Analytic and topological invariants associated to nowhere zero vector fields
Motivated by the Gauss-Bonnet-Chern and Poincaré-Hopf theorems, the author studies skew-adjoint and Toeplitz operators whose index theory provides nontrivial invariants of manifolds with vanishing Euler characteristic. Let \(M\) be an oriented closed Riemannian manifold that admits a unit vector field \(V\). Let \(c(V)\) denote the action on differential forms defined by the pointwise sum of exterior multiplication by \(V\)'s dual and interior multiplication by \(V\). Let \(D\) be the sum of exterior differentiation and its adjoint. The author shows that the restriction to even-degree differential forms of the operator \(D(V)\), defined to be one-half \(c(V)\circ D-D\circ c(V)\), is a real skew-adjoint elliptic first order differential operator whose kernel has mod 2 dimension equal to the Kervaire semi-characteristic when the dimension of \(M\) is \(4q+1\). For \(M\) odd-dimensional and nonsimply connected, the author defines a more refined invariant. After complexifying, he defines the self-adjoint operator \(\sqrt{-1} D(V)\). Pairing its positive spectral projection with maps \(g\: M\rightarrow U(N)\) defines Fredholm Toeplitz operators. The author uses the relationship between the indices of these Toeplitz operators and spectral flow to give a heat equation proof of an index formula for these operators. When a \(U(1)\)-valued map \(g\) is defined by exponentiating path integrals of a closed one-form \(\omega\), the index formula reduces to evaluating \([\omega ]\cup e(V)\) on \(M\). Here \(e(V)\) represents the Euler class of \(V\)'s orthogonal complement in the tangent bundle. In this way \(V\) defines a map \(H^{1} (M)\rightarrow \mathbb{Z}\) whose dependence on an index formula makes it a homotopy invariant of \(V\).
- A counting formula for the Kervaire semi-characteristic
- A mod 2 index theorem for the twisted signature operator
- The operator \(\sqrt{-1}\widehat{c}(V)(d+\delta)\) and the Kastler-Kalau-Walze type theorems
- Non-vanishing complex vector fields and the Euler characteristic
- scientific article; zbMATH DE number 4169072 (Why is no real title available?)
- A note on the Kervaire semi-characteristic
- The generalized Zhang's operator and Kastler-Kalau-Walze type theorems
- The generalized Zhang's operator and Kastler-Kalau-Walze type theorems for six-dimensional manifolds with boundary
- Atiyah-Singer mod 2 indices associated to G-invariant nowhere zero vector fields for proper actions
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