Lecture Notes on Symmetry (MTH204)

Amit Kulshrestha
[email protected]

January 21, 2025

2
Contents

1 Course logistics January 06, 2025 5

1 Thinking of symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 Symmetry in R2 and R3 January 08, 2025 9

1 What is symmetry? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 Symmetries of a rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3 Symmetries of an equilateral triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4 What is common between the two composition tables? . . . . . . . . . . 15

3 Groups: the storekeepers of symmetries January 10, 2025 17

1 Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2 Examples and non-examples of groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

4 Pinpointing symmetries in R2 January 13, 2025 21

1 Measuring distances and angles in R2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2 Tu and O2 (R) is all that it takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

5 Orthogonal matrices uphold bones of Rn January 15, 2025 25

1 Why should At = A−1 govern distance preserving? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2 Looking inside O2 (R) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3 Revisiting Theorem 4.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

6 Symmetries of regular polygons: Dn January 20, 2025 29

1 Symmetries of regular polygons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2 Infinite dihedral group: sym(P∞ ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

3
4
Lecture 1
Course logistics January 06, 2025

Course Hours

Lecture. Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:00 PM in LH-5.

Tutorials. Fridays at 3:00 PM in LH-5.

Office Hours. Timings to be declared, Venue: AB2-1F7.

Course TAs

1. Ayush Udeep : [email protected]

2. Pragya Belwal : [email protected]

3. Subrata Barman : [email protected]

4. Sandeep Dass : [email protected]

5. Khushi Mishra : [email protected]

Grading Policy

1. Mid semester exams : 2 x 20 = 40 points.

2. Reading Comprehensions and Quizzes : 10 points.

3. End semester exam : 1 x 40 = 40 points.

4. Attendance: 10 points
Every student starts with 10 points. Four unexcused absences are permissible
without a loss of point. From then onward every unexcused absence will attract a
penalty of 1 point per absence.

5
Syllabus

• Definition of symmetry in R2 and R3 .

• Symmetries of regular planar shapes and their types, composition tables of sym-
metries.

• Symmetries of tetrahedron and cube, relations between symmetries.

• Axioms of symmetries, groups and subgroups.

• Permutation groups and understanding symmetry through permutation groups,

permutation matrices.

• Rotation matrices and reflection matrices, matrix groups.

• Group actions, natural action of the group of symmetries.

• Platonic solids and their symmetries.

Suggested readings

• M. A. Armstrong, Groups and Symmetry, Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics,

Springer-Verlag, 1988.

• Michael Artin, Algebra, Prentice-Hall of India, 1994.

1.1. Thinking of symmetry

Some of the keywords that catch our visual attention while thinking of symmetry
are–reflection about a mirror, rotation about an axis, invariance under a transformation,
repetition, similarity. We will assign a precise meaning to symmetry in the next lecture.
In addition to a mathematical definition of symmetry, it is essential for us to learn how
to identify symmetry, how to keep track of multiple symmetries, and most importantly–
how to make calculations using symmetry. We will see that our existing understanding
of linear algebra and groups would be playing a pivotal role in accomplishing all this.
In the mean time, here is a food for thought. Should we say that the following picture
(Barnsley’s fern) possesses symmetry?

6
Barnsley’s Fern

7
8
Lecture 2
Symmetry in R2 and R3 January 08, 2025

Let us fix the following notation: R2 is the plane whose points are characterized by an
arbitrary choice of origin and x and y coordinates with respect to two non-parallel (and
non-antiparallel) directions. Similarly, R3 is the space whose points are characterized by
an arbitrary choice of origin and x, y and z coordinates with respect to three non-planar
directions. We denote the points of R2 and R3 by column vectors. Further, the directions
x, y, and z are be taken to be mutually perpendicular. For v, w ∈ R2 or R3 , the distance
between v and w will be denoted by d(v, w). We will assign more precise meaning to
distance in the next lecture.
A subset S of R2 will be called a planar shape and a subset of R3 will be called a spatial
shape.

2.1. What is symmetry?

While we make our definition for planar shapes, these hold for spatial shapes as well.
Let S ⊆ R2 be a planar shape. A map σ : R2 → R2 is called a symmetry of S if the
following hold for σ and S.

(i). σ is distance preserving. That is, for every v, w ∈ R2 we have d(σv, σw) = d(v, w).

(ii). σ(S) = S.

Let us see some examples.

1. (Identity). The identity map id : R2 → R2 that maps every v ∈ R2 to itself, is a

symmetry for every shape S.

2. (Translation). Let u ∈ R2 . The map Tu : R2 → R2 defined by Tu (v) := v + u is a

symmetry of S = R2 .

