Topology and arithmetic of resultants, I: spaces of rational maps

We consider the interplay of point counts, singular cohomology, \'etale cohomology, eigenvalues of the Frobenius and the Grothendieck ring of varieties for two families of varieties: spaces of rational maps and moduli spaces of marked, degree $d$ rational curves in $\mathbb{P}^n$. We deduce as special cases algebro-geometric and arithmetic refinements of topological computations of Segal, Cohen--Cohen--Mann--Milgram, Vassiliev and others.