Holographic formula for Q-curvature

Abstract: This paper derives an explicit formula for Branson''s Q-curvature in even-dimensional conformal geometry. The ingredients in the formula come from the Poincaré metric in one higher dimension; hence the formula is called holographic. When specialized to the conformally flat case, the holographic formula expresses the Q-curvature as a multiple of the Pfaffian and the divergence of a natural 1-form. The paper also outlines the relation between holographic formulae for Q-curvature and a new theory of conformally covariant families of differential operators due to the second author. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]