The index formula and the spectral shift function for relatively trace class perturbations (Q531802)

From the authors' abstract: We compute the Fredholm index, index(\(\mathbf{D_A}\)), of the operator \(\mathbf{D_A}=(d/dt)+\mathbf A\) on \(L^2(\mathbb R;\mathcal H)\) associated with the operator path \(\{A(t)\}_{t=-\infty}^{\infty}\), where \((\mathbf A f)(t)=A(t)f(t)\) for a.e. \(t\in\mathbb R\) and appropriate \(f\in L^2(\mathbb R;\mathcal H)\), via the spectral shift function \(\xi(\cdot ;A_+,A_-)\) associated with the pair \((A_+,A_-)\) of asymptotic operators \(A_{\pm}=A(\pm\infty)\) on the separable complex Hilbert space \(\mathcal H\) in the case when \(A(t)\) is generally an unbounded (relatively trace class) perturbation of the unbounded selfadjoint operator \(A_-\). We derive a formula (an extension of a formula due to Pushnitski) relating the spectral shift function \(\xi(\cdot ;A_+,A_-)\) for the pair \((A_+,A_-)\), and the corresponding spectral shift function \(\xi(\cdot ;\mathbf {H_2,H_1})\) for the pair of operators \((\mathbf {H_2,H_1})=(\mathbf{D_AD^*_A,D^*_AD_A})\) in this relative trace class context. This formula is then used to identify the Fredholm index of \(\mathbf{D_A}\) with \(\xi(0;A_+,A_-)\). In addition, we prove that index(\(\mathbf{D_A}\)) coincides with the spectral flow SpFlow\((\{A(t)\}^{\infty}_{t=-\infty})\) of the family \(\{A(t)\}_{t\in\mathbb R}\) and also relate it to the (Fredholm) perturbation determinant for the pair \((A_+,A_-)\). We also provide some applications in the context of supersymmetric quantum mechanics to zeta function and heat kernel regularized spectral asymmetries and the eta-invariant.