3. Let S 1 := {v ∈ R2 : d(v, 0) = 1}. This shape is unit circle. Let 0 ̸= u ∈ R2 . Is

Tu a symmetry of S 1 ? No. This is because the translation by a nonzero vector
displaces the circle and hence Tu (S 1 ) ̸= S 1 . Thus, the translation Tu , despite being
a distance preserving map, is not a symmetry of S 1 .

9
 A nontrivial translation Tu is not a symmetry for circle S 1

4. For n ∈ Z, define   
n
Sn1 := +v :v ∈S 1
0
 
n
Note that Sn1 is simply a translate of the unit circle S by u =1
∈ R2 .
0
[
1
Let S := S2n . Can you recognize this shape? It is infinite strip of circles
n∈Z
touching each other.

Infinite strip of circles touching each other.

 
2 2 2
Note that in this case, Tu : R → R , where u = , is a symmetry of S. Are
0
there other translations that are symmetries of S?

5. With the definition above, what are all symmetries of Barnsley’s fern? The only
symmetry is the identity map id : R2 → R2 .

Finally, let us make this important observation, which is an immediate consequence of

the definition of symmetry.

Remark 2.1 Let σ : R2 → R2 and τ : R2 → R2 be symmetries of a shape S. Then the

compositions στ : R2 → R2 and τ σ : R2 → R2 are also symmetries of S.

10
2.2. Symmetries of a rectangle

Now, we are going to observe symmetries in a rectangle and tabulate them. In the
rectangular figure below, we have marked X and Y axes, and the two diagonals d1 and
d2 .

We observe following symmetries in rectangle.

(i). The identity map id : R2 → R2 .

(ii). The flipping fX about X-axis. Observe that this flipping map fX : R2 → R2 is
defined by
   
a a
fX =
b −b

(iii). The flipping fY about Y -axis. This flipping map fY : R2 → R2 is defined by

   
a −a
fY =
b b

(iv). What about other symmetries of a rectangle? The composition map fX fY : R2 →

R2 is given by
   
a −a
fX fY =
b −b

This is actually the rotation map that rotates a point by the angle π (in anticlock-
wise direction). We denote it by rπ . What about fY fX ? We note that in this case
fY fX = fX fY = rπ . That the two symmetries fX and fY commute in this case is
incidental. In general the compositions στ and τ σ of two symmetries σ and τ
need not be equal.

(v). Let us try to observe more symmetries? What about flipping along a diagonal?

11
 Note that the flipping along diagonal d2 takes our (green) rectangle to another (red)
rectangle. Thus fd2 is not a symmetry, unless our rectangle is a square. Similarly,
flipping along the other diagonal is also not a symmetry of the rectangle.

(vi). What about composition fX rπ ? We note that

       
a −a −a a
fX rπ = fX = = fY
b −b b b

Hence fX rπ = fY , and the composition did not yield a new symmetry. Instead of
tracking coordinates to recognize symmetries we can just track the movement of
four vertices and conclude that fX rπ = fY .

A rectangle has only four symmetries: id, fX , fY , rπ . After a few lectures we will be able
to convince ourselves that there are no more symmetries of a rectangle . For notational

12
convenience, we denote id by 1 and consider the set of symmetries of the rectangle.

sym(R) := {1, fX , fY , rπ }

The following is the composition table of sym(R).

1 fX fY rπ
1 1 fX fY rπ
fX fX 1 rπ fY
fY fY rπ 1 fX
rπ rπ fY fX 1
The entries highlighted blue indicate that fX rπ = fY . Thus, in this composition table,
the header column signifies the symmetry operation to be performed first and the
header row signifies the symmetry operation to be performed next in order to get the
symmetry at corresponding entry in the composition table. Incidentally, in this table
we have ab = ba for every a, b ∈ sym(R). Hence, this composition table is commutative
or abelian.

2.3. Symmetries of an equilateral triangle

An equilateral triangle possesses the following symmetries.

(i). 1: the identity symmetry.

(ii). r2π/3 : rotation by the angle 2π/3 in anti-clockwise direction about the centre of the
triangle.

(iii). r4π/3 : rotation by 4π/3 in anti-clockwise direction about the centre of the triangle.

(iv). f1 , f2 , f3 : where fi denotes the flipping about median of the triangle passing
through vertex i, where i is as per the labeling in the initial configuration.

13
Thus, the set of symmetries of an equilateral triangle ∆ is

sym(∆) = {1, r2π/3 , r4π/3 , f1 , f2 , f3 }

You should confirm the following composition table of sym(∆).

