Space of second-order linear differential operators as a module over the Lie algebra of vector fields (Q1378425)

The authors consider tensor densities on an \(n\)-manifold \(M\) that locally can be written as expressions of the type \(\widetilde \varphi= \varphi (x_1, \dots, x_n)\) \((dx_1 \dots dx_n)^\lambda\) and they make a space \({\mathcal F}_{-\lambda} (M)\). Diffeomorphisms or vector fields \(\text{Vect} (M)\) act on \({\mathcal F}_{-\lambda} (M)\) in a way that locally if \(\xi= \xi^i \partial_i\) then \(L^\lambda_\xi \circ \widetilde \varphi= (\xi^i \partial_i \varphi- \varphi (\lambda \partial_i \xi^i))\) \((dx_1 \dots dx_n)^\lambda\). Similarly for the higher order differential operators an operator \(D\) produces an operator \(D^\lambda\) on \({\mathcal F}_{-\lambda}\) and the usual formula \(\text{ad}\xi \cdot D^\lambda: =L^\lambda_\xi \circ D^\lambda -D^\lambda \circ L^\lambda_\xi\) gives us an action of \(\text{Vect} (M)\) on differential operators. Let \({\mathcal D}^2_\lambda\) be a \( \text{Vect} (M)\)-module that appears this way from the second-order differential operators acting on \({\mathcal F}_\lambda (M)\). One can suppose that all \({\mathcal D}^2_\lambda\) are isomorphic regardless of the value of \(\lambda\). But the surprising result of the paper states: they are, if \(\lambda\neq 0\), \(-{1 \over 2},-1\). Those critical values provide us with different modules. The authors study the structure of the modules and their automorphisms as well and the related cohomology of \(\text{Vect} (M)\).