Conventions
Dynkin diagrams have been drawn in a number of ways; the convention followed here is common, with 180° angles on nodes of valence 2, 120° angles on the valence 3 node of Dn, and 90°/90°/180° angles on the valence 3 node of En, with multiplicity indicated by 1, 2, or 3 parallel edges, and root length indicated by drawing an arrow on the edge for orientation. Beyond simplicity, a further benefit of this convention is that diagram automorphisms are realized by Euclidean isometries of the diagrams.
Alternative convention include writing a number by the edge to indicate multiplicity (commonly used in Coxeter diagrams), darkening nodes to indicate root length, or using 120° angles on valence 2 nodes to make the nodes more distinct.
There are also conventions about numbering the nodes. The most common modern convention had developed by the 1960s and is illustrated in (Bourbaki 1968).
Read more about this topic: Dynkin Diagram
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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