1 r2π/3 r4π/3 f1 f2 f3
1 1 r2π/3 r4π/3 f1 f2 f3
r2π/3 r2π/3 r4π/3 1 f2 f3 f1
r4π/3 r4π/3 1 r2π/3 f3 f1 f2
f1 f1 f3 f2 1 r4π/3 r2π/3
f2 f2 f1 f3 r2π/3 1 r4π/3
f3 f3 f2 f1 r4π/3 r2π/3 1

Here, the entries highlighted blue signify the composition f2 f1 = r4π/3 . To see this, we
may go through the following sequence of transformations. In the figure below, the
initial configuration is labeled blue and the movement of vertices is tracked by the
labels colored red.

The six symmetric movements of an equilateral triangle and their relations can be read
through the following picture. It is a good task to read this picture together with the
composition table of sym(∆).

14
2.4. What is common between the two composition tables?

Recall that if a, b ∈ sym(R) then ab = ba. However, in contrast, there are a, b ∈ sym(∆)
such that ab ̸= ba. For example, f2 f1 = r2π/3 , but f1 f2 = r4π/3 . Despite this, the
composition tables for sym(R) and sym(∆) have the following common features.

(i). If a, b, c ∈ sym(·), then (ab)c = a(bc).

(ii). For every a ∈ sym(·), there is some a′ ∈ sym(·) such that aa′ = a′ a = 1.

You should verify these. In the next lecture, we will axiomatize these features to say
that symmetries of a shape form a group.

15
16
Lecture 3
Groups: the storekeepers of symmetries January 10, 2025

In the last lecture, we observed that the composition on the set of symmetries is
associative and that every symmetry comes equipped with an opposite symmetry.
These features will be axiomatized to the concept of groups. At this point, you are
encouraged to revise Lecture 18 (October 26, 2023) of your MTH101 (Basic Linear
Algebra) course.

3.1. Groups

A group consists of two mathematical objects — first one - a set X, and second one - a
binary operation ∗ : X × X → X that satisfies the following properties.

I. Associativity.
(a ∗ b) ∗ c = a ∗ (b ∗ c)
for every triplet a, b, c in X. Here, the notation a ∗ b stands for the image of
(a, b) ∈ X × X under the binary operation ∗.

II. Existence of a neutral element. There exists an element 1 ∈ X such that for every
a ∈ X,

a ∗ 1 = a,
and, 1∗a=a

III. Existence of inverse. For every a ∈ X, there exists a′ ∈ X such that

a ∗ a′ = 1,
and, a′ ∗ a = 1

For simplicity of notation, we write: ab := a∗b. A group (X, ∗) is said to be a commutative

group or an abelian group, if for every a, b ∈ X we have ab = ba. Can a group have two
distinct neutral elements, say 1 and 1′ ? No. The following computation clears this
point.
1 = 1 ∗ 1′ = 1′

17
Here the first equality holds because 1′ is a neutral element, and the second equality
holds because 1 is a neutral element. Thus, a group has unique neutral element.
The same question for inverses — Can an element a ∈ X have two distinct inverses a′ and
a′′ ? No, again, as the following computation shows.

a′ = a′ ∗ 1 = a′ ∗ (a ∗ a′′ ) = (a′ ∗ a) ∗ a′′ = 1 ∗ a′′ = a′′

We attribute

– first and last equalities to the fact that 1 is neutral element.

– the second equality to the fact that a′′ is inverse of a.

– the third equality to the associativity property of groups.

– the fourth equality to the fact that a′ is inverse of a.

Thus, uniqueness of neutral element and inverses is not a part of group axioms, but
rather a consequence of these. When the binary operation is clear from the context,
then we quietly drop ∗ from the notation (X, ∗) and say that X is a group.
Number of elements in X is called the order of the group X. Groups that have infinitely
many elements are called infinite groups.

3.2. Examples and non-examples of groups

1. First and the foremost, symmetry groups of shapes are examples of groups. Thus,
sym(R) is an abelian group of order four. Interestingly, in this group every element
is inverse of itself! That is, a = a′ for every a ∈ sym(R).
The group sym(∆) is a nonabelian group of order six. The three flippings f1 , f2
and f3 , and the neutral element 1 are their own inverses, and two rotations are
inverses of each other.
The group sym(R2 ) is an infinite nonabelian group. This group is nonabelian
because rotation and translation maps do not commute, in general. The inverse
of translation Tu is the translation T−u .

2. (Z, ∗). integers under the binary operation of multiplication do not form a group.
While the integer 1 is a neutral element for multiplication, there are elements in
Z, such as 0 and 2, that do not have inverse. In fact, no integer except ±1 has
multiplicative inverse within integers.

3. (Q, +). rational numbers under the binary operation of addition form a group.

4. Consider the set of clock hours: X := {12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}, and the binary
operation of addition of clock hours. Thus, 10 + 3 = 1, and 12 + 7 = 7 under this
binary operation. It forms a group, and the neural element is 12. The inverse of 8
is 4, and the inverse of 1 is 11.

