Classification of positive definite lattices (Q1847788)

Most of the results of this paper are taken from the authors's unpublished thesis ``The Leech lattice and other lattices'' (Cambridge, 1985; see \texttt{http://arXiv.org/abs/math/9911195}). The paper describes an algorithm for classifying orbits of vectors in a Lorentzian lattice. Such orbits sometimes correspond to isomorphism classes of positive definite lattices in some genus, which then may be classified. A more detailed description of the algorithm is given for the case of the 26-dimensional even unimodular Lorentzian lattice. As an application the author obtains the classification of the positive definite odd unimodular lattices and even determinant-two lattices in dimension 25; the class numbers are 665 and 121, respectively. Also derived is the uniqueness of a positive definite unimodular lattice without roots in dimension 26. (In an unpublished 1996 preprint by \textit{R. Bacher} and \textit{B. Venkov}, the class number of such lattices in dimension 27 is found to be 3).