On the L^2-Stokes theorem and Hodge theory for singular algebraic varieties

Abstract

For a projective algebraic variety $V$ with isolated singularities, endowed with a metric induced from an embedding, we consider the analysis of the natural partial differential operators on the regular part of $V$. We show that, in the complex case, the Laplacians of the de Rham and Dolbeault complexes are discrete operators except possibly in degrees $n,n\pm 1$, where $n$ is the complex dimension of $V$. We also prove a Hodge theorem on the operator level and the $L^2$--Stokes theorem outside the degrees $n-1,n$. We show that the $L^2$-Stokes theorem may fail to hold in the case of real algebraic varieties, and also discuss the $L^2$-Stokes theorem on more general non-compact spaces.

17 pages; revised version; to appear in Math. Nachrichten