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A binary quadratic refinement of a fixed nonsingular alternating bilinear form $B$ has polar form $B$. The difference of two refinements is linear, so nondegeneracy gives the displayed unique parametrization by $v$. For $\dim V=2m$, refinements of plus and minus Arf invariant of a quadratic form have respectively $2^{m-1}(2^m+1)$ and $2^{m-1}(2^m-1)$ elements. Completing the square in the binary character sum gives $ϵ(Q_v)=ϵ(Q_0)(-1{)}^{Q_0(v)}$.

The displayed bilinear form is the polar form of a quadratic form. In odd characteristic of a field, $Q(x)=B_Q(x,x)/2$ recovers the quadratic form; in characteristic of a field two, different forms can have the same alternating bilinear form. Over ${\mathbb{F}}_2$, two such forms differ by a linear map to the field, giving the affine parametrization of binary quadratic refinements.