Differential operators of Fuchs type, conical singularities, and asymptotic methods

This text is a revised version of the authors Habilitationsschrift which was submitted to the University of Augsburg, 1993. Fuchs type differential operators are used to model the analysis on manifolds with cone--like singularities, or more general, stratified spaces. This book provides a self--contained treatment of the analysis of the heat equation and index theory for these operators. Major topics are short--time asymptotics, $\eta$-- and $\zeta$--functions, (relative) index theorems. Another chapter is devoted to the discussion of deficiency indices and Dirac Schr\"odinger operators.