The Clifford algebra of a metabolic space (Q1176768)

The authors translate the Clifford invariant --- a classical invariant of quadratic spaces of fields or commutative rings --- into the context of quadratic spaces over arbitrary schemes. They prove that for any metabolic quadratic space \(F\) over an arbitrary scheme \((X,{\mathcal O}_ X)\) the Brauer class of its Clifford algebra \(C(F)\) is trivial. This implies that the Clifford invariant yields a well defined map \(c:IW(X)\to Br(X)\) from the subgroup of even rank classes of the Witt group to the Brauer group.