A Localization Argument for Characters of Reductive Lie Groups: An Introduction and Examples

Abstract

In this article I describe my recent geometric localization argument dealing with actions of NONcompact groups which provides a geometric bridge between two entirely different character formulas for reductive Lie groups and answers the question posed in [Sch]. A corresponding problem in the compact group setting was solved by N.Berline, E.Getzler and M.Vergne in [BGV] by an application of the theory of equivariant forms and, particularly, the fixed point integral localization formula. This localization argument seems to be the first successful attempt in the direction of building a similar theory for integrals of differential forms, equivariant with respect to actions of noncompact groups. I will explain how the argument works in the SL(2,R) case, where the key ideas are not obstructed by technical details and where it becomes clear how it extends to the general case. The general argument appears in [L]. I put every effort to make this article broadly accessible. Also, although this article mentions characteristic cycles of sheaves, I do not assume that the reader is familiar with this notion.