Chapter 4

Symmetry

A “symmetry” of a plane figure I is an isometry that fixes I= If I is an equi-

lateral triangle with centroid F, for example, there are six symmetries of I> one
of which is the rotation F>120 = In this chapter we observe that the set of sym-
metries of a given plane figure is a “group” under composition. The structure
of these groups, called symmetry groups, encodes information pertaining to the
“symmetry types” of plane figures. But unfortunately, geometrical information
is often lost in the group structure. For example, a butterfly has line symmetry
but no point symmetry whereas a yin-yang symbol has point symmetry but no
line symmetry. Yet their symmetry groups, which contain very dierent symme-
tries, are isomorphic since both groups are cyclic of order two. Thus symmetry
groups are an imperfect invariant, i.e., we cannot recover all symmetries of a
plane figure from the structure of its symmetry group. Nevertheless, we can be
sure that two plane figures with non-isomorphic symmetry groups have dierent
symmetry types. Equivalently, two plane figures with the same symmetry type
have isomorphic symmetry groups.
The Classification Theorem of Plane Isometries (Theorem 125) assures us
that symmetries are always reflections, translations, rotations or glide reflec-
tions. Consequently, we can systematically identify all symmetries of a given
plane figure. Now if we restrict our attention to those plane figures with “fi-
nitely generated” symmetry groups, there are exactly five classes of symmetry
types: (1) asymmetrical patterns, (2) patterns with only bilateral symmetry,
(3) rosettes, (4) frieze patterns and (5) wallpaper patterns. Quite surprisingly,
there are exactly seven symmetry types of frieze patterns and seventeen symme-
try types of wallpaper patterns. Although there are infinitely many symmetry
types of rosettes, their symmetry is simple and easy to understand. Further-
more, it is interesting to note that two rosettes with dierent symmetries have
non-isomorphic symmetry groups. So for rosettes, the symmetry group is a
perfect invariant. We begin our discussion with what little group theory we
need.

83
84 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

4.1 Groups of Isometries

In this section we introduce the group of isometries I and some of its subgroups.

Definition 127 A non-empty set J equipped with a binary operation  is a

group if and only if the following properties are satisfied:

1. Closure: If d> e 5 J> then d  e 5 J=

2. Associativity: If d> e> f 5 J> then d  (e  f) = (d  e)  f=
3. Identity: For all d 5 J> there exists an element h 5 J such that h  d =
d  h = d=
4. Inverses: For each d 5 J> there exists e 5 J such that d  e = e  d = h=

A group J is abelian (or commutative) if and only if for all d> e 5 J> d  e =
e  d=

Theorem 128 The set I of all isometries is a group under function composi-
tion.

Proof. The work has already been done. Closure was proved in Exercise
1.1.3; the fact that composition of isometries is associative is a special case of
Exercise 1.1.4; the fact that  acts as an identity element in I was proved in
Exercise 1.1.5; and the existence of inverses was proved in Exercise 1.1.7.
Since two halfturns with distinct centers of rotation do not commute and
halfturns are elements of I, the group I is non-abelian. On the other hand,
some subsets of I (the translations for example) contain commuting elements.
When such a subset is a group in its own right, it is abelian.

Definition 129 Let (J> ) be a group and let K be a non-empty subset of J.

Then K is a subgroup of J if and only if (K> ) is a group, i.e., K is a group
under the operation inherited from J=

Given a non-empty subset K of a group J> is K itself a group under the

operation in J? One could appeal to the definition and check all four properties,
but it is su!cient to check just two.

Theorem 130 Let (J> ) be a group and let K be a non-empty subset of J.

Then K is a subgroup of J if and only if the following two properties hold:
a. Closure: If d> e 5 K> then d  e 5 K=
b. Inverses: For every d 5 K> there exists e 5 K such that d  e = e  d = h=

Proof. If K is a subgroup of J, properties (a) and (b) hold by definition.

Conversely, suppose that K is a non-empty subset of J in which properties
(a) and (b) hold. Associativity is inherited from J> i.e., if d> e> f 5 K> then as
elements of J> d  (e  f) = (d  e)  f. Identity: Since K 6= B> choose an element
4.2. GROUPS OF SYMMETRIES 85

d 5 K= Then d1 5 K since K has inverses by property (b)= Furthermore,

operation  is closed in K by property (a) so that d  d1 5 K= But d  d1 = h
since d and d1 are elements of J> so h 5 K as required. Therefore K is a
subgroup of J=
Proposition 131 The set T of all translations is an abelian group.
Proof. Closure and commutativity follow from Proposition 33; the existence
of inverses was proved in Exercise 7. Therefore T is an abelian subgroup of I
by Theorem 130, and consequently T is an abelian group.
Proposition 132 The set RF of all rotations about a point F is an abelian
group.
Proof. The proof is left as an exercise for the reader.

