Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
4592016 Journal of Functional Analysis 2008 43 Pages PDF
Abstract

Let G be a compact Lie group, and let g be its Lie algebra. In this paper, we produce a hypoelliptic Laplacian on G×g, which interpolates between the classical Laplacian of G and the geodesic flow. This deformation is obtained by producing a suitable deformation of the Dirac operator of Kostant. We show that various Poisson formulas for the heat kernel can be proved using this interpolation by methods of local index theory. The paper was motivated by papers by Atiyah and Frenkel, in connection with localization formulas in equivariant cohomology and with Kac's character formulas for affine Lie algebras. In a companion paper, we will use similar methods in the context of Selberg's trace formula.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Mathematics Algebra and Number Theory