Index, eta and rho-invariants on foliated bundles
Abstract
We study primary and secondary invariants of leafwise Dirac operators on foliated bundles. Given such an operator, we begin by considering the associated regular self-adjoint operator Dm on the maximal Connes-Skandalis Hilbert module and explain how the functional calculus of Dm encodes both the leafwise calculus and the monodromy calculus in the corresponding von Neumann algebras. When the foliation is endowed with a holonomy invariant transverse measure, we explain the compatibility of various traces and determinants. We extend Atiyah's index theorem on Galois coverings to these foliations. We define a foliated rho-invariant and investigate its stability properties for the signature operator. Finally, we establish the foliated homotopy invariance of such a signature rho-invariant under a Baum-Connes assumption, thus extending to the foliated context results proved by Neumann, Mathai, Weinberger and Keswani on Galois coverings.