Level: MSci, MSc
Title: Monstrous moonshine
Supervisor:

Prof. Rob Wilson
Research Area: Algebra
Description:

John McKay pointed out the coincidence that the smallest size of matrices which represent the "Monster" sporadic simple group is 196883, while the smallest non-trivial coefficient in the Laurent series for the classical modular function is 196884. Investigation of this led to the discovery of further coincidences, and then to the formulation of a conjecture by Conway and Norton, which was proved by Borcherds. The aim of the project is to describe the mathematical objects on the two sides of this unexpected connection and, if possible, to say something about how the connection works.
Further Reading:

Here is a starting reference but there are many accessible references.
Key Modules:

To be confirmed with the supervisor.
Other Information:
Current Availability: Yes