L^2-Betti numbers of hypersurface complements

Abstract

In \cite{DJL07} it was shown that if $\scra$ is an affine hyperplane arrangement in $\C^n$, then at most one of the $L^2$--Betti numbers $b_i^{(2)}(\C^n\sm \scra,\id)$ is non--zero. In this note we prove an analogous statement for complements of complex affine hyperurfaces in general position at infinity. Furthermore, we recast and extend to this higher-dimensional setting results of \cite{FLM,LM06} about $L^2$--Betti numbers of plane curve complements.

10 pages; comments are very welcome; v2: minor clarifications added in the text