18
 5. Consider the set X := {1, 3, 7, 9}. For a, b ∈ X, define a ∗ b to be the rightmost digit
in the usual multiplication of a and b. It is interesting to observe that it forms a
group! In this group, 1 is the neutral element, 3 and 7 are inverses of each other,
and 9 is its own inverse.
6. Consider a set X := {a, b, c} and put a binary operation on it through the following
table.
* a b c
a b a c
b c b a
c a c b
This b ∗ c = c and c ∗ a = c. Does this binary operation define a group? No! The
operation is neither associative, nor does it have a neutral element. Existence of
inverse is, of course, out of question!
7. Consider the set X that consists of 2 × 2 matrices whose entries are integers
and determinant is nonzero. On X, consider the binary operation of matrix
multiplication. Does
 it form
 a group? Well, while there is indeed
 a neutral
 element,
1 0 1 0
namely the matrix ∈ X, there are elements such as ∈ X, which
0 1 0 2
do not have inverses. Thus, X is not a group under matrix multiplication.
8. Orthogonal matrices. Consider the set On (R) consisting of n × n invertible
matrices with entries in R such that At = A−1 . Here, At denotes the transpose of
A, and A−1 is the multiplicative inverse of A. Such matrices are called orthogonal
matrices. On this set, consider the binary operation of matrix multiplication? Do
we have a group?
First of all, if A, B ∈ On (R), then AB is invertible (being the product of two
invertible matrices). Further, (AB)t = B t At = B −1 A−1 = (AB)−1 . Thus, AB
indeed belongs to On (R). Also, if A ∈ On (R), then
(A−1 )t = (At )t = A = (A−1 )−1
and thus, A ∈ On (R). The identity matrix In also belongs to On (R) and A ∈ On (R)
inherits associativity from the associativity of multiplication of matrices. Thus,
the set On (R) of orthogonal matrices forms a group under matrix multiplication.
9. This one is a curious exercise. Consider the set
  
a a ×
X := :a∈Q
a a
On this set, consider the binary operation of matrix multiplication. Show that X
is a group
 under this
 binary operation. The neutral element of this group is the
1/2 1/2
matrix ∈ X.
1/2 1/2

In the following lectures, our task will be to understand the group sym(R2 ) and utilize
it to understand symmetry of various shapes.

19
20
Lecture 4
Pinpointing symmetries in R2 January 13, 2025

We have seen that translations, rotations and reflections are symmetries. We know that
their compositions are also symmetries. In this lecture, we aim to classify all distance
preserving maps σ : R2 → R2 . The central role in this classification is played by the dot
product that helps us measure distances and angles.

4.1. Measuring distances and angles in R2

Before we talk about preserving distances, we need to equip ourselves with the tools
that help us measure distances. Let us systematically recall and develop these.

(i). Dot product. We define the map ⟨ · ⟩ : R2 × R2 → R+ ∪ {0} by

⟨v, w⟩ := v t w, where v, w ∈ R2
   
a c
Thus, if v = and w = , then ⟨v, w⟩ = ac + bd. This is called the dot
b d
product of v and w. Dot product is an example of symmetric bilinear map, in the
sense that for every v, w, v ′ , w′ ∈ R2 and for every λ ∈ R, we have the following.
• ⟨v, w⟩ = ⟨w, v⟩.
• ⟨v + λv ′ , w⟩ = ⟨v, w⟩ + λ⟨v ′ , w⟩.
• ⟨v, w + λw′ ⟩ = ⟨v, w⟩ + λ⟨v, w′ ⟩.
(ii). Length. We first note that for every v ∈ R2 , we have ⟨v, v⟩ ≥ 0, and the equality
holds if and only if v = 0. The length is the function ℓ : R2 → R+ ∪ {0} given by
p
ℓ(v) := ⟨v, v⟩
 
a
Thus, if v = then ℓ(v) = (a2 + b2 )1/2 . We observe that ℓ(v) = ℓ(−v).
b

(iii). Distance. The distance is the function d : R2 × R2 → R+ ∪ {0} given by

d(v, w) := ℓ(v − w)
It has the following properties.

21
 • Triangle inequality. d(v1 , v2 ) + d(v2 , v3 ) ≥ d(v1 , v3 ) for every v1 , v2 , v3 ∈ R2 .
• Symmetry. d(v, w) = d(w, v) for every v, w ∈ R2 .

(iv). Angle cosine. The angle cosine is the function θ : R2 × R2 → R given by

⟨v, w⟩
θ(v, w) :=
ℓ(v)ℓ(w)

Thus, if v and w are mutually orthogonal then θ(v, w) = 0; θ(v, v) = 1; and

θ(v, −v) = −1.