Exercises
1. Prove that the set RF of all rotations about a point F is an abelian group.

2. Prove that the set E of all even isometries is a non-abelian group.

3. Prove that the set D of all dilatations is a non-abelian group.

4.2 Groups of Symmetries

In this section we observe that the set of symmetries of a given plane figure I is
a group, called the symmetry group of I= Consequently, symmetry groups are
always subgroups of I (the group of all isometries).
Definition 133 A plane figure is a non-empty subset of the plane.
Definition 134 Let I be a plane figure. An isometry  is a symmetry of I if
and only if  fixes I=
Theorem 135 Let I be a plane figure. The set of all symmetries of I is a
group, called the symmetry group of I=
Proof. Let I be a plane figure and let S = { :  is a symmetry of I }=
Since the identity  5 S, the set S is a non-empty subset of I=
Closure: Let >  5 S= By Exercise 1.1.3, the composition of isometries is an
isometry. So it su!ces to check that    fixes I= But since >  5 S we have
(  ) (I ) =  ( (I )) =  (I ) = I=
Inverses: Let  5 S; we know that 1 5 I by¡ Exercise¢ 1.1.7; we must show
that 1 fixes I= But 1 (I ) = 1 ( (I )) = 1   (I ) = I so that 1
also fixes I . Thus 1 5 S whenever  5 S.
Therefore S is a group by Theorem 130.
86 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

Example 136 (The Dihedral Group G3 ) Let I denote an equilateral triangle

positioned with its centroid at the origin and one vertex on the |-axis. There
are exactly six symmetries of I , namely, the identity > two rotations 120 and
240 about the centroid, and
s three reflections  c >  p s
and  q where c> p and q
have respective equations 3{  3| = 0; { = 0; and 3{ + 3| = 0 (see Figure
4.1)=

Figure 4.1: Lines of symmetry c> p and q=

The multiplication table for composing these various symmetries appears in

Table 4.1 below. Closure holds by inspection. Furthermore, since each row and
column contains the identity element  in exactly one position, each element has
a unique inverse. By Theorem 130 these six symmetries form a group G3 called
the Dihedral Group of order 6.

  120 240 c p q
  120 240 c p q
120 120 240  p q c
240 240  120 q c p
c c q p  240 120
p p c q 120  240
q q p c 240 120 

Table 4.1: The Dihedral Group of Order 6

Look carefully at the upper left 4 × 4 block in Table 4.1 above. This is
the multiplication table for the rotations {> 120 > 240 }  G3 (the identity is
a rotation through angle 0); we shall denote this set by F3 = Once again we see
that composition is closed in F3 and the inverse of each element in F3 is also in
F3 = Therefore F3 is a group; the symbol “F3 ” stands for “cyclic group of order
3”.
4.2. GROUPS OF SYMMETRIES 87

Definition 137 A plane figure I has point symmetry if and only if some (non-
identity) rotation is a symmetry of I= The center of a (non-identity) rotational
symmetry of I is called a point of symmetry for I=

Definition 138 A plane figure I has line symmetry if and only if some reflec-
tion is a symmetry of I= The reflecting line of a reflection symmetry of I is
called a line of symmetry for I=

Definition 139 A plane figure I has bilateral symmetry if and only if I has
a unique line of symmetry and no points of symmetry.

Corollary 140 The two symmetries of a figure with bilateral symmetry form
a group denoted by G1 = The four symmetries of a non-square rhombus form a
group denoted by G2 = For q  3> the 2q symmetries of a regular q-gon form a
group denoted by Gq =

Proof. A plane figure with bilateral symmetry has one line of symmetry
and one rotational symmetry (the identity). A non-square rhombus has two
lines of symmetry and two rotational symmetries about the centroid (including
the identity). If q  3> a regular q-gon has q lines of symmetry and q rota-
tional symmetries about the centroid (including the identity). These sets of
symmetries form groups by Theorem 135.

Definition 141 For q  1> the group Gq is called the dihedral group of order 2q.

Definition 142 Let J be a group, let d 5 J, and define d0 = = The group J is

cyclic if and only if for all d 5 J> there is an element j 5 J (called a generator)
such that d = j n for some n 5 Z . A cyclic group with q ? 4 elements is said
to be cyclic of order q= A cyclic group J with infinitely many elements is said
to be infinite cyclic.

