Coincidence invariants and higher Reidemeister traces

Abstract

The Lefschetz number and fixed point index can be thought of as two different descriptions of the same invariant. The Lefschetz number is algebraic and defined using homology. The index is defined more directly from the topology and is a stable homotopy class. Both the Lefschetz number and index admit generalizations to coincidences and the comparison of these invariants retains its central role. In this paper, we show that the identification of the Lefschetz number and index using formal properties of the symmetric monoidal trace extends to coincidence invariants. This perspective on the coincidence index and Lefschetz number also suggests difficulties for generalizations to a coincidence Reidemeister trace.