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Concept
Conway group
Summary
In the area of modern algebra known as group theory, the Conway groups are the three sporadic simple groups Co1, Co2 and Co3 along with the related finite group Co0 introduced by .
The largest of the Conway groups, Co0, is the group of automorphisms of the Leech lattice Λ with respect to addition and inner product. It has order
8,315,553,613,086,720,000
but it is not a simple group. The simple group Co1 of order
4,157,776,806,543,360,000 = 221395472111323
is defined as the quotient of Co0 by its center, which consists of the scalar matrices ±1. The groups Co2 of order
42,305,421,312,000 = 218365371123
and Co3 of order
495,766,656,000 = 210375371123
consist of the automorphisms of Λ fixing a lattice vector of type 2 and type 3, respectively. As the scalar −1 fixes no non-zero vector, these two groups are isomorphic to subgroups of Co1.
The inner product on the Leech lattice is defined as 1/8 the sum of the products of respective co-ordinates of the two multiplicand vectors; it is an integer. The square norm of a vector is its inner product with itself, always an even integer. It is common to speak of the type of a Leech lattice vector: half the square norm. Subgroups are often named in reference to the types of relevant fixed points. This lattice has no vectors of type 1.
relates how, in about 1964, John Leech investigated close packings of spheres in Euclidean spaces of large dimension. One of Leech's discoveries was a lattice packing in 24-space, based on what came to be called the Leech lattice Λ. He wondered whether his lattice's symmetry group contained an interesting simple group, but felt he needed the help of someone better acquainted with group theory. He had to do much asking around because the mathematicians were pre-occupied with agendas of their own. John Conway agreed to look at the problem. John G. Thompson said he would be interested if he were given the order of the group. Conway expected to spend months or years on the problem, but found results in just a few sessions.
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