AbstractThis paper uses a relative ofBP-cohomology to prove a theorem in characteristicpalgebra. Specifically, we obtain some new necessary conditions for the existence of sums-of-squares formulas over fields of characteristicp>2. These conditions were previously known in characteristic zero by results of Davis. Our proof uses a generalized étale cohomology theory called étaleBP2.
Etale homotopy and sums-of-squares formulas