Example 143 Observe that the elements of F3 = {> 120 > 240 } can be ob-
tained as powers of either 120 or 240 . For example,

120 = 1120 ; 240 = 2120 ; and  = 120  240 = 3120 =

We say that 120 and 240 “generate” F3 = Also observe that this 4 × 4 block is
symmetric with respect to the upper-left-to-lower-right diagonal. This indicates
that F3 is an abelian group. More generally, let F be a point, let q be a positive
integer and let  = 360q = Then for each integer n, F> = F>n and F> =
n q

F>360 = = Therefore the group of rotations generated by F> is cyclic with q

elements and is denoted by Fq =

If F is the centroid of a regular q-gon with q  3, the finite cyclic group

of rotations Fq introduced in Example 143 is the abelian subgroup of rotations
in Gq = On the other hand, Fq can be realized as the symmetry group of a
3q-gon constructed as follows: For q = 4> cut a square out of paper and draw
its diagonals, thereby subdividing the square into four congruent isosceles right
88 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

triangles with common vertex at the centroid of the square. From each of the
four vertices, cut along the diagonals stopping midway between the vertices
and the centroid. With the square positioned so that its edges are vertical or
horizontal, fold the triangle at the top so that its right-hand vertex aligns with
the centroid of the square. Rotate the paper 90 and fold the triangle now at
the top in a similar way. Continue rotating and folding until you have what
looks like a flattened pinwheel with four paddles (see Figure 4.2). The outline
of this flattened pinwheel is a dodecagon (12-gon) whose symmetry group is F4
generated by either 90 or 270 = For a general q> one can construct a 3q-gon
whose symmetry group is cyclic of order q by cutting and folding a regular
q-gon in a similar way to obtain a pinwheel with q paddles.

Cut along the dotted lines Fold along the dotted lines
Figure 4.2: A polygon whose symmetry group is cyclic of order 4.

Example 144 Let  be a non-identity translation; let S be any point and

let T =  (S ) = Then  =  PQ and  2 =  PQ   PQ =  2PQ = Inductively,
 q =  q1   =  (q1)PQ   PQ =  qPQ > for each q 5 N= Furthermore,
1 1
( q ) = ( qPQ ) =  qPQ =  q , so distinct integer powers of  are dis-
tinct translations. It follows that the set J = { q : q 5 Z} is infinite. Note that
J is a group: inverses were discussed above and closure follows from the fact
that  q   p =  q+p = Since every element of J is an integer power of  (or
 1 )> J is the infinite cyclic group generated by  (or  1 ).
Let J be a group and let N be a non-empty subset of J= The symbol hNi
denotes the set of all (finite) products of powers of elements of N and their
inverses. If N = {n1 > n2 > = = =} > we abbreviate and write hn1 > n2 > = = =i instead of
h{n1 > n2 > = = =}i = Thus hNi is automatically a subgroup of J since it is non-empty,
the group operation is closed and contains the inverse of each element in hNi.
Definition 145 Let J be a group and let N be a non-empty subset of J= The
subgroup hNi is referred to as the subgroup of J generated by N= A subset N 
J is said to be a generating set for J if and only if J = hNi = A group J is
finitely generated if and only if there exists a finite set N such that J = hNi.
4.2. GROUPS OF SYMMETRIES 89

Example 146 A cyclic group J with generator j 5 J has the property that
J = hji = So {j} is a generating set for J=

Example 147 Let  be a non-identity translation= Then h i is infinite cyclic

since  q 6=  for all q =
6 0 (see Example 144).

Example 148 Let N be the set of all reflections. Since every reflection is
its own inverse, hNi consists of all (finite) products of reflections. By The
Fundamental Theorem of Transformational Plane Geometry every isometry of
the plane is a product of reflections. Therefore hNi = I , i.e., the group of all
isometries, is infinitely generated by the set N of all reflections.

Example 149 Let K denote the set of all halfturns. Since the composition of
two halfturns is a translation, the composition of two translations is a trans-
lation, and every translation can be written as a composition of two halfturns,
H = hKi is infinitely generated and is exactly the set of all translations and
halfturns.

Exercises
1. Recall that the six symmetries of an equilateral triangle form the dihedral
group G3 (see Example 136). Show that the set N = {120 >  c } is a
generating set for G3 by writing each of the other four elements in G3
as a product of powers of elements of N and their inverses. Compute
all powers of each element in G3 and show that no single element alone
generates G3 = Thus G3 is not cyclic.

2. The dihedral group G4 consists of the eight symmetries of a square. When

the square is positioned with its centroid at the origin and its vertices on
the axes, the origin is a point of symmetry and the lines d : \ = 0>
e : \ = [> f : [ = 0 and g : \ = [ are lines of symmetry. Construct a
multiplication table for G4 = {> 90 > 180 > 270 >  d >  e >  f >  g } =

3. Find the symmetry group of

a. A parallelogram that is neither a rectangle nor a rhombus.
b. A rhombus that is not a square.

