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Symmetries.
(49b)
What does it mean ?
Consider a group composed by four elements ( a "discrete group" ).
(50)
that I can write :
(51)
The corresponding action is :
(52)
Clearly it may reverse the x coordinate, the y coordinate, or the two.
Schematically :
(53)
(54)
(55)
(56)
Now we may build the matrix :
(57)
We can check such set of matrixes form a group.
Their determinant is :
(58)
det ( a ) = l m ( cos 2 a + sin 2 a ) = l m = ±1
Check the inverse matrix is :
(59)
(60)
(61) So that :
(62)
whence :
(63)
...SO(2) (called special orthogonal group) is a sub-group of O(2) (called orthogonal group) and we may form the matrixes **a **from the matrixes a through :
(64)
By the way, many are redundant. For an example, if
(64b)
(65)
which means that changing ( x ---> - ; y ---> -y ) is equivalent to a rotation of p . See next figure.
(66)
We know that matrixes :
(67)
correspond to a simple rotation around the center of coordinates O.
What is the meaning of more general matrixes :
(68)
From :
(69)
we know that a corresponds to two combined operations :
- A symmetry with respect to axis OX , or OY , or both.
- A rotation a around the center of coordinates.
(70)
On the figure is shown the succession of the two operations
( M1 ----> M4 )
It is clear that it is equivalent to a symmetry with respect to a straight line passing by O
(71)
...We have enriched the "special orthogonal group " SO(2) which began the "orthogonal group" O(2). Then we discovers that this extended group contains mirror-symmetries : all the symmetries with respect to straight lines passing by the origin of coordinates O.
(72)