(v). Dot product in terms of length. For v, w ∈ R2 , we perform the following calcula-
tion.

ℓ(v − w)2 = ⟨v − w, v − w⟩
= ⟨v, v⟩ − ⟨v, w⟩ − ⟨w, v⟩ + ⟨w, w⟩
= ℓ(v)2 − 2⟨v, w⟩ + ℓ(w)2

Therefore,
1
ℓ(v)2 + ℓ(w)2 − ℓ(v − w)2


⟨v, w⟩ =
2
We replace ⟨v, w⟩ by θ(v, w)ℓ(v)ℓ(w), using the definition of angle cosine, and
obtain
1
ℓ(v)2 + ℓ(w)2 − ℓ(v − w)2


θ(v, w)ℓ(v)ℓ(w) =
2
Thus,
ℓ(v)2 + ℓ(w)2 − ℓ(v − w)2
θ(v, w) =
2ℓ(v)ℓ(w)
This is nothing but the following cosine formula that we saw in our school.

Thus, the nomenclature in our definition of angle cosine is justified.

We are now prepared to classify symmetries in R2 .

22
4.2. Tu and O2 (R) is all that it takes

Theorem 4.1. Let σ : R2 → R2 be a distance preserving map. Then there exists u ∈ R2 and an
orthogonal matrix A ∈ O2 (R) such that σ = Tu ◦ A. Therefore, every distance preserving map
in R2 is obtained by composing multiplication by an orthogonal matrix and translation.

Proof. Let u = σ(0) ∈ R2 and define σ ′ : R2 → R2 by σ ′ (v) = σ(v) − u. Thus, σ ′ = T−u σ.

We make a number of observations about σ ′ .

(i). σ ′ (0) = 0 and σ ′ : R2 → R2 is distance preserving.

This is an easy check. First, σ ′ (0) = σ(0) − u = σ(0) − σ(0) = 0 ∈ R2 . Further, for
v, w ∈ R2 ,
d(σ ′ v, σ ′ w) = ℓ(σ ′ v − σ ′ w)
= ℓ(σv − σ(0) − σw + σ(0))
= ℓ(σv − σw)
= d(σv, σw)
= d(v, w)
where the last equality holds due to the fact that σ is distance preserving.
(ii) As a consequence of (i), the map σ ′ is length preserving as well. This is because
ℓ(σ ′ v) = d(σ ′ v, 0)
= d(σ ′ v, σ ′ (0)) since σ ′ (0) = 0
= d(v, 0) since σ ′ is distance preserving
= ℓ(v − 0) = ℓ(v)

(iii). σ ′ preserves the dot product and angles.

It is enough to show that ⟨σ ′ v, σ ′ w⟩ = ⟨v, w⟩. Since
1
ℓ(v)2 + ℓ(w)2 − ℓ(v − w)2


⟨v, w⟩ =
2
and ℓ is preserved by σ , it follows that the dot product is also preserved by σ ′ .
′

Further, since θ has expression in terms of dot product and ℓ, which are preserved
by σ ′ , it follows that angles are preserved by σ ′ .
(iv). σ ′ is linear.
This is most surprising claim. We are required to show that for every v, w ∈ R2
and λ ∈ R, we have
σ ′ (v + λw) = σ ′ v + λσ ′ w
For this, is is enough to show that the length ℓ(σ ′ (v + λw) − σ ′ v − λσ ′ w) is 0. The
following calculation achieves this.
ℓ(σ ′ (v + λw) − σ ′ v − λσ ′ w)2 = ℓ(σ ′ (v + λw) − σ ′ v)2 + ℓ(λσ ′ w)2 − 2⟨σ ′ (v + λw) − σ ′ v, λσ ′ w⟩
= d(σ ′ (v + λw), σ ′ v)2 + λ2 ℓ(σ ′ w)2 − 2⟨σ ′ (v + λw) − σ ′ v, λσ ′ w⟩

23
 Observe that 2⟨σ ′ (v + λw) − σ ′ v, λσ ′ w⟩ = 2λ⟨σ ′ (v + λw), σ ′ w⟩ − 2λ⟨σ ′ v, σ ′ w⟩. Since
dot product is invariant under σ ′ , this is equal to 2λ⟨v + λw, w⟩ − 2λ⟨v, w⟩. This,
due to the bilinearity of dot product, is equal to 2λ⟨v + λw − v, w⟩ = 2λ⟨λw, w⟩ =
2λ2 ℓ(w)2 . Therefore, we have

ℓ(σ ′ (v + λw) − σ ′ v − λσ ′ w)2 = d(σ ′ (v + λw), σ ′ v)2 + λ2 ℓ(σ ′ w)2 − 2λ2 ℓ(w)2
= d(v + λw, v)2 + λ2 ℓ(w)2 − 2λ2 ℓ(w)2
(since σ preserves d and ℓ)
= ℓ(v + λw − v)2 + λ2 ℓ(w)2 − 2λ2 ℓ(w)2
= ℓ(λw)2 + λ2 ℓ(w)2 − 2λ2 ℓ(w)2
= λ2 ℓ(w)2 + λ2 ℓ(w)2 − 2λ2 ℓ(w)2 = 0

This confirms the linearity of σ ′

The situation is now reduced to show that the linear map σ ′ : R2 → R2 comes from an
orthogonal matrix. We will continue with this in the next lecture.

