Generalized moonshine. I: Genus-zero functions (Q600783)

The main result of this paper gives a uniform way of generating holomorphic congruence genus zero functions for actions of finite groups on certain Lie algebras. This provides a better conceptual elucidation of the proof of the Moonshine conjecture, and progress towards a proof of some of its generalizations. After the proof by \textit{R. E. Borcherds} [Invent. Math. 109, No. 2, 405--444 (1992; Zbl 0799.17014)], several authors gave a non-computational version of the final steps. Very briefly, this originated from the fact in loc.\ cit.\ that the functions \(T_g\) are completely replicable, hence by \textit{D.\ Kozlov} [Master's thesis Lund University (1994)], they satisfy many modular equations, which by \textit{C. J. Cummins} and \textit{T. Gannon} [Invent. Math. 129, No. 3, 413--443 (1997; Zbl 0985.11017)] imply that they are either holomorphic genus-zero and invariant under some \(\Gamma_0(N)\) or of a particular degenerate type. The paper first starts by defining the notion of weak Hecke-monicity for functions on certain moduli spaces associated to torsors of finite groups over elliptic curves. This notion is intended to generalize and correspond to the notion of a replicable function, except that it is defined in a conceptual way involving moduli of torsors of finite groups over elliptic curves, and is now valid for general finite groups \(G\). It is shown that weakly Hecke-monic functions satisfy many modular equations, and by a generalization of the work of Cummins and Gannon cited above, this implies under additional conditions that they are holomorphic congruence genus zero functions, or of trigonometric type. Finally, a certain class of Lie algebras with group actions is introduced, and it is shown that the characters derived from them are weakly Hecke-monic, and hence holomorphic congruence genus zero.