The duality between two-index potentials and the non-linear sigma model in field theory

We interpret the generalised gauge symmetry introduced in string theory and M-Theory as a special case of Grothendieck's stability equivalence relation in the definition of the 0th K-group and we calculate the Euler number of the elliptic de Rham complex twisted by a flat connection. Then using Polyakov's classical equivalence of flat bundles with non-linear sigma models we define a new topological invariant for foliations using techniques from noncommutative geometry, in particular the Connes' pairing between K-Theory and cyclic cohomology. This new invariant classifies foliations up to Morita equivalence.