Invariant Dirac Operators, Harmonic Spinors, and Vanishing Theorems in CR Geometry

Abstract

We study Kohn-Dirac operators $D_\theta$ on strictly pseudoconvex CR manifolds with ${\rm spin}^{\mathbb C}$ structure of weight $\ell\in{\mathbb Z}$. Certain components of $D_\theta$ are CR invariants. We also derive CR invariant twistor operators of weight $\ell$. Harmonic spinors correspond to cohomology classes of some twisted Kohn-Rossi complex. Applying a Schr\"odinger-Lichnerowicz-type formula, we prove vanishing theorems for harmonic spinors and (twisted) Kohn-Rossi groups. We also derive obstructions to positive Webster curvature.