Monodromy of the Gauss-Manin connection for deformation by group cocycles (Q680713)

Let \(A\) be an algebra graded by a group, that is, with a decomposition \(A = \bigoplus_{g\in G} A_g\) such that \(A_g A_h \subseteq A_{g h}\) for all \(g,h\in G\). A 2-cocycle \(\omega\) on \(G\) yields a twisted multiplication on \(A\) by \(a*_\omega b = \omega(g,h) a b\) if \(g,h\in G\), \(a\in A_g\), \(b\in A_h\). A homotopy of 2-cocycles defines a twisted multiplication on the algebra of functions from the unit interval to \(A\). Here we may use either smooth or continuous functions and cocycles. In good cases, the evaluation maps from the twisted function algebra to the twisted versions \((A,*_{\omega_t})\) induce isomorphisms in K-theory and periodic cyclic cohomology for all \(t\in [0,1]\). This implies isomorphisms between the K-theory and periodic cyclic cohomology groups of \((A,*_{\omega_t})\) for \(t=0,1\). It is important in index theory to compute what this isomorphism does to important elements, such as a standard trace on \(A\). In periodic cyclic cohomology, the author restricts attention to invariant cyclic cocycles, that is, cocycles that vanish on \(A_g\) for all \(g\neq1\). The Gauss-Manin connection describes the isomorphisms in periodic cyclic cohomology above in an infinitesimal way, through a connection for which the point evaluations of periodic cyclic cocycles on the twisted function algebra are flat. So the isomorphism in periodic cyclic cohomology between the fibres at 0 and 1 is the monodromy operator for the Gauss-Manin connection. Since the monodromy construction involves exponentiation, the Gauss-Manin connection may be much simpler than the monodromy operator. This is indeed the case for cocycle deformations. The main theorem in this article describes the Gauss--Manin connection at \(t\in[0,1]\) through the cup product with the class in the group cohomology of \(G\) defined by \(\omega_t\). This cup product involves the coaction induced by the grading by the group and an exterior product in periodic cyclic cohomology. On the technical side, the proof of the main theorem is based on computations with product structures in cyclic cohomology that are related to tensor products of algebras. The above questions still make sense if the group \(G\) is locally compact. The article also considers analogous statements if \(G = \mathbb{R}^n\). The results in this situation specialise to previous results on \(\theta\)-deformations and on the Connes-Thom isomorphism.