24
Lecture 5
Orthogonal matrices uphold bones of Rn January 15, 2025

Orthopaedic surgeons try to preserve relative distances between our bone cells. Orthog-
onal matrices also do the same! In fact, orthogonal matrices do much more by rotating
and reflecting our bones!
Recall that an invertible matrix A is called an orthogonal matrix if At = A−1 . The set
On (R) of n × n orthogonal matrices forms a group under matrix multiplication. Note
that if A ∈ On (R), then det(A) ∈ {−1, 1}.

5.1. Why should At = A−1 govern distance preserving?

Though our bones are not planar, let us focus on matrices in R2 . Arguments are the
same for Rn , when n ≥ 3. Let τ : R2 → R2 be a distance preserving linear map. Since
it is linear, τ (v) = Av for some 2 × 2 matrix A; and as we have seen in the last lecture,
demanding τ to preserve distance can be rephrased as

⟨τ v, τ w⟩ = ⟨v, w⟩ for all v, w ∈ R2

Therefore, we have

v t (At A)w = (Av)t Aw = ⟨Av, Aw⟩ = ⟨v, w⟩ = v t w for all v, w ∈ R2 (5.1)

   
1 0
Let e1 = and e2 = . Let us denote the ij th entry of At A by λij so that
0 1
 
t λ11 λ12
AA=
λ21 λ22

Then, putting v = ei , w = ej , and writing At A in terms of its entries in equation 5.1, we

obtain λij = eti (At A)ej = eti ej = δij . Recall that the notation δij stands for 1, if i = j; and
0, if i ̸= j. This implies
 
t 1 0
AA= = I2 ,
0 1
and therefore At = A−1 .

25
In Theorem 4.1, the map σ ′ := T−u ◦ σ was distance preserving. By the above discussion,
σ ′ comes from an orthogonal matrix. Thus, the above discussion completes the proof of
that theorem, and establishes that every symmetry of R2 is of the form Tu ◦ A.
 
a11 a12
Why the name orthogonal is justified for such matrices? Let A = . We
a21 a22
expand the equation At A = I2 to
    
a11 a21 a11 a12 1 0
=
a12 a22 a21 a22 0 1

   
a11 a12
Let v1 = and v2 = .
a21 a22
Then the above equation translates to
   
⟨v1 , v1 ⟩ ⟨v1 , v2 ⟩ 1 0
=
⟨v2 , v1 ⟩ ⟨v2 , v2 ⟩ 0 1

and we conclude that the columns of orthogonal matrices form an orthonormal set of
R2 , that is, both v1 and v2 have length 1 and the two vectors are orthogonal to each
other. In fact, by considering the equation AAt = I2 we arrive at the conclusion that
rows of orthogonal matrices also form an orthonormal set of R2 .

5.2. Looking inside O2 (R)

 
a11 a12
How does a 2 × 2 orthogonal matrix look like? A = , then the condition
a21 a22
At A = I2 poses the follow restrictions

a211 + a221 = 1
a212 + a222 = 1
a11 a12 + a21 a22 = 0

Thus, there exist α, β ∈ [0, 2π) such that

a11 = cos α, a21 = sin α, a12 = sin β, a22 = cos β

Substituting these in the third equation above,

cos α sin β + sin α cos β = 0,

that is, sin(α + β) = 0. In other words, α + β ∈ {0, π}, and we have two cases.
Case 1. β = −α. In this case we have sin β = − sin α and cos β = cos α. Thus, in this
case      
a11 a12 cos α sin β cos α − sin α
A= = =
a21 a22 sin α sin α sin α cos α

26
Case 2. β = π − α. In this case we have sin β = sin α and cos β = − cos α. In this case
     
a11 a12 cos α sin β cos α sin α
A= = =
a21 a22 sin α sin α sin α − cos α
   
cos α − sin α cos 2α sin 2α
We denote Rα := and Fα := .
sin α cos α sin 2α − cos 2α
Recall that the transformation given by v 7→ Rα v is the rotation by angle α in anticlock-
wise direction, and the one given by v 7→ Fα v is the reflection about a mirror kept along
the line y = tan αx. Thus, Rα is called a rotation matrix and Fα is called a reflection matrix.
What we have shown here is that if A ∈ O2 (R) then A is either a rotation matrix or a
reflection matrix.
Observe that F0 is the reflection about x-axis. Note that Fα/2 = Rα F0 . We summarize
this discussion to the following.

