Operator \(K\)-theory and its applications (Q1821320)

The Grothendieck \(K\)-theory has been introduced in the fifties in algebraic geometry as the group completion of the semi-group of stable classes of projective modules. In the sixties the cohomological \(K\)-theory has been introduced in topology via the Grothendieck construction for stable classes of finite dimensional vector fiber bundles. Discovering the famous Atiyah-Singer's index theorem, M. F. Atiyah proposed some ideas on homological \(K\)-theory as groups of classes of suitable elliptic objects. G. G. Kasparov has then realized these ideas, constructing \(K\)-homology as group completion of so called Fredholm representations, i.e. of equivalence classes of pairs of Hilbert *-modules over a fixed \(C^*\)-algebra and unitary self-adjoint interwining operators modulo compact ones.. The same generalized \(K\)-homology has been independently obtained by L. G. Brown, R. G. Douglas and P. A. Fillmore as BDF \(K\)-functor \(\text{Ext}(K)\simeq K^ 1(\mathbb C(X)):=K_ 1(X)\). The usual Grothendieck-Atiyah-Karoubi cohomological \(K\)-functor could also be obtained in this Atiyah-Kasparov framework via the bijection between the pairs \((\mathcal E,\mathcal F)\) of Hilbert *-modules \(\mathcal E\) over \(C^*\)-algebra \(B\) and unitary self-adjoint interwining operators \(F\) modulo the compact ones, and the pairs of projections of type \[ p_ 1=\left( \begin{matrix} FF^*\quad &F(1- F^*F)^{1/2}\\ (1-F^*F)^{1/2}F^*\quad &1-F^*F\end{matrix} \right),\quad p_ 2=\left( \begin{matrix} 1\\ 0\end{matrix} \quad^{0}_{0}\right) \] in the \(2\times 2\)-matrix algebra \(M_ 2({\mathcal K}_ B)\simeq {\mathcal K}_{{\mathcal B}}\) (see {\S} 3.3). This remark led Kasparov to construct the unified K-bifunctor KK in the category of \(C^*\)-algebras, \(KK_ i(\mathbb C,B)\simeq K_ i(B)\), \(KK_ i(A,\mathbb C)\simeq K^ i(A)\). This theory becomes a topological one in the case of finite CW-complexes, \[ KK^ i(X,Y)=KK_ i(C(X),C(Y))=\lim_{\to}[S^{n+i}\bigwedge Y^+,\quad X^+\bigwedge \tilde {\mathcal F}_ n], \] where \(\tilde {\mathcal F}_ n\) is the spectrum of the \(K\)-theory, \(\tilde {\mathcal F}_ 0=BU\), \(\tilde {\mathcal F}_ 1=U\). For this theory one has also the Bott periodicity, 6-term exact sequences and the universal coefficient Künneth theorem. The main property of this \(K\)-bifunctor is the existence of the cup-product \[ KK_ i(A_ 1,B_ 1\otimes D)\times KK_ j(D\otimes A_ 2,B_ 2)\to KK_{i+j}(A_ 1\otimes A_ 2,\quad B_ 1\otimes B_ 2). \] In the survey under review the author exposes in detail also principal applications of the theory to the extensions of \(C^*\)-algebras, the theory of elliptic operators in its connection with representation theory and to the problem of homotopic invariance of the higher signatures in topology. Some related problems are posed also.