Half-integer
In mathematics, a half-integer is a number of the form
where is an integer. For example,
are all half-integers.
Half-integers occur frequently enough in mathematical contexts that a special term for them is convenient. Note that a half of an integer is not always a half-integer: half of an even integer is an integer but not a half-integer. The half-integers are precisely those numbers that are half of an odd integer, and for this reason are also called the half-odd-integers. Half-integers are a special case of the dyadic rationals, numbers that can be formed by dividing an integer by a power of two.
The set of all half-integers is often denoted
The integers and half-integers together form a group under the addition operation, which may be denoted
However, these numbers do not form a ring because the product of two half-integers cannot be itself a half-integer.
The densest lattice packing of unit spheres in four dimensions, called the D4 lattice, places a sphere at every point whose coordinates are either all integers or all half-integers. This packing is closely related to the Hurwitz integers, which are quaternions whose real coefficients are either all integers or all half-integers.
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