The local-global conjecture for Apollonian circle packings is false

In a primitive integral Apollonian circle packing, the curvatures that appear must fall into one of six or eight residue classes modulo $24$. The local-global conjecture states that every sufficiently large integer in one of these residue classes appears as a curvature in the packing. We prove that this conjecture is false for many packings, by proving that certain quadratic and quartic families are missed. The new obstructions are a property of the thin Apollonian group (and not its Zariski closure), and are a result of quadratic and quartic reciprocity, reminiscent of a Brauer-Manin obstruction. Based on computational evidence, we formulate a new conjecture.

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Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Annals of Mathematics
Published
2024-08-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4007/annals.2024.200.2.6
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Mathematical Dynamics and Fractals
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.34

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article

The local-global conjecture for Apollonian circle packings is false

Summer Haag, Katherine E. Stange, James Rickards, Clyde Kertzer
7 citations
Annals of Mathematics
Mathematical Dynamics and Fractals
5.34
article

The local-global conjecture for Apollonian circle packings is false

Summer Haag, Katherine E. Stange, James Rickards, Clyde Kertzer
article en
7 citations

Abstract

In a primitive integral Apollonian circle packing, the curvatures that appear must fall into one of six or eight residue classes modulo $24$. The local-global conjecture states that every sufficiently large integer in one of these residue classes appears as a curvature in the packing. We prove that this conjecture is false for many packings, by proving that certain quadratic and quartic families are missed. The new obstructions are a property of the thin Apollonian group (and not its Zariski closure), and are a result of quadratic and quartic reciprocity, reminiscent of a Brauer-Manin obstruction. Based on computational evidence, we formulate a new conjecture.

Annals of MathematicsVol. 200(2)
University of Colorado Boulder (US), Saint Mary's University (CA)
University of Colorado Boulder
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Mathematical Dynamics and Fractals
5.34
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