Line Groups in Physics: Theory and Applications to Nanotubes and Polymers

This volume gives a detailed and up-to-date overview of the line groups, the groups that describe the symmetry of quasi-one dimensional crystals. Nanotubes, nanowires, nanosprings, nanorods, and polymers are examples remarkable enough to have kept nanoscience as a leading field within material science and solid state physics for more than fifteen years now. The authors present the mathematical foundations, including classifications of the line groups, quasi one-dimensional crystals and quantum numbers, together with important applications. Extensive illustrations related to the physics of nanotubes make the book essential reading in this field above all. The book clearly demonstrates how symmetry is a most profound property of nature and contains valuable results that are published here for the first time.