$K_1(Var)$ is presented by stratified birational equivalences

Abstract: This paper provides a complete presentation of $K_1(Var)$, the $K_1$ group of varieties, resolving and simplifying a problem left open in \cite{ZakhK1}. Our approach adapts Gillet-Grayson's $G$-Construction to define an un-delooped $K$-theory spectrum of varieties. There are two levels on which one can read the present paper. On a technical level, we streamline and extend previous results on the $K$-theory of exact categories to a broader class of categories, including $Var$. On a more conceptual level, our investigations bring into focus an interesting generalisation of automorphisms (``double exact squares'') which generate $K_1$. For varieties, this isolates a subclass of birational equivalences which we call stratified, but the construction extends to a wide range of non-additive contexts (e.g. $o$-minimal structures, definable sets etc.). This raises a challenging question: what kind of information do these generalised automorphisms calibrate?