On the full asymptotics of analytic torsion (Q1800370)

Holomorphic analytic torsion is an analytic invariant of an Hermitian bundle \(E\) on a complex Hermitian manifold \(M\) defined in a way similar to the Ray-Singer analytic torsion, using the \(\overline\partial\)-operator instead of differentials. If \(L\) is an additional line bundle on \(M\) it is interesting for various applications to understand the asymptotic behaviour in \(p\) of the torsion with coefficients in the bundles \(L^p \otimes E\). This was done for the leading coefficient by \textit{J.-M. Bismut} and \textit{E. Vasserot} [Commun. Math. Phys. 125, No. 2, 355--367 (1989; Zbl 0687.32023)]; in the paper under review the author gives a full asymptotic expansion. The asymptotic expansion for the torsion with coefficients in \(L^p \otimes E\) takes the form \(\sum_i \alpha_i p^i\log(p) + \beta_i p^i\) where the sum is over nonnegative integers \(i\), up to any order. The coefficients \(\alpha_i\) and \(\beta_i\) are local in the sense that they are obtained by integrating a density over \(M\) which is local (depends only on the germ of the metric) at any point. Bismut and Vasserot computed these for \(i=0\) and the present paper gives a formula for \(i=1\) as well. Finally, a similar result is also established for orbifolds, where additional oscillating (in \(p\)) terms appear which can be computed from the structure of the singular locus.