Point reflectionIn geometry, a point reflection (also called a point inversion or central inversion) is an transformation of affine space in which every point is reflected across a specific fixed point. A point reflection is an involution: applying it twice is the identity transformation. It is equivalent to a homothetic transformation with scale factor −1. The point of inversion is also called homothetic center. An object that is invariant under a point reflection is said to possess point symmetry; if it is invariant under point reflection through its center, it is said to possess central symmetry or to be centrally symmetric.
Regular skew polyhedronIn geometry, the regular skew polyhedra are generalizations to the set of regular polyhedra which include the possibility of nonplanar faces or vertex figures. Coxeter looked at skew vertex figures which created new 4-dimensional regular polyhedra, and much later Branko Grünbaum looked at regular skew faces. Infinite regular skew polyhedra that span 3-space or higher are called regular skew apeirohedra. According to Coxeter, in 1926 John Flinders Petrie generalized the concept of regular skew polygons (nonplanar polygons) to regular skew polyhedra.
One-dimensional symmetry groupA one-dimensional symmetry group is a mathematical group that describes symmetries in one dimension (1D). A pattern in 1D can be represented as a function f(x) for, say, the color at position x. The only nontrivial point group in 1D is a simple reflection. It can be represented by the simplest Coxeter group, A1, [ ], or Coxeter-Dynkin diagram . Affine symmetry groups represent translation. Isometries which leave the function unchanged are translations x + a with a such that f(x + a) = f(x) and reflections a − x with a such that f(a − x) = f(x).
Goursat tetrahedronIn geometry, a Goursat tetrahedron is a tetrahedral fundamental domain of a Wythoff construction. Each tetrahedral face represents a reflection hyperplane on 3-dimensional surfaces: the 3-sphere, Euclidean 3-space, and hyperbolic 3-space. Coxeter named them after Édouard Goursat who first looked into these domains. It is an extension of the theory of Schwarz triangles for Wythoff constructions on the sphere. A Goursat tetrahedron can be represented graphically by a tetrahedral graph, which is in a dual configuration of the fundamental domain tetrahedron.
Polyhedral groupIn geometry, the polyhedral group is any of the symmetry groups of the Platonic solids. There are three polyhedral groups: The tetrahedral group of order 12, rotational symmetry group of the regular tetrahedron. It is isomorphic to A4. The conjugacy classes of T are: identity 4 × rotation by 120°, order 3, cw 4 × rotation by 120°, order 3, ccw 3 × rotation by 180°, order 2 The octahedral group of order 24, rotational symmetry group of the cube and the regular octahedron. It is isomorphic to S4.
Hyperoctahedral groupIn mathematics, a hyperoctahedral group is an important type of group that can be realized as the group of symmetries of a hypercube or of a cross-polytope. It was named by Alfred Young in 1930. Groups of this type are identified by a parameter n, the dimension of the hypercube. As a Coxeter group it is of type B_n = C_n, and as a Weyl group it is associated to the symplectic groups and with the orthogonal groups in odd dimensions. As a wreath product it is where S_n is the symmetric group of degree n.
Icosahedral symmetryIn mathematics, and especially in geometry, an object has icosahedral symmetry if it has the same symmetries as a regular icosahedron. Examples of other polyhedra with icosahedral symmetry include the regular dodecahedron (the dual of the icosahedron) and the rhombic triacontahedron. Every polyhedron with icosahedral symmetry has 60 rotational (or orientation-preserving) symmetries and 60 orientation-reversing symmetries (that combine a rotation and a reflection), for a total symmetry order of 120.
Orbifold notationIn geometry, orbifold notation (or orbifold signature) is a system, invented by the mathematician William Thurston and promoted by John Conway, for representing types of symmetry groups in two-dimensional spaces of constant curvature. The advantage of the notation is that it describes these groups in a way which indicates many of the groups' properties: in particular, it follows William Thurston in describing the orbifold obtained by taking the quotient of Euclidean space by the group under consideration.
Dihedral symmetry in three dimensionsIn geometry, dihedral symmetry in three dimensions is one of three infinite sequences of point groups in three dimensions which have a symmetry group that as an abstract group is a dihedral group Dihn (for n ≥ 2). There are 3 types of dihedral symmetry in three dimensions, each shown below in 3 notations: Schönflies notation, Coxeter notation, and orbifold notation. Chiral Dn, [n,2]+, (22n) of order 2n – dihedral symmetry or para-n-gonal group (abstract group: Dihn).
Point groups in two dimensionsIn geometry, a two-dimensional point group or rosette group is a group of geometric symmetries (isometries) that keep at least one point fixed in a plane. Every such group is a subgroup of the orthogonal group O(2), including O(2) itself. Its elements are rotations and reflections, and every such group containing only rotations is a subgroup of the special orthogonal group SO(2), including SO(2) itself. That group is isomorphic to R/Z and the first unitary group, U(1), a group also known as the circle group.
