A parametrization of integral Descartes configurations (and effectively Apollonian disk packings) by pairs of two-dimensional integral vectors is presented. The vectors, called here tangency spinors defined for pairs of tangent disks, are spinors associated to the Clifford algebra for three-dimensional Minkowski space. A version with Pauli spinors is given. The construction provides a novel interpretation to the known Diophantine equation parametrizing integral Apollonian packings.
A construction and algebraic characterization of two unbounded Apollonian Disk packings in the plane and the half-plane are presented. Both turn out to involve the golden ratio.
We consider Apollonian circle packings of a half Euclidean plane. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for two such packings to be related by a Euclidean similarity (that is, by translations, reflections, rotations and dilations) and describe explicitly the group of self-similarities of a given packing. We observe that packings with a non-trivial self-similarity correspond to positive real numbers that are the roots of quadratic polynomials with rational coefficients. This is reflected in a close connection between Apollonian circle packings and continued fractions which allows us to co…
We investigate in this paper the relation between Apollonian $d$-ball packings and stacked $(d+1)$-polytopes for dimension $d\ge 3$. For $d=3$, the relation is fully described: we prove that the $1$-skeleton of a stacked $4$-polytope is the tangency graph of an Apollonian $3$-ball packing if and only if no six $4$-cliques share a $3$-clique. For higher dimension, we have some partial results.
Apollonian circle packings arise by repeatedly filling the interstices between four mutually tangent circles with further tangent circles. Such packings can be described in terms of the Descartes configurations they contain. It observed there exist infinitely many types of integral Apollonian packings in which all circles had integer curvatures, with the integral structure being related to the integral nature of the Apollonian group. Here we consider the action of a larger discrete group, the super-Apollonian group, also having an integral structure, whose orbits describe the Descartes quadrup…
The curvatures of the circles in integral Apollonian circle packings, named for Apollonius of Perga (262-190 BC), form an infinite collection of integers whose Diophantine properties have recently seen a surge in interest. Here, we give a new description of Apollonian circle packings built upon the study of the collection of bases of Z[i]^2, inspired by, and intimately related to, the `sensual quadratic form' of Conway.
In an earlier work, we proposed a generalization for the Apollonian packing in arbitrary dimensions and showed that the resulting object in four, five, and six dimensions have properties consistent with the Apollonian circle and sphere packings in two and three dimensions. In this work, we investigate the generalization in seven and eight dimensions and show that they too have many of the properties of those in lower dimensions. In particular, the hyperspheres are tangent or do not intersect; they fill the hyperspace; the object includes a maximal cluster of mutually tangent hyperspheres; and …
We introduce an orthoplicial Apollonian sphere packing, which is a sphere packing obtained by successively inverting a configuration of 8 spheres with 4-orthplicial tangency graph. We will show that there are such packings in which the bends of all constituent spheres are integral, and establish the asymptotic local-global principle for the set of bends in these packings.
We extend fundamental results concerning Apollonian packings, which constitute a major object of study in number theory, to certain homogeneous sets that arise naturally in complex dynamics and geometric group theory. In particular, we give an analogue of D. W. Boyd's theorem (relating the curvature distribution function of an Apollonian packing to its exponent and the Hausdorff dimension of the residual set) for Sierpiński carpets that are Julia sets of hyperbolic rational maps.
We find a formula for the area of disks tangent to a given disk in an Apollonian disk packing (corona) in terms of a certain novel arithmetic Zeta function. The idea is based on "tangency spinors" defined for pairs of tangent disks.
Apollonian circle packings arise by repeatedly filling the interstices between four mutually tangent circles with further tangent circles. We observe that there exist Apollonian packings which have strong integrality properties, in which all circles in the packing have integer curvatures and rational centers such that (curvature)$\times$(center) is an integer vector. This series of papers explain such properties. A {\em Descartes configuration} is a set of four mutually tangent circles with disjoint interiors. We describe the space of all Descartes configurations using a coordinate system $\sM…
We study the orbit of $\widehat{\mathbb{R}}$ under the Möbius action of the Bianchi group $\operatorname{PSL}_2(\mathcal{O}_K)$ on $\widehat{\mathbb{C}}$, where $\mathcal{O}_K$ is the ring of integers of an imaginary quadratic field $K$. The orbit $\mathcal{S}_K$, called a Schmidt arrangement, is a geometric realisation, as an intricate circle packing, of the arithmetic of $K$. We give a simple geometric characterisation of certain subsets of $\mathcal{S}_K$ generalizing Apollonian circle packings, and show that $\mathcal{S}_K$, considered with orientations, is a disjoint union of all primitiv…
The configuration space of tricycles (triples of disks in contact) is shown to coincide with the complex plane resulting as a projective space costructed from the tangency and Pauli spinors. Remarkably, the fractal of the depth functions assumes a particularly simple and elegant form. Moreover, the factor space due to a certain symmetry group provides a parametrization of the Apollonian disk packings.
The depth function of three numbers representing curvatures of three mutually tangent circles is introduced. Its 2D plot leads to a partition of the moduli space of the triples of mutually tangent circles/disks that is unexpectedly a beautiful fractal, the general form of which resembles that of an Apollonian disk packing, except that it consists of ellipses instead of circles.
We define spinors for pairs of tangent disks in the Euclidean plane and prove a number of theorems, one of which may be interpreted as a "square root of Descartes Theorem". In any Apollonian disk packing, spinors form a network. In the Apollonian Window, a special case of Apollonian disk packing, all spinors are integral.
This paper gives $n$-dimensional analogues of the Apollonian circle packings in parts I and II. We work in the space $\sM_{\dd}^n$ of all $n$-dimensional oriented Descartes configurations parametrized in a coordinate system, ACC-coordinates, as those $(n+2) \times (n+2)$ real matrices $\bW$ with $\bW^T \bQ_{D,n} \bW = \bQ_{W,n}$ where $Q_{D,n} = x_1^2 +... + x_{n+2}^2 - \frac{1}{n}(x_1 +... + x_{n+2})^2$ is the $n$-dimensional Descartes quadratic form, $Q_{W,n} = -8x_1x_2 + 2x_3^2 + ... + 2x_{n+2}^2$, and $\bQ_{D,n}$ and $\bQ_{W,n}$ are their corresponding symmetric matrices. There are natural…
A remarkably simple Diophantine quadratic equation is known to generate all Apollonian integral gaskets (disk packings). A new derivation of this formula is presented here based on inversive geometry. Also occurrences of Pythagorean triples in such gaskets is discussed.
In his talk "Integral Apollonian disk Packings" Peter Sarnak asked if there is a "proof from the Book" of the Descartes theorem on circles. A candidate for such a proof is presented in this note
