Complex-valued Ray-Singer torsion
The analytic torsion of a closed Riemannian manifold \(M\) with a flat complex vector bundle \(E \to M\) was defined by \textit{D. B. Ray} and \textit{I. M. Singer} in [Adv. Math. 7, 145--210 (1971; Zbl 0239.58014)]. It can be regarded as a norm on the alternating determinant det \(H^{*}(M;E)\). The authors define a complex bilinear form \(\tau^{\roman{an}}_{E, e^{*},b}\) on det \(H^{*}(M;E)\), where \( e^{*}\) is a co Euler structure on \(M\), and \(b\) is a nondegenerate symmetric bilinear form on \(E\) -- such a bilinear form exists at least on the direct sum of \(N\) copies of \(E\) for some \(N\). The authors also give a combinatorial construction of a symmetric bilinear form \(\tau^{\roman{comb}}_{E, e}\) and state a conjecture that relates both torsions. In the meantime, two preprints exist that prove the conjecture -- one by Su and Zhang, the other by the authors of this paper. \textit{M. Braverman} and \textit{T. Kappeler} gave a different complex extension of the analytic torsion in [Geom. Topol. 11, 139--213 (2007; Zbl 1135.58014)]. In a recent preprint, they relate their construction to the one in the article under review.
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