4. Find the symmetry group of each capital letter of the alphabet written in
its most symmetric form.

5. Determine the symmetry group of each figure below:

90 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

6. The discussion following Example 143 describes how to construct a 3q-

gon whose symmetry group is Fq > where q  3= Alter this construction to
obtain a 2q-gon whose symmetry group is Fq =
®
7. Let F be a point. For which rotation angles  is F> an infinite group?

4.3 The Rosette Groups

Definition 150 A rosette is a plane figure U with the following properties:
1. There exists a non-identity rotational symmetry of U with minimal posi-
tive rotation angle , i.e., if F> is any non-identity rotational symmetry
of U then 0 ?    =
2. All non-identity rotational symmetries of U have the same center F=
The symmetry group of a rosette is called a rosette group.

Typically one thinks of a rosette as a pin-wheel (see Figures 4.2) or a flower

with q-petals (See Figure 4.3). However, a regular polygon, a non-square rhom-
4.3. THE ROSETTE GROUPS 91

bus, a yin-yang symbol and a pair of perpendicular lines are rosettes as well.

Figure 4.3: A typical rosette.

In the early sixteenth century, Leonardo da Vinci determined all possible

finite groups of isometries; all but two of which are rosette groups. The two
exceptions are F1 > which contains only the identity, and G1 > which contains the
identity and one reflection. Note that G1 is isomorphic to the rosette group F2 >
which contains the identity and one halfturn.

Theorem 151 (Leonardo’s Theorem): Every finite group of isometries is

either Fq or Gq for some q  1=

Proof. Let J be a finite group of isometries. Then J contains only rota-

tions and reflections since non-identity translations and glide reflections would
generate infinite subgroups.
Case 1: Suppose that J contains only rotations. If J = {}, then J = F1
and the result holds. So assume that J contains a non-identity rotation F> =
I claim that every non-identity rotation in J has center F= Suppose, on the
contrary, that J contains another non-identity rotation E> with E 6= F= Let
F 0 = E> (F); then F 0 6= F since F is not a fixed point. Conjugating F>
by E> gives E>  F>  1 E> = F 0 > > which is an element of J by clo-
1
sure. Furthermore, F 0 >  F> = F 0 >  F> 5 J> again by closure. But
 + () 5 0 so F 0 >  F> is a non-identity translation by the Angle Addi-
tion Theorem (121), contradicting the fact that J contains no translations. So
every non-identity rotation in J has center F. To prove that J is cyclic recall
that every congruence class of angles  has a unique class representative in the
range 0  ? 360= Write each element in J uniquely in the form F> with
0  ? 360. Since J is finite, there is a rotation F> in J with the smallest
positive rotation angle = Thus if F> 5 J> then  ? 360 by the minimal-
ity of > and there is a positive integer q such that q   (q + 1) = Thus
0   q  = Now if both of these inequalities were strict,  q would
be a positive rotation angle strictly less than > which violates the minimality
of = Therefore = q or = (q + 1) > i.e., = n for some integer n=
92 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

Consequently, F> = nF> and J is cyclic.

Case 2: Suppose that J contains reflections. Let H be the subset of rotations in
J and let I = { 1 >  2 > = = = >  p } > p  1> be the subset of reflections in J. Since
H is a subgroup of the rotation group RF (see Proposition 132), H = Fq for
some q  1 by Case 1 above and is generated by some rotation  = F> > i.e.,
© ª
H = > 2 > = = ©= > q = I claim p = q= Choose
ª a reflection  5 I and note that the
subset H =   >   2 > = = = >   q  J contains q distinct odd isometries,
which must be reflections since J has no glide reflections. Therefore H  I and
q  p= On the other hand, the subset I = {   1 >   2 > = = = >   p }  J
contains p distinct even isometries, which must be rotations since J has no
translations. Therefore I  H and p  q= Thus p = q and J = h> i con-
tains exactly q rotations and q reflections. If q = 1> then J = hi = G1 = But
if q A 1>then H = I= So for each integer l> there is some integer n such that
l = nF> =Hence the axis of  l passes through F and all lines of symmetry are
concurrent at F= Therefore J = Gq =
An immediate consequence of Leonardo’s Theorem is the following:

Corollary 152 The rosette groups are either dihedral Gq or finite cyclic Fq
with q  2.

