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A frequent notation for the symmetry group of an object X is G = Sym(X). For an object in a metric space, its symmetries form a subgroup of the isometry group of the ambient space. This article mainly considers symmetry groups in Euclidean geometry, but the concept may also be studied for more general types of geometric structure.
However, there are three more infinite series of symmetry groups with this abstract group type: C nv of order 2n, the symmetry group of a regular n-sided pyramid; D nd of order 4n, the symmetry group of a regular n-sided antiprism; D nh of order 4n for odd n. For n = 1 we get D 2, already covered above, so n ≥ 3. Note the following property:
In a symmetry group, the group elements are the symmetry operations (not the symmetry elements), and the binary combination consists of applying first one symmetry operation and then the other. An example is the sequence of a C 4 rotation about the z-axis and a reflection in the xy-plane, denoted σ(xy) C 4 .
Finite spherical symmetry groups are also called point groups in three dimensions. There are five fundamental symmetry classes which have triangular fundamental domains: dihedral, cyclic, tetrahedral, octahedral, and icosahedral symmetry. This article lists the groups by Schoenflies notation, Coxeter notation, [1] orbifold notation, [2] and order.
In geometry, a point group is a mathematical group of symmetry operations (isometries in a Euclidean space) that have a fixed point in common. The coordinate origin of the Euclidean space is conventionally taken to be a fixed point, and every point group in dimension d is then a subgroup of the orthogonal group O(d).
Each crystallographic point group defines the (geometric) crystal class of the crystal. The point group of a crystal determines, among other things, the directional variation of physical properties that arise from its structure, including optical properties such as birefringency , or electro-optical features such as the Pockels effect .
The elements of this symmetry group should not be confused with the "symmetry element" itself. Loosely, a symmetry element is the geometric set of fixed points of a symmetry operation. For example, for rotation about an axis, the points on the axis do not move and in a reflection the points that remain unchanged make up a plane of symmetry.
This article summarizes the classes of discrete symmetry groups of the Euclidean plane. The symmetry groups are named here by three naming schemes: International notation, orbifold notation, and Coxeter notation. There are three kinds of symmetry groups of the plane: 2 families of rosette groups – 2D point groups; 7 frieze groups – 2D line ...