In mathematics, the Bott cannibalistic class, introduced by , is an element

\theta_k(V)

of the

representation ring In mathematics, especially in the area of algebra known as representation theory, the representation ring (or Green ring after J. A. Green) of a group is a ring formed from all the (isomorphism classes of the) finite-dimensional linear represen ...

of a

compact Lie group In mathematics, a compact (topological) group is a topological group whose topology realizes it as a compact topological space (when an element of the group is operated on, the result is also within the group). Compact groups are a natural gen ...

that describes the action of the

Adams operation In mathematics, an Adams operation, denoted ψ''k'' for natural numbers ''k'', is a cohomology operation in topological K-theory, or any allied operation in algebraic K-theory or other types of algebraic construction, defined on a pattern introduce ...

\psi^k

on the Thom class

\lambda_V

of a complex representation

V

. The term "cannibalistic" for these classes was introduced by .

References

* * Representation theory K-theory {{mathematics-stub