While the notion of “symmetry type” is quite subtle for general plane figures,
we can make the idea precise for rosettes. Let U1 and U2 be rosettes with the
same minimal positive rotation angle  and respective centers D and E= Let
 =  AB ; then   D>   1 =  (D)> = E> and there is an isomorphism of
® ®
cyclic groups i : D> $ E> given by i () =   1 = If U1 and U2 have
no lines symmetry, then i is an isomorphism of symmetry groups. On the other
hand, if the respective symmetry groups J1 and J2 have reflections  c 5 J1
and p 5 J2 > the lines c and p are either intersecting or parallel. If parallel,
p =  (c) and    c   1 =  (c) =  p > in which case i () =      1 is an
isomorphism of symmetry groups. If c and p intersect and the directed angle
¡ ¢ ¡ ¢1
measure from c to p is  > then   D>  c    D> =  (  )(c) =  p
¡ ¢ ¡ ¢1 D>

and i () =   D>     D> is an isomorphism of symmetry groups=

Now if J is any group and j 5 J, the function k : J $ J defined by
k ({) = j{j 1 is an isomorphism, as the reader can easily check. In particular,
the map i defined above is the restriction to J1 of an isomorphism i : I $ I>
where I denotes the group of all plane isometries. We summarize this discussion
in the definitions that follows:

Definition 153 Let J be a group and let j 5 J= The isomorphism k : J $ J

defined by k ({) = j{j 1 is called an inner automorphism of J=

Definition 154 Let U1 and U2 be rosettes with respective symmetry groups J1

and J2 = Rosettes U1 and U2 have the same symmetry type if and only if there is
an an inner automorphism of I that restricts to an isomorphism i : J1 $ J2 =
4.3. THE ROSETTE GROUPS 93

Corollary 155 Two rosettes have the same symmetry type if and only if their
respective symmetry groups are isomorphic.

Exercises
1. Refer to Exercise 4 in Section 1 above. Which capital letters of the alpha-
bet written in most symmetry form are rosettes?

2. For q  2> the graph of the equation u = cos q in polar coordinates is a

rosette.
a. Find the rosette group of the graph for each q  2=
b. Explain why the graph of the equation u = cos  in polar coordinates
is not a rosette.

3. Find at least two rosettes in your campus architecture and determine their
rosette groups.

4. Identify the rosette groups of the figures in the following that are rosettes:

5. Identify the rosette groups of the following rosettes:

94 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

4.4 The Frieze Groups

Frieze patterns are typically the familiar decorative borders often seen on walls
or facades extended infinitely far in either direction (See Figure 4.4).

Figure 4.4: A typical frieze pattern.

In this section we identify all possible symmetries of frieze patterns and reach

the startling conclusion that every frieze pattern is one of seven distinctive
symmetry types.

Definition 156 Let  be a translation. The length of  , denoted by k k > is the

length of the vector of  =

Definition 157 A frieze pattern is a plane figure I with the following proper-
ties:

1. There exists a translational symmetry of I with minimal length, i.e., if

 0 is any non-identity translational symmetry of I> then 0 ? k k  k 0 k =

2. All non-identity translational symmetries of I fix the same lines.

4.4. THE FRIEZE GROUPS 95

The symmetry group of a frieze pattern is called a frieze group.

Consider an row of equally spaced letter R’s extending infinitely far in either
direction (see Figure 4.5)

Figure 4.5: Frieze pattern I1 =

This frieze pattern, denoted by I1 > has only translational symmetry. There are

two translational symmetries of minimal length (the distance between centroid

of consecutive R’s)–one shifting left; the other shifting right. Let  be a trans-
lational symmetry of shortest length; then  q 6=  for all q 6= 0 and the frieze
group of I1 is the infinite cyclic group F1 = h i = { q : q 5 Z} =
The second frieze pattern I2 has a glide reflection symmetry (see Figure 4.6).
Let  be a glide reflection such that  2 is a translational symmetry of shortest
length. Then  q 6=  for all q 6= 0 and  2 generates the translation subgroup.
The frieze group of I2 is the infinite cyclic group F2 = hi = { q : q 5 Z} =
Note that while the elements of F1 and F2 are very dierent, the two groups
are isomorphic.

