Relative eta-invariants and \(C^*\)-algebra \(K\)-theory (Q1570996)

Let \(M\) be a smooth compact manifold without boundary and let \(D\) be a linear selfadjoint first order elliptic differential operator on \(M\). One defines the \(\eta\)-function of \(D\) by \[ \eta_D(s): =\sum_\lambda \text{sign}(\lambda) |\lambda |^{-s} \] where \(\lambda\) runs over the nonzero eigenvalues (counted with multiplicity) of \(D\). This function is holomorphic for \(\text{Re}(s)\gg 0\) and possesses an analytic continuation to \(\text{Re}(s)\geq 0\). The spectral asymmetry or \(\eta\)-invariant \(\eta_D(0)\) of \(D\) is then well defined. If \(\alpha:\pi_1 (M)\to U(n)\) is a finite-dimensional unitary representation and if \(D_\alpha\) denotes the differential operator obtained by twisting \(D\) by the unitary bundle with flat connection associated to \(\alpha\) then one defines the \(\rho\)-invariant of \(D\) by \[ \rho_\alpha (M,D):= \eta_{D_\alpha} (0)-\dim (\alpha) \eta_D(0). \] It turns out to be a diffeomorphism invariant: \(\rho_\alpha (M,D)=\rho_\alpha (M)\). One can ask whether \(\rho_\alpha(M)\) is a homotopy invariant of \(M\). While this is not true in general \textit{S. Weinberger} has shown that the answer is affirmative for manifolds whose fundamental group satisfies the Borel isomorphism conjecture in surgery theory. In the present paper the author investigates the link between the homotopy invariance of the \(\rho\)-invariant and the Baum-Connes conjecture, the analytic counterpart of the Borel conjecture. His main result is the Theorem 0.1: Let \(M\) be a closed, smooth, oriented, odd-dimensional, Riemannian manifold. Suppose that \(\Gamma\) is a torsion-free, discrete group for which the \(K\)-theoretic assembly map \[ \mu:K_*^{\text{top}} (B\Gamma)\to K_*(C^*_{\max} (\Gamma)) \] is an isomorphism. Let \(\alpha\) be a finite-dimensional unitary representation of \(\pi_1(M)\) which factors through \(\Gamma\). Then the relative \(\eta\)-invariant \(\rho_\alpha (M)\) is an oriented homotopy invariant of \(M\). Here \(C^*_{\max}\) denotes the enveloping \(C^*\)-algebra of the Banach convolution algebra \(\ell^1(\Gamma)\) of the group \(\Gamma\). (Note that this is different from the assembly map to the \(K\)-theory of the reduced group \(C^*\)-algebra \(C^*_r(\Gamma)\) considered by Baum and Connes.) The main tool used in the proof is the de la Harpe-Skandalis determinant Det of suitable loops of unitary operators on Hilbert space. More generally the author constructs, for a given finite-dimensional unitary representation \(\alpha\) of a group \(\Gamma\), a determinant functional \(\text{Det}_\alpha\) on suitable loops of unitary endomorphisms of any \(C^*\)-module over \(C^*_{\max}(\Gamma)\). It is known that there exists a loop \(\gamma\) of unitary operators on \(L^2(M)\), obtained by functional calculus from \(D\) such that \(\text{Det} (\gamma)= \eta_D(0)\). Let \(M\), \(M'\) be two homotopy equivalent compact manifolds with fundamental group \(\Gamma\). A careful and detailed analysis of the heat flow on compact manifolds and its short time and long time behaviour allows to construct a loop \(\ell\) of unitary endomorphisms of the canonical \(C^*(\Gamma)\)-module \({\mathcal E}\), given by the universal flat \(C^*(\Gamma)\)-bundle, with the following property: for any finite-dimensional unitary representation \(\alpha\) of \(\Gamma\) \[ \text{Det}_\alpha (\ell)-\text{Det}_{\dim(\alpha) \cdot 1}(\ell) =\rho_\alpha (M)-\rho_\alpha (M'). \] On the other hand every loop \(\ell\) of unitary endomorphisms of \({\mathcal E}\) defines by Bott periodicity a class \([\ell]\in K_0(C^*_{\max} (\Gamma))\) and the value of the generalized determinant depends only on this class: \[ \text{Det}_\alpha (\ell)=\text{Tr}_\alpha \bigl([\ell]\bigr) \] where \(\text{Tr}_\alpha :K_0(C^*_{\max} (\Gamma))\to \mathbb{C}\) is the functional induced by \(\alpha\). If the assembly map \(\mu:K_*^{\text{top}}(B\Gamma)\to K_* (C^*_{\max} (\Gamma))\) happens to be surjective, then the class \([\ell]\in K_0 (C^*_{\max} (\Gamma))\) can be described in geometric terms as the generalized index of a \(\Gamma\)-equivariant elliptic operator on \(\widetilde M\). The \(L^2\)-index theorem of Atiyah and Singer applies then and shows that \(\text{Tr}_\alpha ([\ell])\) only depends on the degree of the representation \(\alpha\) (twisting by flat bundles does not change the index). From this the main result immediately follows.