A renormalized index theorem for some complete asymptotically regular metrics: the Gauss-Bonnet theorem (Q2370156)

The Gauss-Bonnet theorem expresses the Euler characteristic of a surface with geodesic boundary as \(2\pi\) times the integral of the Gaussian curvature. Its extension to higher dimension due to Chern involves the Pfaffian polynomial in the curvature tensor. The Euler characteristic may be interpreted as the index of the Dirac operator \(d+d^*\) acting on even-dimensional forms. Generalizations of the Gauss-Bonnet-Chern formula hold for Dirac-type operators, the index being given by the integral of a locally-defined form minus the eta-invariant of the boundary. The local integrand can be obtained as the small-time limit of the pointwise super-trace of the associated heat operator. The present paper extends the above theory to complete Riemannian manifolds \(X\) with edge metrics. Edge manifolds are interiors of a manifold with boundary \(\bar{X}\). An edge metric roughly looks like \(x^{-2}(dx^2+dy^2) +dz^2\) where \(x\) is a boundary-defining function for the boundary of \(\bar{X}\), and \(y,z\) are multi-variables on the boundary, \(y\) corresponding to the base and \(z\) to the fibers of a fibration of \(\partial \bar{X}\). For \(b\)-metrics, which are an extremal case of edge metrics in that there are no \(y\) variables, this program has been completed by \textit{R.~B.~Melrose} [The Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem. Wellesley, MA: A. K. Peters, Ltd. (1993; Zbl 0796.58050)]. For \(b\)-metrics, the local integrand in the index formula is in general not integrable, while the supertrace of the heat kernel is no longer constant in time. The eta invariant arises as the variation of the heat supertrace between \(0\) and \(\infty\). In this context, the index (viewed as the supertrace of the projector onto the kernel of the Dirac operator) equals a regularized integral of the local Atiyah-Singer integrand, minus the eta invariant of the boundary. For the present case of edge metrics, the null-space of the Dirac operator may be infinite-dimensional. Albin defines the index as the regularized integral of the local supertrace of the projector onto the null-space. Then, by following Melrose's approach, he proves a regularized index theorem in which all three terms are regularized. This general theorem is then refined for the Gauss-Bonnet operator. In this case, the eta contribution vanishes, while the local integrand is the Pfaffian of the curvature. By using a soft Gauss-Bonnet theorem, the regularized integral of the Pfaffian is also identified with the Euler characteristic minus the finite part of a transgression form. The index is thus linked to the Euler characteristic. The method of proof is by constructing a heat-edge calculus in the spirit of Melrose, i.e., a space of conormal distributions on a blown-up space, which is rather involved due to the sheer number of boundary faces, for instance to prove composition one needs a triple heat-edge space with fourteen hyperfaces. The regularization procedure used here depends usually on the choice of the boundary-defining function. Further results of this paper address the independence on the boundary-defining function of the renormalized index for conformally compact manifolds, which are another particular case of edge metrics for which there are no \(z\) variables. This case is particularly interesting since it contains hyperbolic space and some hyperbolic manifolds of infinite volume.