Characteristic classes of complex hypersurfaces (Q1959672)

The Milnor-Hirzebruch class of a locally complete intersection \(X\) in an algebraic manifold \(M\) measures the difference between the (Poincaré dual of the) Hirzebruch class of the virtual tangent bundle of \(X\) and, respectively, the Brasselet-Schürmann-Yokura (homology) Hirzebruch class of \(X\). In this paper, the authors calculate the Milnor-Hirzebruch class of a globally defined algebraic hypersurface \(X\) in terms of the corresponding Hirzebruch invariants of vanishing cycles and singular strata in a Whitney stratification of \(X\). Their approach is based on Schürmann's specialization property for the motivic Hirzebruch class transformation of Brasselet-Schürmann-Yokura. The results also yield calculations of Todd, Chern and \(L\)-type characteristic classes of hypersurfaces.