Contents

# Contents

## Idea

By the Hirzebruch-Riemann-Roch theorem the index of the Dolbeault operator is the Todd genus (e.g. Gilkey 95, section 5.2 (more generally so for the Spin^c Dirac operator).

## Properties

### Relation to Thom class and Chern character

###### Proposition

(rational Todd class is Chern character of Thom class)

Let $V \to X$ be a complex vector bundle over a compact topological space. Then the Todd class $Td(V) \,\in\, H^{ev}(X; \mathbb{Q})$ of $V$ in rational cohomology equals the Chern character $ch$ of the Thom class $th(V) \,\in\, K\big( Th(V) \big)$ in the complex topological K-theory of the Thom space $Th(V)$, when both are compared via the Thom isomorphisms $\phi_E \;\colon\; E(X) \overset{\simeq}{\to} E\big( Th(V)\big)$:

$\phi_{H\mathbb{Q}} \big( Td(V) \big) \;=\; ch\big( th(V) \big) \,.$

More generally , for $x \in K(X)$ any class, we have

$\phi_{H\mathbb{Q}} \big( ch(x) \cup Td(V) \big) \;=\; ch\big( \phi_{K}(x) \big) \,,$

which specializes to the previous statement for $x = 1$.

### Relation to the Adams e-invariant

We discuss how the e-invariant in its Q/Z-incarnation (this Def.) has a natural formulation in cobordism theory (Conner-Floyd 66), by evaluating Todd classes on cobounding (U,fr)-manifolds.

This is Prop. below; but first to recall some background:

###### Remark

In generalization to how the U-bordism ring $\Omega^U_{2k}$ is represented by homotopy classes of maps into the Thom spectrum MU, so the (U,fr)-bordism ring $\Omega^{U,fr}_{2k}$ is represented by maps into the quotient spaces $MU_{2k}/S^{2k}$ (for $S^{2k} = Th(\mathbb{C}^{k}) \to Th( \mathbb{C}^k \times_{U(k)} E U(k) ) = MU_{2k}$ the canonical inclusion):

(1)$\Omega^{(U,fr)}_\bullet \;=\; \pi_{\bullet + 2k} \big( MU_{2k}/S^{2k} \big) \,, \;\;\;\;\; \text{for any} \; 2k \geq \bullet + 2 \,.$
###### Remark

The bordism rings for MU, MUFr and MFr sit in a short exact sequence of the form

(2)$0 \to \Omega^U_{\bullet+1} \overset{i}{\longrightarrow} \Omega^{U,f}_{\bullet+1} \overset{\partial}{ \longrightarrow } \Omega^{fr}_\bullet \to 0 \,,$

where $i$ is the evident inclusion, while $\partial$ is restriction to the boundary.

In particular, this means that $\partial$ is surjective, hence that every $Fr$-manifold is the boundary of a (U,fr)-manifold.

###### Proposition

(e-invariant is Todd class of cobounding (U,fr)-manifold)

Evaluation of the Todd class on (U,fr)-manifolds yields rational numbers which are integers on actual $U$-manifolds. It follows with the short exact sequence (2) that assigning to $Fr$-manifolds the Todd class of any of their cobounding $(U,fr)$-manifolds yields a well-defined element in Q/Z.

Under the Pontrjagin-Thom isomorphism between the framed bordism ring and the stable homotopy group of spheres $\pi^s_\bullet$, this assignment coincides with the Adams e-invariant in its Q/Z-incarnation:

(3)$\array{ 0 \to & \Omega^U_{\bullet+1} & \overset{i}{\longrightarrow} & \Omega^{U,f}_{\bullet+1} & \overset{\partial}{ \longrightarrow } & \Omega^{fr}_\bullet & \simeq & \pi^s_\bullet \\ & \big\downarrow{}^{\mathrlap{Td}} && \big\downarrow{}^{\mathrlap{Td}} && \big\downarrow{}^{} && \big\downarrow{}^{e} \\ 0 \to & \mathbb{Z} &\overset{\;\;\;\;\;}{\hookrightarrow}& \mathbb{Q} &\overset{\;\;\;\;}{\longrightarrow}& \mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z} &=& \mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z} } \,,$
$d$partition function in $d$-dimensional QFTsuperchargeindex in cohomology theorygenuslogarithmic coefficients of Hirzebruch series
0push-forward in ordinary cohomology: integration of differential formsorientation
1spinning particleDirac operatorKO-theory indexA-hat genusBernoulli numbersAtiyah-Bott-Shapiro orientation $M Spin \to KO$
endpoint of 2d Poisson-Chern-Simons theory stringSpin^c Dirac operator twisted by prequantum line bundlespace of quantum states of boundary phase space/Poisson manifoldTodd genusBernoulli numbersAtiyah-Bott-Shapiro orientation $M Spin^c \to KU$
endpoint of type II superstringSpin^c Dirac operator twisted by Chan-Paton gauge fieldD-brane chargeTodd genusBernoulli numbersAtiyah-Bott-Shapiro orientation $M Spin^c \to KU$
2type II superstringDirac-Ramond operatorsuperstring partition function in NS-R sectorOchanine elliptic genusSO orientation of elliptic cohomology
heterotic superstringDirac-Ramond operatorsuperstring partition functionWitten genusEisenstein seriesstring orientation of tmf
self-dual stringM5-brane charge
3w4-orientation of EO(2)-theory

## References

Named after John Arthur Todd.

Original articles:

On the Todd character:

Review:

• Peter Gilkey, Section 5.2 of: Invariance Theory: The Heat Equation and the Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem, 1995 (pdf)