String structures and trivialisations of a Pfaffian line bundle (Q647369)

Let \(E \to B\) be a fiber bundle whose fibers are two-dimensional spin manifolds, and let \(V\) be an \(n\)-dimensional Euclidean vector bundle on \(E\) with compatible connection. Using the spectral properties of the vertical Dirac operator twisted by \(V\), one can define the Pfaffian line bundle associated to \(V\). It is a hermitian line bundle on \(B\) and comes equipped with a compatible connection. The relative Pfaffian line bundle is the tensor product of the Pfaffian line bundle of \(V\) with the inverse of the Pfaffian line bundle of \({\mathbb R}^n\times E\). It is a square root of the relative determinant bundle and plays a role in two-dimensional quantum field theory. Under the assumption that \(V\) has a fiberwise trivial spin structure, the present paper presents a differential geometric description of the relative Pfaffian line bundle. The description is functorial with respect to base change. It allows to calculate the first differential Chern class in differential integral cohomology, refining a result of \textit{D. S. Freed} [Adv. Ser. Math. Phys. 1, 189--238 (1987; Zbl 0751.58036)] . The second main result implies that the relative Pfaffian bundle is trivial when the spin structure on \(V\) lifts to a geometric string structure (as discussed by \textit{K. Waldorf} [preprint \url{arXiv:0906.0117}]). More precisely: Let \(H\) be the 3-form on \(E\) associated to the string structure. Then there is a functorially defined unit norm section \(s\) of the relative Pfaffian bundle such that \[ \nabla\log s=-2\pi i \int_{E/B} H \;. \]