Infinite dihedral groupIn mathematics, the infinite dihedral group Dih∞ is an infinite group with properties analogous to those of the finite dihedral groups. In two-dimensional geometry, the infinite dihedral group represents the frieze group symmetry, p1m1, seen as an infinite set of parallel reflections along an axis. Every dihedral group is generated by a rotation r and a reflection; if the rotation is a rational multiple of a full rotation, then there is some integer n such that rn is the identity, and we have a finite dihedral group of order 2n.
Complex reflection groupIn mathematics, a complex reflection group is a finite group acting on a finite-dimensional complex vector space that is generated by complex reflections: non-trivial elements that fix a complex hyperplane pointwise. Complex reflection groups arise in the study of the invariant theory of polynomial rings. In the mid-20th century, they were completely classified in work of Shephard and Todd. Special cases include the symmetric group of permutations, the dihedral groups, and more generally all finite real reflection groups (the Coxeter groups or Weyl groups, including the symmetry groups of regular polyhedra).
DisphenoidIn geometry, a disphenoid () is a tetrahedron whose four faces are congruent acute-angled triangles. It can also be described as a tetrahedron in which every two edges that are opposite each other have equal lengths. Other names for the same shape are isotetrahedron, sphenoid, bisphenoid, isosceles tetrahedron, equifacial tetrahedron, almost regular tetrahedron, and tetramonohedron. All the solid angles and vertex figures of a disphenoid are the same, and the sum of the face angles at each vertex is equal to two right angles.
Coxeter–Dynkin diagramIn geometry, a Coxeter–Dynkin diagram (or Coxeter diagram, Coxeter graph) is a graph with numerically labeled edges (called branches) representing the spatial relations between a collection of mirrors (or reflecting hyperplanes). It describes a kaleidoscopic construction: each graph "node" represents a mirror (domain facet) and the label attached to a branch encodes the dihedral angle order between two mirrors (on a domain ridge), that is, the amount by which the angle between the reflective planes can be multiplied to get 180 degrees.
Point groups in three dimensionsIn geometry, a point group in three dimensions is an isometry group in three dimensions that leaves the origin fixed, or correspondingly, an isometry group of a sphere. It is a subgroup of the orthogonal group O(3), the group of all isometries that leave the origin fixed, or correspondingly, the group of orthogonal matrices. O(3) itself is a subgroup of the Euclidean group E(3) of all isometries. Symmetry groups of geometric objects are isometry groups. Accordingly, analysis of isometry groups is analysis of possible symmetries.
5-cubeIn five-dimensional geometry, a 5-cube is a name for a five-dimensional hypercube with 32 vertices, 80 edges, 80 square faces, 40 cubic cells, and 10 tesseract 4-faces. It is represented by Schläfli symbol {4,3,3,3} or {4,33}, constructed as 3 tesseracts, {4,3,3}, around each cubic ridge. It can be called a penteract, a portmanteau of the Greek word πέντε, for 'five' (dimensions), and the word tesseract (the 4-cube). It can also be called a regular deca-5-tope or decateron, being a 5-dimensional polytope constructed from 10 regular facets.
Space groupIn mathematics, physics and chemistry, a space group is the symmetry group of a repeating pattern in space, usually in three dimensions. The elements of a space group (its symmetry operations) are the rigid transformations of the pattern that leave it unchanged. In three dimensions, space groups are classified into 219 distinct types, or 230 types if chiral copies are considered distinct. Space groups are discrete cocompact groups of isometries of an oriented Euclidean space in any number of dimensions.
Complex polytopeIn geometry, a complex polytope is a generalization of a polytope in real space to an analogous structure in a complex Hilbert space, where each real dimension is accompanied by an imaginary one. A complex polytope may be understood as a collection of complex points, lines, planes, and so on, where every point is the junction of multiple lines, every line of multiple planes, and so on. Precise definitions exist only for the regular complex polytopes, which are configurations.
Wallpaper groupA wallpaper is a mathematical object covering a whole Euclidean plane by repeating a motif indefinitely, in manner that certain isometries keep the drawing unchanged. To a given wallpaper there corresponds a group of such congruent transformations, with function composition as the group operation. Thus, a wallpaper group (or plane symmetry group or plane crystallographic group) is in a mathematical classification of a two‐dimensional repetitive pattern, based on the symmetries in the pattern.
Petrie polygonIn geometry, a Petrie polygon for a regular polytope of n dimensions is a skew polygon in which every n – 1 consecutive sides (but no n) belongs to one of the facets. The Petrie polygon of a regular polygon is the regular polygon itself; that of a regular polyhedron is a skew polygon such that every two consecutive sides (but no three) belongs to one of the faces. Petrie polygons are named for mathematician John Flinders Petrie.
