\(L^2\)-index theorems, KK-theory, and connections (Q2583037)

This paper offers a careful exploration of the index theory introduced by \textit{M. F. Atiyah} [Astérisque 32--33, 43--72 (1976; Zbl 0323.58015)] and \textit{A. S. Mishchenko} and \textit{A. T. Fomenko} [Math. USSR, Izv. 15, 87--112 (1980); translation from Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Ser. Mat. 43, 831-859 (1979; Zbl 0416.46052)]. The author develops Chern-Weil theory for Hilbert \(C^{*}\)-module bundles and uses this theory to prove an index formula for the image under a trace of the \(K\)-theory class represented by an elliptic differential operator with coefficients in a finitely generated projective Hilbert \(C^{*}\)-module bundle. The \(K\)-theory class is defined by a Kasparov product. By showing that this class equals the Mishchenko-Fomenko index, the author shows that he has recovered, for differential operators, the cohomological version of the Mishchenko-Fomenko index theorem. The author notes that, for a generalized Dirac operator and a \(C^{*}\)-bundle arising from a covering space, his index formula agrees with Atiyah's \(L^{2}\)-index formula because both match the Atiyah-Singer index formula on the base manifold. However he offers a more conceptual identification of these indices based on the development, for von Neumann algebras, of a correspondence between bundles of Hilbert \(C^{*}\)-modules and bundles of \(C^{*}\)-Hilbert spaces. This thorough paper also includes: outlines of alternative proofs; discussions of alternative representatives of \(K\)-theory classes; and the extension of its results to densely defined traces. In general one expects to lose information when one uses a trace to pass from a \(K\)-theory class to an index. However the remaining information can be more explicit or accessible, as is the case, for example, when the author's Chern-Weil theory is applied to flat bundles. There are also situations when a trace loses little information: the author shows that, used with the canonical center-valued trace of a finite von Neumann algebra, his approach defines a rationally injective Chern character from the \(K\)-theory group of Hilbert \(C^{*}\)-module bundles to cohomology.