Local index theory over foliation groupoids (Q2498829)

The purpose of this paper is to give a local proof in the sense of Bismut of an index theorem for actions of foliation groupoids. More precisely, the authors consider a foliation groupoid which acts freely, properly and cocompactly on a smooth manifold \(P\), a \(G\)-equivariant fiber bundle \(P\rightarrow M\) (\(M\) is unit space of \(G\)) along with a \(G\)-invariant Dirac-type operator \(D\) on \(P\). The index theorem is a formula for the pairing of the index of \(D\), as an element of a certain \(K\)-theory group, with a closed graded trace on a noncommutative de Rham algebra associated to \(G\). The authors remark in the Introduction that they gave a local proof of a similar theorem in the etale case in [J. Reine Angew. Math. 560, 151--198 (2003; Zbl 1034.58021)] and that the foliation case can be reduced to the etale case using the Morita equivalence of \(G\) with an etale groupoid. In the present paper they give a local proof of the index theorem working directly with foliation groupoids (this new proof avoids the noncanonical choice of the complete transversal which is needed to prove the Morita equivalence of \(G\) with an etale groupoid). As in etale case the authors define a graded algebra which plays the role of the differential forms on a the noncomutative space determined by the foliation groupoid \(G\). The analog of the de Rham differential is a degree-1 derivation \(d\). Unlike in the etale case, \(d^{2}\neq 0\). The authors show how to do Chern-Weil theory in the context of a graded algebra with derivation whose square is nonzero. Then they define, for any \(s> 0\), a superconnection, compute the limit of its noncommutative Chern character (as \(s\) tends to \(0\)) and explain the relation between the superconnection computations and the \(K\)-theoretic index. The index theorem proved in this paper implies some well-known index theorem such as Connes' \(L^{2}\)-foliation index theorem [\textit{A. Connes}' Noncommutative Geometry, Transl. from the French by Sterling Berberian. (San Diego), CA: Academic Press. (1994; Zbl 0818.46076)] and \textit{M. F. Atiyah}'s \(L^{2}\)- index theorem [Astérisque 32--33, 43--72 (1976; Zbl 0323.58015)]. In the Appendix to this paper the authors give a technical improvement to their previous paper [loc. cit.].