Atiyah's $L^2$-Index theorem

Abstract

The $L^2$-Index Theorem of Atiyah \cite{atiyah} expresses the index of an elliptic operator on a closed manifold $M$ in terms of the $G$-equivariant index of some regular covering $\widetilde{M}$ of $M$, with $G$ the group of covering transformations. Atiyah's proof is analytic in nature. Our proof is algebraic and involves an embedding of a given group into an acyclic one, together with naturality properties of the indices.