Proposition 5.1. Let A ∈ O2 (R). Then there exists a unique α ∈ [0, 2π) such that either
A = Rα or A = Rα F0 .

5.3. Revisiting Theorem 4.1

In what follows, we state various composition rules. These are left as an exercise for
the reader.

Exercise 5.2 By a direct calculation, obtain the following composition rules for sym-
metries.

(i). Tu Tv = Tu+v .

(ii). Rα Rβ = Rα+β .

(iii). F02 = 1.

(iv). Rα Tu = Tu′ Rα , where u′ = Rα (u).

(v). F0 Tu = Tu′ F0 , where u′ = F0 (u).

(vi). F0 Rα = R−α F0 .

In light of Proposition 5.1 and Exercise 5.2, we revisit Theorem 4.1 to state a much
precise version of it.

Theorem 5.3. Let σ : R2 → R2 be a symmetry of R2 . Then, there exists a unique u ∈ R2 , and

a unique α ∈ [0, 2π) such that either σ = Tu Rα or σ = Tu Rα F0 .

27
Proof. It follows from Theorem 4.1 and Proposition 5.1 that σ = Tu Rα F0i , for some
u ∈ R2 , α ∈ [0, 2π) and i ∈ {0, 1}. To establish uniqueness of this decomposition,
assume that σ = Tu Rα F0i = Tv Rβ F0j be two such decompositions. Then, we use Exercise
5.2 (i) to get
Tu−v Rα F0i = T−v Tu Rα F0i = T−v Tv Rβ F0j = Rβ F0j
Where does it take 0 ∈ R2 ? To u − v, if we look at the left hand side, and to 0, if we
look at the right hand side. Hence u = v. This establishes uniqueness of the translation
vector u. Further, it yields
Rα F0i = Rβ F0j
Now, we compare determinant of these matrices to conclude that i = j. Having done
that, Rα = Rβ is immediate. Since, we restrict the range of α within the interval [0, 2π),
the uniqueness of α is also evident.

This allows us to make the following definition. A symmetry σ is called orientation

preserving if σ is of the form Tu Rα , and orientation reversing, if σ is of the form Tu Rα F0 .
That it is well defined is a consequence of Theorem 5.3.

28
Lecture 6
Symmetries of regular polygons: Dn January 20, 2025

We have already seen symmetries of equilaterral triangles and their composition table.
The following depicts the symmetries of a square.

The composition table for squares is as follows.

1 rπ/2 rπ r3π/2 fX fY fd1 fd2

1 1 rπ/2 rπ r3π/2 fX fY fd1 fd2
rπ/2 rπ/2 rπ r3π/2 1 fd1 fd2 fY fX
rπ rπ r3π/2 1 rπ/2 fY fX fd2 fd1
r3π/2 r3π/2 1 rπ/2 rπ fd2 fd1 fX fY
fX fX fd2 fY fd1 1 rπ rπ/2 r3π/2
fY fY fd1 fX fd2 rπ 1 r3π/2 rπ/2
fd 1 fd1 fY fd2 fX rπ/2 r3π/2 1 rπ
fd 2 fd2 fX fd1 fY r3π/2 rπ/2 rπ 1

What is common between the composition tables of an equilateral triangle and a square?

29
6.1. Symmetries of regular polygons

In this lecture, we study symmetries of regular polygons. We first look at the following
proposition.

Proposition 6.1. Let R be a finite group of rotations in O2 (R). Then, there exists a rotation
r ∈ R and m ∈ N such that R = {1, r, r2 , · · · , rm }.

Proof. Since each element in R is a rotation, we write

R = {rα0 , rα1 , rα2 , · · · , rαm }

Here 0 < α1 < α2 < · · · < αm < 2π, and α0 = 0. Therefore, rα0 corresponds to the trivial
rotation. The smallest denomination of the angle of a nontrivial rotation is α1 . Since R
is a group, each rαi 1 ∈ R. We note that rαi 1 = riα1 , and that αi ≤ iα1 .
We claim that αi = iα1 for every i ∈ {1, 2, · · · , m}. To justify our claim, imagine the
smallest i where αi ̸= iα1 . Denote such i by k. Then,

(k − 1)α1 = αk−1 < αk < kα1

Thus, αk − αk−1 < α1 . Observe that rαk −αk−1 = rαk rα−1k−1 ∈ R. Reading it along with
αk − αk−1 < α1 suggests that R contains a rotation of a denomination smaller than α1 .
That is a contradiction, from which we achieve our claim αi = iα1 . We follow a similar
argument to obtain,
αm + α1 = mα1 + α1 = 2π.
Thus, α1 = 2π/(m + 1). To sum it up, we have R = {1, r, r2 , · · · , rm } where r =
r2π/(m+1) .

