Atiyah--Singer Index Theorem for Non-Hermitian Dirac Operators

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Hauptverfasser: da Silva, João Pedro Breveglieri, Vassilevich, Dmitri
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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_version_ 1866911613746937856
author da Silva, João Pedro Breveglieri
Vassilevich, Dmitri
author_facet da Silva, João Pedro Breveglieri
Vassilevich, Dmitri
contents If an operator $H$ anticommutes with a chirality operator $Γ_*$ such that $Γ_*^2=1$, the null space of $H$ can be decomposed in a direct sum of two spaces having positive and negative chiralities, respectively. When both spaces are finite dimensional, one can define an index, $\mathrm{Ind}(Γ_*,H)$, as the difference of dimensions of these two spaces. The key issue is whether $\mathrm{Ind}(Γ_*,H)$ is topologically protected, i.e., whether it remains constant under smooth variations of the parameters and background fields entering $H$. For Hermitian Dirac operators, topological protection of the index is guaranteed by the Atiyah--Singer theorem. In this paper, by using the heat kernel methods, we show that $\mathrm{Ind}(Γ_*,H)$ is topologically protected also for non-hermitian operators $H$ as long as they are diagonalizable and satisfy some ellipticity conditions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_13358
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Atiyah--Singer Index Theorem for Non-Hermitian Dirac Operators
da Silva, João Pedro Breveglieri
Vassilevich, Dmitri
High Energy Physics - Theory
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Quantum Physics
If an operator $H$ anticommutes with a chirality operator $Γ_*$ such that $Γ_*^2=1$, the null space of $H$ can be decomposed in a direct sum of two spaces having positive and negative chiralities, respectively. When both spaces are finite dimensional, one can define an index, $\mathrm{Ind}(Γ_*,H)$, as the difference of dimensions of these two spaces. The key issue is whether $\mathrm{Ind}(Γ_*,H)$ is topologically protected, i.e., whether it remains constant under smooth variations of the parameters and background fields entering $H$. For Hermitian Dirac operators, topological protection of the index is guaranteed by the Atiyah--Singer theorem. In this paper, by using the heat kernel methods, we show that $\mathrm{Ind}(Γ_*,H)$ is topologically protected also for non-hermitian operators $H$ as long as they are diagonalizable and satisfy some ellipticity conditions.
title Atiyah--Singer Index Theorem for Non-Hermitian Dirac Operators
topic High Energy Physics - Theory
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.13358