Higher Euler characteristics: variations on a theme of Euler (Q303923)

In this work, the author defines higher Euler characteristics of a finite CW-complex by \(\chi_{j}(M)=\sum_{i=0}^n(-1)^{i-j} \binom{i}{j} b_{i}\), where the \(b_{i}\)'s are the Betti numbers and \(j\geq 0\). The invariant \(\chi_{0}\) is the classical Euler characteristic and \(\chi_{1}\) is the secondary Euler characteristic, already introduced by Cayley. In the case of an odd dimensional compact manifold, the invariant \(\chi_{1}\) recovers also the \textit{M. Kervaire} semi-characteristic [Math. Ann. 131, 219--252 (1956; Zbl 0072.18202)]. In fact, \(\chi_{j}\) is the \(j^{\text{th}}\) coefficient of the Taylor expansion of the Poincaré polynomial \(P(t)\) at \(t=-1\). These higher invariants show themselves useful when the classical Euler characteristic vanishes. For instance, if the compact manifold \(M\) is a product of \(N\) with a product of \(j\) circles, then \(\chi_{j}(M)=\chi(N)\). This paper contains also a florilège of examples of higher Euler characteristics, a gallery of their properties and certain generalizations in the context of motivic measures.