Bejleri–McKean conjecture on symmetric powers of null motivic Euler characteristic

Let kk be a field of characteristic not 22. Let K0(Vark)K_0(\operatorname{Var}_k) be the Grothendieck ring of kk-varieties, let GW(k)\operatorname{GW}(k) be the Grothendieck–Witt ring, and let

χc:K0(Vark)GW(k)\chi^c:K_0(\operatorname{Var}_k)\to\operatorname{GW}(k)

be the motivic, or compactly supported, Euler characteristic. For a quasi-projective kk-variety XX, write [X][X] for its class and let SymnX\operatorname{Sym}^n X denote its nnth symmetric power. Bejleri–McKean's conjecture. If XX is a quasi-projective kk-variety with [X]kerχc[X]\in\ker\chi^c, then

[SymnX]kerχc[\operatorname{Sym}^n X]\in\ker\chi^c

for all n1n\geq 1; equivalently, the symmetric-power maps preserve kerχc\ker\chi^c. This conjecture would yield a power structure on GW(k)\operatorname{GW}(k) compatible with the motivic Euler characteristic and the power structure on the Grothendieck ring of varieties, and would support an enrichment of Göttsche's formula for Euler characteristics of Hilbert schemes.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Dori Bejleri and Stephen McKean, “Symmetric powers of null motivic Euler characteristic”, arXiv:2406.19506 (2025).

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