Semi-classical analysis of piecewise quasi-polynomial functions and applications to geometric quantization

Abstract

Motivated by applications to multiplicity formulas in index theory, we study a family of distributions $\Theta(m;k)$ associated to a piecewise quasi-polynomial function $m$. The family is indexed by an integer $k \in \mathbb{Z}_{>0}$, and admits an asymptotic expansion as $k \rightarrow \infty$, which generalizes the expansion obtained in the Euler-Maclaurin formula. When $m$ is the multiplicity function arising from the quantization of a symplectic manifold, the leading term of the asymptotic expansion is the Duistermaat-Heckman measure. Our main result is that $m$ is uniquely determined by a collection of such asymptotic expansions. We also show that the construction is compatible with pushforwards. As an application, we describe a simpler proof that formal quantization is functorial with respect to restrictions to a subgroup.