The group R is generated by one element, namely r ∈ R. Groups generated by single

element are called cyclic groups. We will learn more about cyclic groups later. For now,
we focus on symmetries of regular polygons.
Let us denote a regular polygon by Pn . We place the polygon within R2 in such a way
that reflection about x-axis is a symmetry of Pn .

Theorem 6.2. The group of symmetries of a regular polygon Pn is

sym(Pn ) = {1, r, r2 , . . . , rn−1 , f, rf, r2 f, . . . , rn−1 f },

where r := r2π/n denotes the rotation by angle 2π/n in anti-clockwise direction and f := f0
denotes the reflection about x-axis. The composition table of sym(Pn ) follows the following
laws:
rn = 1, f 2 = 1, f r = r−1 f

Proof. Let us justify it. First, by definition

sym(Pn ) := {σ ∈ sym(R2 ) : σ(S) = S}

30
Thus, sym(Pn ) ⊆ sym(R2 ). Since Pn is a bounded shape, its group of symmetries cannot
contain a nontrivial translation. Hence an element of sym(Pn ) is either a reflection or a
rotation. In other words, sym(Pn ) ⊆ O2 (R).
Let us focus on rotations first, and denote the set of rotations in sym(Pn ) by rot(Pn ).
Note that the set rot(Pn ) is itself a group. Since a rotation must map a vertex of Pn
to a vertex of Pn , there are finitely many elements in rot(Pn ). By Proposition 6.1,
there is a rotation r ∈ rot(Pn ) and m ∈ N such that rot(Pn ) = {1, r, r2 , · · · , rm } where
r = r2π/(m+1) .
What is m in terms of n? Fix a vertex v0 of Pn . Since r ∈ rot(Pn ) is solely determined
by where it takes v0 , the points v0 , r(v0 ), r2 (v0 ), · · · , rm (v0 ) are n distinct vertices of Pn .
Thus, m+1 = n and we have rot(Pn ) = {1, r, r2 , · · · , rn−1 }. This completes our counting
of rotations.
Now, about reflections: the polygon Pn is placed in such a way that f , the reflection
about x-axis is a symmetry of Pn . That is, f ∈ sym(Pn ). Since sym(Pn ) is a group,
we have ri f ∈ sym(Pn ) for every i ∈ {0, 1, . . . , n − 1}. These are n distinct reflections
in sym(Pn ). Have we missed accounting for some other reflection? For a moment,
assume that we have indeed missed a reflection, say f ′ . Then, since composition of two
reflections is a rotation, we have that f ′ f is a rotation. Since our counting of rotations
was complete, we have f ′ f = ri for some i ∈ {0, 1, . . . , n − 1. Thus, f ′ = f ′ f f = ri f ,
that we have already counted. This suggests that every reflection of Pn is of the form is
ri f , and that
sym(Pn ) = {1, r, r2 , . . . , rn−1 , f, rf, r2 f, . . . , rn−1 f }

It is evident that rn = 1, f 2 = 1. That f r = r−1 f is precisely the content of Exercise 5.2

(vi). This completes the proof.

Theorem 6.2 captures the composition tables of both, an equilateral triangle and a
square. The group sym(Pn ) is called a dihendral group of size 2n.

6.2. Infinite dihedral group: sym(P∞ )

There is no polygon called P∞ . Nevertheless, let us think of an infinite version of

n
√ r ̸= 1 for
dihedral groups. This will be obtained by considering rotations r for which
every n ∈ N. Are there such rotation? What about r = rα , where α = 2π/ 2?
We define the group sym(P∞ ) as follows:

sym(P∞ ) := {1, r±1 , r±2 , . . . , f, r±1 f, r±2 f, . . . , }

where the composition table is determined by the relations f 2 = 1 and f r = r−1 f .

Is there some shape whose symmetry group is sym(P∞ )? What about the following
zigzag shape?

31
32
Thanks

The following readers are acknowledged for careful reading and pointing out errors.

• Ankush Chakraborty ⟨[email protected]⟩ – corrected a typo in the intro-

duction of Lecture 2.

• Karthik Nair ⟨[email protected]⟩ – corrected a typo in the introduction

of Lecture 2, and in §2.3 of Lecture 2.

• Anubhav Ganguly ⟨[email protected]⟩ – corrected a typo in §2.2, part

(iv).

• Sandeep Dass ⟨[email protected]⟩ – corrected a typo in §4.1.

33