Hermann-Mauguin symmetry notations

These simple examples serve to show that instinctive ideas about symmetry are not going to get us very far. We must put symmetry classification on a much firmer footing if it is to be useful. In order to do this we need to define only five types of elements of symmetry - and one of these is almost trivial. In discussing these we refer only to the free molecule, realized in the gas phase at low pressure, and not, for example, to crystals which have additional elements of symmetry relating the positions of different molecules within the unit cell. We shall use, therefore, the Schdnflies notation rather than the Hermann-Mauguin notation favoured in crystallography. 

A rotoreflection is a coupled symmetry operation of a rotation and a reflection at a plane perpendicular to the axis. Rotoreflection axes are identical with inversion axes, but the multiplicities do not coincide if they are not divisible by 4 (Fig. 3.3). In the Hermann-Mauguin notation only inversion axes are used, and in the Schoenflies notation only rotoreflection axes are used, the symbol for the latter being SN. 

Schonflies notation is widely used to describe molecules or assemblages of atoms (polyhedron) such as the local environment of an atom. Thus, it is widely used to describe the symmetry of structural sites. It is a more compact notation but less complete than the Hermann-Mauguin notation. It consists generally of one capital letter, followed by one subscript number and one final letter. 

Two forms of symmetry notation are commonly used. As chemists, you will come across both. The Schoenflies notation is useful for describing the point symmetry of individual molecules and is used by spectroscopists. The Hermann-Mauguin notation can be used to describe the point symmetry of individual molecules but in addition can also describe the relationship of different molecules to one another in space—their so-called space-symmetry—and so is the form most commonly met in crystallography and the solid state. We give here the Schoenflies notation in parentheses after the Hermann-Mauguin notation. 

The Hermann-Mauguin notation for the description of point group symmetry (in contrast to the Schonflies system used in Chapter 6) is widely adopted in crystallography. An n-fold rotation axis is simply designated as n. An object is said to possess an n-fold inversion axis h if it can be brought into an equivalent configuration by a rotation of 360°/n in combination with inversion through a... 

Table 1-4 lists the point symmetry elements and the corresponding symmetry operations. The notation used by spectroscopists and chemists, and used here, is the so-called Schoenflies system, which deals only with point groups. Crystallographers generally use the Hermann-Mauguin system, which applies to both point and space groups. 

Table 7.8 The 32 Crystallographic Point Groups, Listed by Main Symmetry Axes or Plane, Using Both the Schoenflies Notation (S, e.g., C2v) and the Hermann-Mauguin or International Notation (HM, e.g., mm2)3...

The complete designation of the symmetry of a crystal requires the correct assignment of axes and identification of (he symmetry elements. There are a total of 32 different combinations of symmetry elements. Each of these has a unique Hermann-Mauguin notation or point group and is called a crystal class. The 32 crystal classes can be divided into six crystal systems. We will (ry to give you an appreciation of point groups and crystal classes, but our main emphasis will be on the more general crystal systems. 

Table 5.2 lists the Hermann-Mauguin notation for expressing the symmetry operators. Some combinations... 

TABLE 5.2 Symmetry Operators (Hermann-Mauguin Notation) ... 

For example, s5Tnmetry compact international rotation (notation Hermann-Mauguin) uses the combinations between the symmetry axes (noted with X=l, 2, 3, 4, 6) and reflections planes (noted with w , from the English word mirror ). Writing this compact symbols follow some simple conventions ... 

Further, some elements of crystalline stmctures will be presented and analyzed from symmetry operations transcriptions point of view in symmetry compact international (Hermann-Mauguin) notation. These compact S5mibols follow some simple writing conventions ... 

FIGURE 2.31 Symmetry operations and international (Hermann-Mauguin) notation determinations as for elasses 2/m2/m2/m (on left) and 2mm (on right), after Chiriac-Putz-Chiriae (2005). 

Understanding the symmetries features of crystals by their resumed notations (Schoenflies and intemational/Hermann-Mauguin) as well as by their specific habitus influencing their morphology (external shape) as paralleling the irmer planes and symmetries at the unit cell level ... 

Examples of simple crystallographic symmetry elements denoted in Hermann-Mauguin notation. 

The inversion notation has become standard for a number of good reasons. In the Hermann-Mauguin terminology, the center of symmetry is dropped and the inversion axes maintained. In the Schonflies terminology, the center of symmetry is a key element and all the mirror reflections and simple or inversion rotation axes are dropped and replaced by other symbols these are described in Section V, as they are important in relation to site symmetry, group theory, and Raman scattering. 

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