Given a hyperbolic surface, the set of all closed geodesics whose length is minimal form a graph on the surface, in fact a so called fat graph, which we call the systolic graph. The central question that we study in this thesis is: which fat graphs are systolic graphs for some surface -we call such graphs admissible. This is motivated in part by the observation that we can naturally decompose the moduli space of hyperbolic surfaces based on the associated systolic graphs. A systolic graph has a metric on it, so that all cycles on the graph that correspond to geodesics are of the same length and all other cycles have length greater than these. This can be formulated as a simple condition in terms of equations and inequations for sums of lengths of edges. We call this combinatorial admissibility. Our first main result is that admissibility is equivalent to combinatorial admissibility. This is proved using properties of negative curvature, specifically that polygonal curves with long enough sides, in terms of a lower bound on the angles, are close to geodesics. Using the above result, it is easy to see that a subgraph of an admissible graph is admissible. Hence it suffices to characterize minimal non-admissible fat graphs. Another major result of this thesis is that there are infinitely many minimal non-admissible fat graphs (in contrast, for instance, to the classical result that there are only two minimal non-planar graphs).

Die abgeschlossenen Erweiterungen der sogenannten geometrischen Operatoren (Spin-Dirac, Gauß-Bonnet und Signatur-Operator) auf Mannigfaltigkeiten mit metrischen Hörnern sind Fredholm-Operatoren und ihr Index wurde von Matthias Lesch, Norbert Peyerimhoff und Jochen Brüning berechnet. Es wurde gezeigt, dass die Einschränkungen dieser drei Operatoren auf eine punktierte Umgebung des singulären Punkts unitär äquivalent zu irregulär singulären Operator-wertigen Differentialoperatoren erster Ordnung sind. Die Lösungsoperatoren der dazugehörigen Differentialgleichungen definierten eine Parametrix, mit deren Hilfe die Fredholmeigenschaft bewiesen wurde. In der vorliegenden Doktorarbeit wird eine Klasse von irregulären singulären Differentialoperatoren erster Ordnung, genannt Horn-Operatoren, eingeführt, die die obigen Beispiele verallgemeinern. Es wird bewiesen, dass ein elliptischer Differentialoperator erster Ordnung, dessen Einschränkung auf eine punktierte Umgebung des singulären Punkts unitär äquivalent zu einem Horn-Operator ist, Fredholm ist, und sein Index wird berechnet. Schließlich wird dieser abstrakte Index-Satz auf geometrische Operatoren auf Mannigfaltigkeiten mit "multiply warped product"-Singularitäten angewendet, welche eine wesentliche Verallgemeinerung der metrischen Hörner darstellen. / The closed extensions of geometric operators (Spin-Dirac, Gauss-Bonnet and Signature operator) on a manifold with metric horns are Fredholm operators, and their indices were computed by Matthias Lesch, Norbert Peyerimhoff and Jochen Brüning. It was shown that the restrictions of all three operators to a punctured neighbourhood of the singular point are unitary equivalent to a class of irregular singular operator-valued differential operators of first order. The solution operators of the corresponding differential equations defined a parametrix which was applied to prove the Fredholm property. In this thesis a class of irregular singular differential operators of first order - called horn operators - is introduced that extends the examples mentioned above. It is proved that an elliptic differential operator of first order whose restriction to the neighbourhood of the singular point is unitary equivalent to a horn operator is Fredholm and its index is computed. Finally, this abstract index theorem is applied to compute the indices of geometric operators on manifolds with multiply warped product singularities that extend the notion of metric horns considerably.

Neste trabalho definimos as superfícies com fins do tipo cone com coeficiente a 2 >/ 0, uma classe de superfícies completas, não compactas e bem comportadas no infinito, e apresentamos uma extensão do Teorema de Gauss-Bonnet para estas superfícies com coeficiente a > O. / In this work we define a-conical type end surfaces, a 2 >/ O, a class of complete non compact surfaces having a nice behaviour at infinity, and we present an extension of the Theorem of Gauss-Bonnet for these surfaces such that a> O.

Neste trabalho definimos as superfícies com fins do tipo cone com coeficiente a 2 >/ 0, uma classe de superfícies completas, não compactas e bem comportadas no infinito, e apresentamos uma extensão do Teorema de Gauss-Bonnet para estas superfícies com coeficiente a > O. / In this work we define a-conical type end surfaces, a 2 >/ O, a class of complete non compact surfaces having a nice behaviour at infinity, and we present an extension of the Theorem of Gauss-Bonnet for these surfaces such that a> O.

Neste trabalho definimos as superfícies com fins do tipo cone com coeficiente a 2 >/ 0, uma classe de superfícies completas, não compactas e bem comportadas no infinito, e apresentamos uma extensão do Teorema de Gauss-Bonnet para estas superfícies com coeficiente a > O. / In this work we define a-conical type end surfaces, a 2 >/ O, a class of complete non compact surfaces having a nice behaviour at infinity, and we present an extension of the Theorem of Gauss-Bonnet for these surfaces such that a> O.

In this thesis, we investigate supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SUSYQM) and its relation to index theorems and equivariant cohomology. We define some basic constructions on super vector spaces in order to set the language for the rest of the thesis. The path integral in quantum mechanics is reviewed together with some related calculational methods and we give a path integral expression for the Witten index. Thereafter, we discuss the structure of SUSYQM in general. One shows that the Witten index can be taken to be the difference in dimension of the bosonic and fermionic zero energy eigenspaces. In the subsequent section, we derive index theorems. The models investigated are the supersymmetric non-linear sigma models with one or two supercharges. The former produces the index theorem for the spin-complex and the latter the Chern-Gauss-Bonnet Theorem. We then generalise to the case when a group action (by a compact connected Lie group) is included and want to consider the orbit space as the underlying space, in which case equivariant cohomology is introduced. In particular, the Weil and Cartan models are investigated and SUSYQM Lagrangians are derived using the obtained differentials. The goal was to relate this to gauge quantum mechanics, which was unfortunately not successful. However, what was shown was that the Euler characteristics of a closed oriented manifold and its homotopy quotient by U(1)n coincide.

In the review part of the thesis we summarize various modified theories of gravity, especially those that are characterized by additional curvature invariants in the Lagrangian density. Further, we review non-twisting geometries, especially their Kundt subclass. Finally, from the principle of least action we derive field equations for the case with the Lagrangian density corresponding to an arbitrary function of the curvature invariants. In the original part of the thesis we explicitly express particular components of the field equations for non-gyratonic Kundt geometry in generic quadratic gravity in arbitrary dimension. Then we discuss how this, in general fourth order, field equations restrict the Kundt metric in selected geome- trically privileged situations. We also analyse the special case of Gauss-Bonnet theory. 1