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1: Translational Symmetry

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    474737
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    Crystals consist of molecules or atoms that repeat regularly throughout real space. Regular repetition is translational periodicity. Therefore, translational periodicity in a crystal means that the electron density \(ρ(\textbf{r})\) at any point \(\textbf{r}\) follows the two equations:

    \[ρ(\textbf{r} + \textbf{T}) = ρ(\textbf{r}) \nonumber \]

    and

    \[∇ρ(\textbf{r} + \textbf{T}) = ∇ρ(\textbf{r}) \nonumber \]

    in which \(\textbf{T}\) represents a member of a lattice. Not only does the value of electron density repeat periodically but so also does its directional derivatives. In other words, for any specified point \(\textbf{r}\) in a crystal, a lattice locates all points \(\textbf{r} + \textbf{T}\) that have identical and identically oriented environments as point \(\textbf{r}\).

    • 1.1: Lattices
    • 1.2: The Lattice as a Group
      Each description of a lattice is a set that forms a mathematical group.
    • 1.3: Periodic Boundary Conditions
    • 1.4: Unit Cells with Rotational Symmetry
      Although any primitive unit cell of a crystalline structure contains all atoms needed to generate the entire structure by translational periodicity, the cell’s shape may not display the full rotational symmetry of the lattice. Since rotationally symmetric unit cells are useful for many applications, there are two important types of unit cells that account for both translational and rotational symmetry (1) Crystallographic unit cells and (2) Wigner-Seitz cells.


    This page titled 1: Translational Symmetry is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gordon J Miller via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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