Material symmetry and crystals (Q911336)

The paper deals with the elements of a local theory of material symmetry and the lattice description of crystals. Let \(W_ 0\) be the stored energy response function, \(F_ 0\) a given deformation gradient and H a unimodular transformation. The invariance condition of material symmetry \(W_ 0(F)=W_ 0(FH)\) holds for a fixed group G of transformations H only when F lies in a certain open set \({\mathfrak D}_{F_ 0}\) that contains \(F_ 0\). The particular group G(\({\mathfrak D}_{F_ 0})\) is the local material symmetry group on \({\mathfrak D}_{F_ 0}.\) Theorem 1 proves that if \(F_ 0\) is a deformation gradient of a crystal whose structure is described by one of the 14 Bravais lattices, Q\({\mathfrak D}_{F_ 0}H={\mathfrak D}_{F_ 0}\) for all orthogonal Q and all \(H\in G({\mathfrak D}_{F_ 0})\). Theorem 2 shows that if F lies in the symmetry class of \(F_ 0\) there is an open set \({\mathfrak D}^*_{F_ 0}\) of deformation gradients that has the same properties as \({\mathfrak D}_{F_ 0}\) and covers the same range of values of \(W_ 0\) as is covered over the complete set of deformation gradients \(F_ 0\) that are in the symmetry class of \(F_ 0\). Theorem 3 shows that for any crystal there are deformation gradients \(F_ c\), \(F_ h\) whose associated local material symmetry groups are of maximal cubic type and maximal hexagonal types, respectively, and that an arbitrary deformation gradient F is in the symmetry class of either \(F_ c\) or of \(F_ h\) or both. There is also a discussion on a more general stored energy response function that may apply to elastic dielectrics and theorems 4, 5, 6 are extensions to this case of the earlier three theorems.