Symmetry and the monster : one of the greatest quests of mathematics / Mark Ronan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ronan, Mark.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Symmetry (Mathematics).

Group theory.

Physical Description:

vii, 255 p. : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The 'Monster of Symmetry' is a giant snowflake in 196,884 dimensions - with a beautiful structure which may turn out to unlock the very fabric of our universe. The story of the hunt for the monster, and its eventual discovery, became the biggest joint mathematical project of all time - involving determination, luck, and some very extraordinary characters.

Contents:

Cover

Copyright

Preface

Contents

Prologue

1: Theaetetus's Icosahedron

2: Galois: Death of a Genius

3: Irrational Solutions

4: Groups

5: Sophus Lie

6: Lie Groups and Physics

7: Going Finite

8: After the War

9: The Man from Uccle

10: The Big Theorem

11: Pandora's Box

12: The Leech Lattice

13: Fischer's Monsters

14: The Atlas

15: A Monstrous Mystery

16: Construction

17: Moonshine

Notes

Chapter 2: Galois: Death of a Genius

Chapter 3: Irrational Solutions

Chapter 4: Groups

Chapter 5: Sophus Lie

Chapter 6: Lie Groups and Physics

Chapter 7: Going Finite

Chapter 8: After the War

Chapter 9: The Man from Uccle

Chapter 10: The Big Theorem

Chapter 11: Pandora's Box

Chapter 12: The Leech Lattice

Chapter 13: Fischer's Monsters

Chapter 14: The Atlas

Chapter 15: A Monstrous Mystery

Chapter 16: Construction

Chapter 17: Moonshine

Appendix 1: The Golden Section

Appendix 2: The Witt Design

Appendix 3: The Leech Lattice

Appendix 4: The 26 Exceptions

Glossary

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 230-237) and index.

Description based on metadata supplied by the publisher and other sources.

ISBN:

1-280-76227-6

0-19-151766-6

1-4294-8724-0

OCLC:

609832195