Figure 4.6: Frieze pattern I2 =

The third frieze pattern I3 has vertical line symmetry (see Figure 4.7).
Let c be a line of symmetry. Choose a line p such that  =  p   c is a
translational symmetry of minimal length. Then p is also a line of symmetry
since  p =    c and the composition of symmetries is a symmetry (Theorem
135). In general, the reflection  q   c is a symmetry for each q 5 Z; these
reflections determine all lines of symmetry. The frieze group of I3 is F3 =
h >  c i = { q   p
c : q 5 Z; p = 0> 1} > which is the infinite dihedral group G4 =

Figure 4.7: Frieze pattern I3 =

96 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

Frieze pattern I4 has halfturn symmetry (see Figure 4.8). Let S be a point of
symmetry. Choose a point T such that  = *T  *S is a translational symmetry
of shortest length. Then T is also a point of symmetry since *T =   *S .
In general, the halfturn  q  *S is a symmetry for each q 5 Z; these halfturns
determine all points of symmetry. The frieze group of I4 is F4 = h > *S i =
{ q  *p
S : q 5 Z; p = 0> 1} =

Figure 4.8: Frieze pattern I4 =

The fifth frieze pattern I5 can be identified by its halfturn symmetry and
glide reflection symmetry (see Figure 4.9). In addition, I5 has vertical line
symmetry, but as we shall see, these symmetries can be obtained by composing
a glide reflection with a halfturn. Let S be a point of symmetry and let  be
a glide reflection such that  2 is a translational symmetry of shortest length.
Choose a point T such that  2 = *T  *S . Then T is also a point of symmetry
since *T =  2  *S . In general, the halfturn  2q  *S is a symmetry for
each q 5 Z; these halfturns determine all points of symmetry. Now the line
symmetries can be obtained from  and *S as follows: Let f be the horizontal
axis of > let d be the vertical line through S> and let c be the vertical line
such that  =  c   d   f = Then *S =  f   d so that   *S =  c and the
line symmetries are the reflections  2q   c with q 5 Z. The frieze group of I5
is F5 = h> *S i = { q  *pS : q 5 Z; p = 0> 1} = Note that F3 > F4 > and F5 are
isomorphic groups.

Figure 4.9: Frieze pattern I5 =

In Figure 4.10 we picture the frieze pattern I6 > which has a unique hor-
izontal line of symmetry f= Thus the frieze group of I6 is F6 = h >  f i =
{ q   p
f : q 5 Z; p = 0> 1} = The reader should check that F6 is abelian (see
Exercise 5). Consequently F6 is not isomorphic to groups F3 > F4 and F5 .
4.4. THE FRIEZE GROUPS 97

Figure 4.10: Frieze pattern I6 =

The final frieze group I7 has vertical line symmetry and a unique horizontal
line of symmetry f (see Figure 4.11). Let c be a vertical line of symmetry and
let  be a translational symmetry of shortest length. Then the vertical line
symmetries are the reflections  q   c with q 5 Z and the point S = f _ c is a
point of symmetry since *S =  f   c . Thus the halfturn symmetries are the
halfturns
© q  q  *S with q 5 Z. The ª frieze group of I7 is F7 = h >  f >  c i =
  f   nc : q 5 Z; p> q = 0> 1 =
p

Figure 4.11: Frieze pattern I7 =

We collect the observations above as a theorem, however the proof that this
list exhausts all possibilities is omitted:

Theorem 158 Every frieze group is one of the following:

F1 = h i F2 = hi
F3 = h >  c i F4 = h > *S i F5 = h> *S i
F6 = h >  f i
F7 = h >  f > c i

where  is a translation of shortest length,  is a glide reflection such that

 2 =  , c is a vertical line of symmetry, S is a point of symmetry and f is the
unique horizontal line of symmetry.

The following flowchart can be used to identify the frieze group associated
with a particular frieze pattern:
98 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

Exercises
1. Find at least two friezes in your campus architecture and identify their
frieze groups.

2. Find the frieze group for the pattern in Figure 4.4.

3. Prove that frieze group F6 is abelian.

4.4. THE FRIEZE GROUPS 99

4. Identify the frieze groups for the following:

5. Identify the frieze groups of the following friezes taken from Theodore
Menten’s Japanese Border Designs in the Dover Pictorial Archive Series:
100 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

6. Identify the frieze groups for the following figures that are friezes:

4.5 The Wallpaper Groups

This section introduces the symmetry groups of wallpaper patterns and provides
the vocabulary and techniques necessary to identify them. We omit much of
the theoretical development and state the classification theorem without proof.
Definition 159 Two translations are independent if and only if their respective
glide vectors are linearly independent.
Definition 160 A wallpaper pattern is a plane figure Z with independent trans-
lational symmetries  1 and  2 satisfying the following property: Given any
translational symmetry  > there exist integers l and m such that  =  m2   l1 .
Translations  1 and  2 are called basic translations. The symmetry group of a
wallpaper pattern is called a wallpaper group.
4.5. THE WALLPAPER GROUPS 101

Thus h 1 >  2 i is the subgroup of translational symmetries in the wallpaper group

of Z .

Figure 4.12: A typical wallpaper pattern.

