer and the combinatorial torsions corresponding to non-unitary representations of the fundamental group. In this note we show that for representations which belong to a connected component containing a unitary representation the Bismut-Zhang formula follows rather easily from the Cheeger-Mueller theorem, i.e. from the equality of the two torsions on the set of unitary representations. The proof uses the fact that the refined analytic torsion is a holomorphic function on the space of representations.
We study the Reidemeister torsion and the analytic torsion of the $m$ dimensional disc in the Euclidean $m$ dimensional space, using the base for the homology defined by Ray and Singer in \cite{RS}. We prove that the Reidemeister torsion coincides with a power of the volume of the disc. We study the additional terms arising in the analytic torsion due to the boundary, using generalizations of the Cheeger-Müller theorem. We use a formula proved by Brüning and Ma \cite{BM}, that predicts a new anomaly boundary term beside the known term proportional to the Euler characteristic of the boundary \c…
In this paper, we extend the Burghelea-Haller analytic torsion to the twisted de Rham complexes. We also compare it with the twisted refined analytic torsion defined by Huang.
This article is devoted to a study of flat orbifold vector bundles. We construct a bijection between the isomorphic classes of proper flat orbifold vector bundles and the equivalence classes of representations of the orbifold fundamental groups of base orbifolds. We establish a Bismut-Zhang like anomaly formula for the Ray-Singer metric on the determine line of the cohomology of a compact orbifold with coefficients in an orbifold flat vector bundle. We show that the analytic torsion of an acyclic unitary flat orbifold vector bundle is equal to the value at zero of a dynamical zeta function whe…
We review the Reidemeister torsion, Ray-Singer's analytic torsion and the Cheeger-M"uller theorem. We describe the analytic torsion of the de Rham complex twisted by a flux form introduced by the current authors and recall its properties. We define a new twisted analytic torsion for the complex of invariant differential forms on the total space of a principal circle bundle twisted by an invariant flux form. We show that when the dimension is even, such a torsion is invariant under certain deformation of the metric and the flux form. Under T-duality which exchanges the topology of the bundle an…
Given a holomorphic Hilbertian bundle on a compact complex manifold, we introduce the notion of holomorphic $L^2$ torsion, which lies in the determinant line of the twisted $L^2$ Dolbeault cohomology and represents a volume element there. Here we utilise the theory of determinant lines of Hilbertian modules over finite von Neumann algebras as developed in an earlier paper by the authors. This specialises to the Ray-Singer-Quillen holomorphic torsion in the finite dimensional case. We compute a metric variation formula for the holomorphic $L^2$ torsion, which shows that it is not in general ind…
A geometric model for twisted $K$-homology is introduced. It is modeled after the Mathai-Melrose-Singer fractional analytic index theorem in the same way as the Baum-Douglas model of $K$-homology was modeled after the Atiyah-Singer index theorem. A natural transformation from twisted geometric $K$-homology to the new geometric model is constructed. The analytic assembly mapping to analytic twisted $K$-homology in this model is an isomorphism for torsion twists on a finite CW-complex. For a general twist on a smooth manifold the analytic assembly mapping is a surjection. Beyond the aforemention…
Let F be a flat vector bundle over a compact Riemannian manifold M and let f be a Morse function. Let g be a smooth Euclidean metric on F, let g_t=e^{-2tf}g and let ρ(t) be the Ray-Singer analytic torsion of F associated to the metric g_t. Assuming that the vector field grad(f) satisfies the Morse-Smale transversality conditions, we provide an asymptotic expansion for \log(ρ(t)) for t\to +\infty of the form a_0+a_1t+b\log\left(\frac tπ\right)+o(1), where the coefficient b is a half-integer depending only on the Betti numbers of F. In the case where all the critical values of f are rational, we…
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.
