A kinematic explanation of the 1:3 ratio for rolling spheres and the exceptional simple Lie group of rank two

Abstract

Given a pair of (round) 2-dimensional spheres, one of which has radius three times that of the other, the Lie algebra of local infinitesimal symmetries for the distribution corresponding to rolling the spheres along each other (without letting them slip or twist) happens to be isomorphic to the split real form of the exceptional simple Lie algebra of rank 2. These exceptional local symmetries appear only for this specific 1:3 ratio of radii, however, and while there are several proofs of this result, a straightforward kinematic explanation for the seemingly miraculous appearance of an exceptional simple Lie group in this situation has long been desired. In this paper, we provide such an explanation, relating the ratio of radii to the intersections of a pair of one-parameter subgroups that can be seen from the rolling sphere perspective. The approach does not require the split-octonions, as we construct the exceptional simple Lie group directly by Tanaka prolongation to aid in visualizing the underlying geometry.