List of spherical symmetry groups


Finite spherical symmetry groups are also called point groups in three dimensions. There are five fundamental symmetry classes which have triangular fundamental domains: dihedral, cyclic, tetrahedral, octahedral, and icosahedral symmetry.
This article lists the groups by Schoenflies notation, Coxeter notation, orbifold notation, and order. John Conway used a variation of the Schoenflies notation, based on the groups' quaternion algebraic structure, labeled by one or two upper case letters, and whole number subscripts. The group order is defined as the subscript, unless the order is doubled for symbols with a plus or minus, "±", prefix, which implies a central inversion.
Hermann–Mauguin notation is also given. The crystallography groups, 32 in total, are a subset with element orders 2, 3, 4 and 6.

Involutional symmetry

There are four involutional groups: no symmetry, reflection symmetry, 2-fold rotational symmetry, and central point symmetry.

Cyclic symmetry

There are four infinite cyclic symmetry families, with n = 2 or higher.

Dihedral symmetry

There are three infinite dihedral symmetry families, with n = 2 or higher.
IntlGeo
OrbifoldSchönfliesConwayCoxeterOrderAbstractFund.
domain
222.222D2D4+
4D4
2m42*2D2dDD8
8D4
mmm22*222D2h±D4
8Z2×D4

Polyhedral symmetry

There are three types of polyhedral symmetry: tetrahedral symmetry, octahedral symmetry, and icosahedral symmetry, named after the triangle-faced regular polyhedra with these symmetries.
IntlGeo
OrbifoldSchönfliesConwayCoxeterOrderAbstractFund.
domain
23.332TT+
12A4
m43*2Th±T
24A4
3m33*332TdTO
24S4

IntlGeo
OrbifoldSchönfliesConwayCoxeterOrderAbstractFund.
domain
432.432OO+
24S4
mm43*432Oh±O
48S4

IntlGeo
OrbifoldSchönfliesConwayCoxeterOrderAbstractFund.
domain
532.532II+
60A5
2/m53*532Ih±I
120A5

Continuous symmetries

All of the discrete point symmetries are subgroups of certain continuous symmetries. They can be classified as products of orthogonal groups O or special orthogonal groups SO. O is a single orthogonal reflection, dihedral symmetry order 2, Dih1. SO is just the identity. Half turns, C2, are needed to complete.