Definition 161 Let Z be a wallpaper pattern with basic translations  1 and

 2 . Given any point D, let E =  1 (D) > F =  2 (E) > and G =  2 (D) = The
unit cell of Z with respect to D,  1 and  2 is the plane region bounded by par-
allelogram ¤DEFG. The translation lattice of Z determined by D is the set of
points { ( q2   p
1 ) (D)| p> q 5 Z} ; this lattice is square, rectangular, or rhombic
if and only if the unit cell of Z with respect to D,  1 and  2 is square, rectan-
gular or rhombic.

W
W
Figure 4.13: A typical translation lattice and unit cell.

Definition 162 Let Z be a wallpaper pattern. A point S is an q-center of Z

if and only if the group of rotational symmetries of Z centered at S is Fq with
q A 1.
Theorem 163 The symmetries of a wallpaper pattern fix the set of q-centers,
i.e., if S is an q-center of Z and  is a symmetry of Z> then  (S ) is an
q-center of Z=
102 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

Proof. Let Z be a wallpaper pattern with symmetry group W and let be

S an q-center of Z= Since Fq is the subgroup of rotational symmetries with
center S> there is a smallest positive real number  such that qS> = . Now
if  5 W and T =  (S ) > then   S>  1 = T>± 5 W by closure and
¡ ¢q
qT>± =   S>  1 =   qS>  1 = = But T> 5 W if and only if
T> 5 W so qT> = . Thus T is an p-center for some p  q= By the same
¡ ¢ ¡ ¢1
reasoning, 1  T>  1 = S>± 5 W implies that p
S> = , in which
case S is an q-center with q  p= Therefore p = q and T is an q-center as
claimed.
Two q-centers in a wallpaper patterns cannot be arbitrarily close to one
another.

Theorem 164 Let Z be a wallpaper pattern and let  be a translational symme-

try of shortest length. If D and E are distinct q-centers of Z , then DE  12 k k =

Proof. Let q A 1 and consider distinct q-centers D and E= Then D>360@q

and E>360@q are elements of the wallpaper group W= By closure and the Angle
Addition Theorem, E>360@q D>360@q is a non-identity translation in W= Since
every translation in W is generated by two basic translations  1 and  2 , there
exist integers l and m> not both zero, such that E>360@q  D>360@q =  m2   l1 >
or equivalently,
E>360@q =  m2   l1  D>360@q =
Consider the point Dlm in the translation lattice determined by D given by
³ ´ ³ ´³ ´
Dlm =  m2   l1 (D) =  m2   l1 D>360@q (D) = E>360@q (D) =

Note that Dlm 6= D since l and m are not both zero. Thus DDlm  k k = Now
if q = 2> Dlm = *E (D) ; and if q A 2> 4DEDlm is isosceles. In either case,
DE = EDlm = But DE + EDlm  DDlm by the triangle inequality so it follows
that 2DE  k k =
The next theorem, which was first proved by the Englishman W. Barlow
in the late 1800’s, is quite surprising. It tells us that wallpaper patterns can-
not have 5-centers; consequently, crystalline structures cannot have pentagonal
symmetry.

Theorem 165 (The Crystallographic Restriction) If S is an q-center of a wall-

paper pattern Z , then q 5 {2> 3> 4> 6} =

Proof. Let S be an q-center of Z and let  be a translation of shortest

length. We begin with an indirect argument that allows us to choose an q-
center T 6= S whose distance from S is a minimum. Suppose that no such T
exists. Then there is an infinite sequence of q-centers {Tn } such that S T1 A
S T2 A · · · = By Theorem 164, S Tn  12 k k for all n so that {S Tn } is a strictly
decreasing sequence of positive numbers converging to P  12 k k > i.e., given
4.5. THE WALLPAPER GROUPS 103

 A 0> there is a positive integer Q such that if n A Q then P ? S Tn ?

P + = But this means that infinitely many q-centers Tn lie within  of the
circle centered at S of radius P> which is impossible since Tl Tm  12 k k for
all l> m= So choose an q-center T whose distance from S is a minimum and
let U = T>360@q (S ) = By Theorem 163, U is an q-center and S T = TU= Let
V = U>360@q (T) ; then V is an q-center and UT = UV= If V = S> then 4S TU
is equilateral in which case the rotation angle is 60 and q = 6= If V 6= S> then
by the choice of T> VS  S T = TU = UV in which case the rotation angle is
at least 90 and q  4= Therefore q is one of 2> 3> 4> or 6.

Corollary 166 A wallpaper pattern with a 4-center has no 3 or 6-centers.

