Bott cannibalistic class

In mathematics, the Bott cannibalistic class, introduced by Bott (1962), is an element θ_k(V) of the representation ring of a compact Lie group that describes the action of the Adams operation Ψ^k on the Thom class λ_V of a complex representation V. The term "cannibalistic" for these classes was introduced by Adams (1965, p.151).