Let G be a semisimple Lie group and H a uniform lattice in G. The Selberg trace formula is an equality arising from computing in two different ways the traces of convolution operators on the Hilbert space L^2(G/H) associated to test functions. In this paper we present a cohomological interpretation of the trace formula involving the K-theory of the maximal group C*-algebras of G and H. As an application, we exploit the role of group C*-algebras as recipients of higher indices of elliptic differential operators and we obtain the index theoretic version of the Selberg trace formula developed by Barbasch and Moscovici from ours.
We study elements of the spectral theory of compact hyperbolic orbifolds $Gamma backslash mathbb{H}^{n}$. We establish a version of the Selberg trace formula for non-unitary representations of $Gamma$ and prove that the associated Selberg zeta function admits a meromorphic continuation to $mathbb{C}$.
We explicate the combinatorial/geometric ingredients of Arthurs proof of the convergence and polynomiality, in a truncation parameter, of his non-invariant trace formula. Starting with a fan in a real, finite dimensional, vector space and a collection of functions, one for each cone in the fan, we introduce a combinatorial truncated function with respect to a polytope normal to the fan and prove the analogues of Arthurs results on the convergence and polynomiality of the integral of this truncated function over the vector space. The convergence statements clarify the important role of certain combinatorial subsets that appear in Arthurs work and provide a crucial partition that amounts to a so-called nearest face partition. The polynomiality statements can be thought of as far reaching extensions of the Ehrhart polynomial. Our proof of polynomiality relies on the Lawrence-Varchenko conical decomposition and readily implies an extension of the well-known combinatorial lemma of Langlands. The Khovanskii-Pukhlikov virtual polytopes are an important ingredient here. Finally, we give some geometric interpretations of our combinatorial truncation on toric varieties as a measure and a Lefschetz number.
This note proves that, as K-theory elements, the symbol classes of the de Rham operator and the signature operator on a closed manifold of even dimension are congruent mod 2. An equivariant generalization is given pertaining to the equivariant Euler characteristic and the multi-signature.
Fulton defined classes in the Chow group of a quasi-projective scheme $M$ which reduce to its Chern classes when $M$ is smooth. When $M$ has a perfect obstruction theory, Siebert gave a formula for its virtual cycle in terms of its total Fulton class. We describe K-theory classes on $M$ which reduce to the exterior algebra of differential forms when $M$ is smooth. When $M$ has a perfect obstruction theory, we give a formula for its K-theoretic virtual structure sheaf in terms of these classes.