Link between 24 dimension kissing number and Monster group

In summary: The connection is the Leech lattice. It determines the locations of the spheres for the 24-dimensional packing. Conway investigated the Leech lattice as he considered the groups. Conway discovered three new sporadic finite simple groups in the late 1960s, the Conway groups named after him, when he was studying the Leech lattice. He also simplified the construction of the last and largest sporadic group found, the "monster" (but preferred by the discoverer to be called "friendly giant"). In a famous work with his doctoral student Simon Norton from the late 1970s he pointed to the connections between the (dimensions of the irreducible) representations of the monster and the expansion coefficients of the elliptical module function, called
  • #1
Labyrinth
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TL;DR Summary
Kissing number for 24 dimensions is 196560, monster group 196883.
I've heard that there is some link between these two values (they're so close!) but I can't seem to find it anywhere. Can someone point me in the right direction? (there's also the J-invariant 196884, well you get the idea)
 
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Which group are you talking about? The monster group has a several magnitude larger order.
 
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Not that I have any clue, however, the prime factors

##196560 = 2^4 \times 3^3 \times 5 \times 7 \times 13##

##196883 = 47 \times 59 \times 71##

which have no common factors. Rules out homomorphism.

Edit: Okay, 196883 and 196560 aren't the group orders, so this isn't helpful.
 
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  • #4
I never understood the big deal. Is the monster group just the largest simple group?
 
  • #5
WWGD said:
I never understood the big deal. Is the monster group just the largest simple group?
No. The largest of the 26 sporadic groups, but there are bigger regular ones, ##\mathbb{Z}_p## for example with an arbitrary large prime.
 
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  • #6
The Monster group is much larger than you have said, and has ~8×10^53 elements.
 
  • #7
fresh_42 said:
Which group are you talking about? The monster group has a several magnitude larger order.

The Monster group is the symmetry group of a 196,883 dimensional object. The value 196,884 appears as a coefficient in the Fourier expansion of the J-invariant.

These numbers are quite close to the kissing number in 24 dimensions: 196,560. I've heard that there is a connection but I can't quite find where this was all worked out, assuming it was.
 
  • #8
Labyrinth said:
The Monster group is the symmetry group of a 196,883 dimensional object. The value 196,884 appears as a coefficient in the Fourier expansion of the J-invariant.

These numbers are quite close to the kissing number in 24 dimensions: 196,560. I've heard that there is a connection but I can't quite find where this was all worked out, assuming it was.
The connection is the Leech lattice. It determines the locations of the spheres for the 24-dimensional packing. Conway investigated the Leech lattice as he considered the groups.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Horton_Conway#Wirken said:
Conway discovered three new sporadic finite simple groups in the late 1960s, the Conway groups named after him, when he was studying the Leech lattice. He also simplified the construction of the last and largest sporadic group found, the "monster" (but preferred by the discoverer to be called "friendly giant"). In a famous work with his doctoral student Simon Norton from the late 1970s he pointed to the connections between the (dimensions of the irreducible) representations of the monster and the expansion coefficients of the elliptical module function, called "monstrous moonshine" after the title of their essay (she followed an observation by John McKay). Many of the suspected connections were later proven by Conway's PhD student Richard Borcherds, who received the Fields Medal for it. With his research group in Cambridge, Conway published the Atlas of Finite Groups.
 
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FAQ: Link between 24 dimension kissing number and Monster group

1. What is the significance of the "24 dimension kissing number"?

The "24 dimension kissing number" refers to the maximum number of spheres that can touch a central sphere in 24-dimensional space. This number, also known as the "kissing number", is important in the study of sphere packing and has connections to various mathematical and physical phenomena.

2. What is the Monster group?

The Monster group is the largest sporadic finite simple group, with over 10^53 elements. It was first discovered in 1973 and has since been studied extensively in mathematics and physics. It has connections to various areas of mathematics, including group theory, number theory, and geometry.

3. How is the "24 dimension kissing number" related to the Monster group?

The "24 dimension kissing number" and the Monster group are connected through the concept of "sphere packing". The kissing number in 24 dimensions is closely related to the structure of the Monster group and its subgroups. In fact, the Monster group can be seen as a symmetry group of a highly symmetric sphere packing in 24-dimensional space.

4. What is the significance of the link between the "24 dimension kissing number" and the Monster group?

The link between the "24 dimension kissing number" and the Monster group has significant implications in the fields of mathematics and physics. It provides a deep connection between seemingly unrelated concepts and has led to new insights and discoveries in both areas. It also sheds light on the mysterious nature of the Monster group and its role in mathematical structures.

5. How is the "24 dimension kissing number" and the Monster group being studied?

The "24 dimension kissing number" and the Monster group are being studied through various mathematical and computational techniques. Researchers use advanced mathematical tools such as group theory, algebraic geometry, and representation theory to understand the structure and properties of the Monster group. They also use computer simulations and algorithms to explore the connections between the "24 dimension kissing number" and the Monster group.

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