Natural equivariant transversally elliptic Dirac operators (Q2430740)

This paper establishes conditions under which the representation-valued index theory of transversally elliptic operators reduces to \(O(n)\)-equivariant index theory of elliptic operators. Let \(M\) be a closed Riemannian manifold on which a compact Lie group \(G\) acts isometrically. As described by \textit{M. F. Atiyah} [Elliptic operators and compact groups. Lecture Notes in Mathematics 401. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer-Verlag (1974; Zbl 0297.58009)], a \(G\)-equivariant transversally elliptic operator on \(M\) has a representation-valued index. The authors observe that \(G\), or a quotient of \(G\), acts freely on \(M\)'s orthonormal frame bundle \(F\). From a \(G\times O(n)\)-equivariant, \(G\)-transverse Dirac operator on the frame bundle, the authors use an \(O(n)\)-representation to construct a \(G\)-equivariant transversally elliptic operator on \(M\) and a \(G\)-representation to construct an \(O(n)\)-equivariant elliptic operator on \(F/G\). They use these ideas to reduce the representation-valued index theory of such transversally elliptic operators on \(M\) to the \(O(n)\)-equivariant index theory of elliptic operators on \(F/G\). For example the \(\rho\)-index of the \(G\)-transversally elliptic operator constructed using the trivial \(O(n)\)-representation is the \(O(n)\)-invariant part of the index of the elliptic operator on \(F/G\) that is constructed using \(\rho\). The authors show that, when \(F\) is \(G\)-transversally spin\(^{c}\) and \(F/G\) is even-dimensional, then every transversally elliptic, \(G\)-equivariant, \(K\)-theoretic symbol class on \(M\) has its \(G\)-index theory represented, as above, by a \(G\)-transverse Dirac operator on the frame bundle.