A \(KK\)-theoretic perspective on deformed Dirac operators (Q2227292): Difference between revisions

Deformed Dirac operators on a manifold \(M\) are perturbations of the Dirac operator \(D\) of the form \(D + \sqrt{-1}fc(vu)\), where \(c(vu)\) is Clifford multiplication by an orbital vector field associated with a Lie group action on \(M\), which has compact vanishing locus. (And \(f \in C^{\infty}(M)\) is a function satisfying a certain growth condition at infinity.) They play a central role in the quantization commutes with reduction problem and encompass Callias-type operators, as well as the classical opertor \(d + d^* + ext(\cdot) + int(\cdot)\) on \(\mathbb R^n\). The principal result in this work is the \(KK\)-factorization of the index of deformed Dirac operators as such. This is achieved by observing that the operator \(D\) defines a \(K\)-homology class of the crossed product algebra \(G ract Cl_{\Gamma}M\), where \(Cl_{\Gamma}M\) is the ``orbital Clifford algebra'' introduced by [\textit{G. Kasparov}, J. Noncommut. Geom. 10, No. 4, 1303--1378 (2016; Zbl 1358.19001)]. The author shows that this factorization, together with Kasparov's index theorem for transversally elliptic operators imply the index theorem of \textit{M. Braverman} [\(K\)-Theory 27, No. 1, 61--101 (2002; Zbl 1020.58020)]. Moreover, excision and cobordism invariance properties follow from functorial properties of this factorization.