Similar sublattices of the root lattice
arXiv:math/0702448
Abstract
Similar sublattices of the root lattice are possible, according to a result of Conway, Rains and Sloane, for each index that is the square of a non-zero integer of the form . Here, we add a constructive approach, based on the arithmetic of the quaternion algebra and the existence of a particular involution of the second kind, which also provides the actual sublattices and the number of different solutions for a given index. The corresponding Dirichlet series generating function is closely related to the zeta function of the icosian ring.
17 pages, 1 figure; revised version with several additions and improvements