International Tables for Crystallography, Volume A: Space Group Symmetry

Volume A treats crystallographic symmetry in direct or physical space.

The first five parts of the volume contain introductory material: lists of symbols and terms; a guide to the use of the space-group tables; the determination of space groups; synoptic tables of space-group symbols; and unit-cell (coordinate) transformations. These are followed by the plane-group and space-group tables.

The rest of the volume is at a much higher theoretical level than Parts 1 to 5; it has many features of an advanced textbook of crystallography. Parts 8 to 15 deal with the following aspects of symmetry theory: the mathematical approach to space groups; crystal lattices; point groups and crystal classes; symbols for symmetry operations; symbols for space groups; isomorphic subgroups of space groups; lattice complexes; and normalizers of space groups.

Volume A is designed not only for professional crystallographers, but also for chemists, physicists, mineralogists, biologists and material scientists who employ crystallographic methods and who are concerned with the structure and the properties of crystalline materials.

The fifth edition of Volume A has been reviewed by P. Paufler [Acta Cryst. (2004). A60, 641-642]. The first edition was reviewed by K. M. Stadnicka, B. J. Oleksyn and K. Z. Sokalski [Acta Cryst. (1987). A43, 156-159].

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• classification
• crystal
• crystallography
• diffraction
• formation
• material
• mineral
• point group
• structure
• symmetry
• mineral resources

From the reviews:

"... The Editor's goal to provide data that are useful for all aspects of crystallography as well as text to satisfy the needs of those interested in the theoretical reasons behind these tables has led to a fruitful combination of tables for practical use in the first part and a high-level textbook in the second.

To sum up, ITA is not only the first and the most frequently edited volume in this series of a new generation of crystallographic references, it sets standards for the subject of crystallography in general as a `hard' and far-reaching branch of science. Thanks to the availability of this reference, supported by the IUCr, there is nowadays an international consensus on key concepts of crystallography. ITA is a book of symbols relevant for symmetry properties of crystals. While many other books are using the relevant symbols, ITA delivers not only the complete listings but also a comprehensive explanation of the theory behind them and detailed instructions for use. Hence, it is indispensable for people dealing with the symmetry of crystals." (P. Paufler [Acta Cryst. (2004). A60, 641-642] )

• Institut für Kristallographie, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, D-52056 Aachen, Germany

  Th. Hahn