On the index of elliptic operators on manifolds with boundary (Q1310808)

In the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem for a manifold \(X\) with boundary a global boundary condition is imposed by a self-adjoint operator which enters into the index formula through its eta invariant. The other contribution comes from the operator on \(X \setminus \partial X\) where one either uses the heat kernel approach or the zeta function leading to the locally computable index form by taking appropriate Schwartz kernels. The author gives a generalization to elliptic \(b\)- pseudodifferential operators acting on weighted Sobolev spaces. The theory of \(b\)-pseudodifferential operators was founded by R. B. Melrose. Its application to the index problem for Dirac-type operators on manifolds with boundary is presented in his recent monograph [\textit{R. B. Melrose}, ``The Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem'' (1993)] which the paper under review refers to at several points. The rôle of the boundary operator is taken here by an entire family of boundary operators, the indicial family, whose ``spectrum'' also decides the Fredholm property. The eta invariant of the indicial family is defined as a function of \(r \in \mathbb{R}\) and measures for each \(r \in \mathbb{R}\) the asymmetry of this spectrum with respect to \(\text{Im }z = -r\). To define and to study the \(b\)-zeta function the author develops the calculus of complex powers of elliptic \(b\)-pseudodifferential operators. On the way several technical difficulties (in particular the condition ensuring the trace property) are mastered leading finally to an analytic index formula which is shown to generalize the index formula for twisted Dirac-type operators. But in contrast to these, it remains open whether the interior contribution expressed as a difference of regularized \(b\)- zeta functions can be calculated locally by an appropriate index form.