Authors: Steven V Sam ¹

• 1 Department of Mathematics [MIT]

The classical Thom―Porteous formula expresses the homology class of the degeneracy locus of a generic map between two vector bundles as an alternating sum of Schur polynomials. A proof of this formula was given by Pragacz by expressing this alternating sum as the Euler characteristic of a Schur complex, which gives an explanation for the signs. Fulton later generalized this formula to the situation of flags of vector bundles by using alternating sums of Schubert polynomials. Building on the Schubert functors of Kraśkiewicz and Pragacz, we introduce Schubert complexes and show that Fulton's alternating sum can be realized as the Euler characteristic of this complex, thereby providing a conceptual proof for why an alternating sum appears. \par