Bott cannibalistic class

In mathematics, the Bott cannibalistic class, introduced by Raoul Bott (1962), is an element [math]\displaystyle{ \theta_k(V) }[/math] of the representation ring of a compact Lie group that describes the action of the Adams operation [math]\displaystyle{ \psi^k }[/math] on the Thom class [math]\displaystyle{ \lambda_V }[/math] of a complex representation [math]\displaystyle{ V }[/math]. The term "cannibalistic" for these classes was introduced by Frank Adams (1965, p.151).

References

• Adams, J. Frank (1965), "On the groups [math]\displaystyle{ J(X) }[/math]. II.", Topology 3 (2): 137–171, doi:10.1016/0040-9383(65)90040-6 
• Bott, Raoul (1962), "A note on the KO-theory of sphere-bundles", Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society 68 (4): 395–400, doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-1962-10819-2, ISSN 0002-9904