An index for Gauge-invariant operators and the Dixmier-Douady invariant

Victor Nistor, Evgenij Troitsky

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Let script G sign → B be a bundle of compact Lie groups acting on a fiber bundle Y → B. In this paper we introduce and study gauge-equivariant K-theory groups K script G sign i(Y). These groups satisfy the usual properties of the equivariant K-theory groups, but also some new phenomena arise due to the topological non-triviality of the bundle script G sign → B. As an application, we define a gauge-equivariant index for a family of elliptic operators (P b) b∈B invariant with respect to the action of script G sign → B, which, in this approach, is an element of K script G sign 0(B). We then give another definition of the gauge-equivariant index as an element of K 0(C* (script G sign)), the K-theory group of the Banach algebra C*(script G sign). We prove that K 0(C*(script G sign)) ≃ K script G sign 0(scrit G sign) and that the two definitions of the gauge-equivariant index are equivalent. The algebra C*(script G sign) is the algebra of continuous sections of a certain field of C*-algebras with non-trivial Dixmier-Douady invariant. The gauge-equivariant K-theory groups are thus examples of twisted K-theory groups, which have recently turned out to be useful in the study of Ramond-Ramond fields.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)185-218
Number of pages34
JournalTransactions of the American Mathematical Society
Volume356
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2004

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Mathematics
  • Applied Mathematics

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