Optimal packings of congruent circles on a square flat torus (Q5964218)

The following problem is considered: given \(N\) points find the maximal \(r>0\) such that \(N\) circles of radius \(r\) could be put on the square flat torus \(\mathbb{T}=\mathbb{R}^2/\mathbb{Z}^2\) without overlapping, or, equivalently, to find the maximal \(d>0\) such that there exist \(N\) points on the torus with pairwise distances not less than \(d\) (where \(d=2r\)). The authors found optimal arrangements for \(N=6,7,8\). Surprisingly, in the case \(N=7\) there are 3 different optimal arrangements. The proof is based on a computer enumeration of toroidal irreducible graphs. A modified version of the program \texttt{Surftri} by T. Sulanke was used.