A K-theoretic relative index theorem and Callias-type Dirac operators.
This survey of the work of the author with several collaborators presents the way groupoids appear and can be used in index theory. We define the general tools, and apply them to the case of manifolds with corners, ending with a topological index theorem.
Building on the theory of elliptic operators, we give a unified treatment of the following topics: - the problem of homotopy invariance of Novikov’s higher signatures on closed manifolds, - the problem of cut-and-paste invariance of Novikov’s higher signatures on closed manifolds, - the problem of defining higher signatures on manifolds with boundary and proving their homotopy invariance.
We consider the norm closure 𝔄 of the algebra of all operators of order and class zero in Boutet de Monvel's calculus on a compact manifold X with boundary ∂X. Assuming that all connected components of X have nonempty boundary, we show that K₁(𝔄) ≃ K₁(C(X)) ⊕ ker χ, where χ: K₀(C₀(T*Ẋ)) → ℤ is the topological index, T*Ẋ denoting the cotangent bundle of the interior. Also K₀(𝔄) is topologically determined. In case ∂X has torsion free K-theory, we get K₀(𝔄) ≃ K₀(C(X)) ⊕ K₁(C₀(T*Ẋ)).