Dualization in algebraic K-theory and the invariant e¹ of quadratic forms over schemes
In the classical Witt theory over a field F, the study of quadratic forms begins with two simple invariants: the dimension of a form modulo 2, called the dimension index and denoted e⁰: W(F) → ℤ/2, and the discriminant e¹ with values in k₁(F) = F*/F*², which behaves well on the fundamental ideal I(F)= ker(e⁰). Here a more sophisticated situation is considered, of quadratic forms over a scheme and, more generally, over an exact category with duality. Our purposes are: ...