Ford Spheres in the Clifford-Bianchi Setting

Abstract

We define Ford Spheres $\mathcal{P}$ in hyperbolic $n$-space associated to Clifford-Bianchi groups $PSL_2(O)$ for $O$ orders in rational Clifford algebras associated to positive definite, integral, primitive quadratic forms. For $\mathcal{H}^2$ and $\mathcal{H}^3$ these spheres correspond to the classical Ford circles and Ford spheres (these are non-maximal subsets of classical Apollonian packings). We prove the Ford spheres are integral, have disjoint interiors, and intersect tangentially when they do intersect. If we assume that $O$ is Clifford-Euclidean then $\mathcal{P}$ is also connected. We also give connections to Dirichlet's Theorem and Farey fractions. In a discussion section, we pose some questions related to existing packings in the literature.