An Index Theorem for Loop Spaces

Abstract

We formulate and prove an index theorem for loop spaces of compact manifolds in the framework of $KK$-theory. It is a strong candidate for the noncommutative geometrical definition (or the analytic counterpart) of the Witten genus. In order to find out an "appropriate form" of the index theorem to formulate a loop space version, we formulate and prove an equivariant index theorem for non-compact manifolds equipped with $S^1$-actions with compact fixed-point sets. In order to formulate it, we use a ring of formal power series.