Archive of posts on Nov 9, 2023
Rotational symmetry of plane lattices as a simple example of algebraic number theory
For a plane lattice, there is only a finite number of different rotational symmetries that are compatible with the discrete translational symmetry. For example, the 5-fold rotational symmetry is not one of them. Why is that? It turns out that whether an -fold symmetry is compatible with translational symmetry is the same as whether .
- Categories: math
- Tags: complex, condensed matter physics, algebraic number theory, lattice, mathematical physics