Todd polynomials and Hirzebruch numbers

Abstract

In 1956 Hirzebruch found an explicit formula for the denominators of the Todd polynomials, which was proved later in his joint work with Atiyah. We present a new formula for the Todd polynomials in terms of the ``forgotten symmetric functions", which follows from our previous work on complex cobordisms. In particular, this leads to a simpler proof of the Hirzebruch formula and provides new interpretations for the Hirzebruch numbers.