Minkowski weights and the Grothendieck group of a toric variety

Abstract

For a fan $\Delta$, we introduce Grothendieck weights as a ring of functions from $\Delta$ to $\mathbb{Z}$ that form a K-theoretic analogue of Minkowski weights and describe the operational $K$-theory of a complete toric variety. We give an explicit balancing condition and product formula for these weights, and describe relationships with other fan-based invariants. Applications are given to vector bundles on a toric surface, and to the calculation of Euler characteristics on schon subvarieties.