Proof. If S is a 3-center and T is a 4-center of a wallpaper pattern Z , the

corresponding wallpaper group W contains the rotations S>120 and T>90 . By
closure, W also contains the 30 rotation S>120  T>90 > which generates F12 =
Therefore there is an q-center of Z with q  12= But this contradicts Theorem
165. Similarly, if T is a 4-center and U is a 6-center of Z , there is also an
q-center of Z with q  12 since U>60  T>90 is a 30 rotation.
In addition to translational symmetry, wallpaper patterns can have line sym-
metry, glide reflection symmetry, and 180 > 120 > 90 or 60 rotational symme-
try. Since the only rotational symmetries in a frieze group are halfturns, it is not
surprising to find more wallpaper groups than frieze groups. We shall identify
seventeen distinct wallpaper groups but we omit the proof that every wallpaper
group is one of these seventeen. Throughout this discussion, Z denotes a wall-
paper pattern. We use the international standard notation to denote the various
wallpaper groups. Each symbol is a string of letters and integers selected from
s> f> p> j and 1> 2> 3> 4> 6= The letter s stands for sulplwlyh wudqvodwlrq odwwlfh.
The points in a primitive translation lattice are the vertices of parallelograms
with no interior points of symmetry. When a point of symmetry lies at the
center of some unit cell, we use the letter f. The letter p stands for pluuru
and indicates lines of symmetry; the letter j indicates glide reflection symmetry.
Integers indicate the maximum order of the rotational symmetries of Z=
There are four symmetry types of wallpaper patterns with no q-centers.
These are analyzed as follows: If Z has no line symmetry or glide reflection
symmetry, the corresponding wallpaper group consists only of translations and
is denoted by s1= If Z has glide reflection symmetry but no lines of symmetry,
the corresponding wallpaper group is denoted by sj. There are two ways that
both line symmetry and glide reflection symmetry can appear in Z : (1) the
axis of some glide reflection symmetry is not a line of symmetry and (2) the
axis of every glide reflection symmetry is a line of symmetry. The corresponding
wallpaper groups are denoted by fp and sp> respectively.
There are five symmetry types whose q-centers are all 2-centers. If Z has
neither lines of symmetry nor glide reflection symmetries, the corresponding
wallpaper group is denoted by s2= If Z has no line symmetry but has glide
reflection symmetry, the corresponding group is denoted by sjj. If Z has
104 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

parallel lines of symmetry, the corresponding group is denoted by spj= If Z

has lines of symmetry in two directions, there are two ways to configure them
relative to the 2-centers in Z : (1) all 2-centers lie on a line of symmetry and (2)
not all 2-centers lie on a line of symmetry. The corresponding wallpaper groups
are denoted by spp and fpp> respectively.
Three wallpaper patterns have q-centers whose smallest rotation angle is
90 = Those with no lines of symmetry have wallpaper group s4= Those with
lines of symmetry in four directions have wallpaper group s4p; other patterns
with lines of symmetry have wallpaper group s4j=
Three symmetry types have q-centers whose smallest rotation angle is 120 =
Those with no lines of symmetry have wallpaper group s3= Those whose 3-
centers lie on lines of symmetry have wallpaper group s3p1; those with some
3-centers o lines of symmetry have wallpaper group s31p=
Finally, two symmetry types have q-centers whose smallest rotation angle is
60 = Those with line symmetry have wallpaper group s6p; those with no line
symmetry have wallpaper group s6=
Theorem 167 Every wallpaper group is one of the following:
s1 s2 s4 s3 s6
fp fpp s4p s3p1 s6p
sp spp s4j s31p
sj spj
sjj

The following flowchart can be used to identify the wallpaper group associ-
ated with a particular wallpaper pattern:
4.5. THE WALLPAPER GROUPS 105
106 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

Example 168 Here are some wallpaper patterns from around the world. Try
your hand at identifying their respective wallpaper groups.

Exercises
1. Identify the wallpaper group for the pattern in Figure 4.12.
4.5. THE WALLPAPER GROUPS 107

2. Find at least two dierent wallpaper patterns on your campus and identify
their wallpaper groups.

3. Identify the wallpaper groups for the following patterns.

4. Prove that if D and E are distinct points of symmetry for a plane figure
I> the symmetry group of I contains a non-identity translation, and con-
sequently has infinite order. (Hint: Consider all possible combinations of
q and p such that D is an q-center and E is an p-center.)
108 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

5. Identify the wallpaper groups for the following patterns:

4.5. THE WALLPAPER GROUPS 109

6. Identify the wallpaper groups for the following patterns:

110 CHAPTER 4. SYMMETRY

7. Identify the wallpaper groups for the following patterns: