Smooth models of motivic spheres

Abstract: We study the representability of motivic spheres by smooth varieties. We show that certain explicit "split" quadric hypersurfaces have the $\mathbb A^1$-homotopy type of motivic spheres over the integers and that the $\mathbb A^1$-homotopy types of other motivic spheres do not contain smooth schemes as representatives. We then study some applications of these representability/non-representability results to the construction of new exotic $\mathbb A^1$-contractible smooth schemes. Then, we study vector bundles on even dimensional "split" quadric hypersurfaces by developing an algebro-geometric variant of the classical construction of vector bundles on spheres via clutching functions.