Viruses and fullerenes - symmetry as a common thread?

Dechant, Pierre-Philippe; Wardman, Jessica; Keef, Tom; Twarock, Reidun

doi:10.1107/s2053273313034220

Viruses and fullerenes - symmetry as a common thread?

Dechant, Pierre-Philippe; Wardman, Jessica; Keef, Tom; Twarock, Reidun

Authors

Pierre-Philippe Dechant

Jessica Wardman

Tom Keef

Reidun Twarock

Abstract

The principle of affine symmetry is applied here to the nested fullerene cages (carbon onions) that arise in the context of carbon chemistry. Previous work on affine extensions of the icosahedral group has revealed a new organizational principle in virus structure and assembly. This group-theoretic framework is adapted here to the physical requirements dictated by carbon chemistry, and it is shown that mathematical models for carbon onions can be derived within this affine symmetry approach. This suggests the applicability of affine symmetry in a wider context in nature, as well as offering a novel perspective on the geometric principles underpinning carbon chemistry.

Citation

Dechant, P., Wardman, J., Keef, T., & Twarock, R. (2014). Viruses and fullerenes - symmetry as a common thread?. Acta Crystallographica Section A: Foundations and Advances, 70(2), 162-167. https://doi.org/10.1107/s2053273313034220

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Mar 1, 2014
Deposit Date	Jan 20, 2014
Publicly Available Date	Feb 28, 2014
Journal	Acta Crystallographica Section A: Foundations and Advances
Publisher	International Union of Crystallography
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	70
Issue	2
Pages	162-167
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1107/s2053273313034220
Keywords	Symmetry, Viruses, Fullerenes, Carbon onions, Coxeter groups, Affine extensions, Quasicrystals.