(i) Let D6 denote the symmetry group of rotations and reflections of a regular hexagon. The elements of D6 are given by {e,c,c2,c3,c4,c5,b,bc,bc2,bc3,bc4,bc5} with c6=b2=e and cb=bc5. The conjugacy classes of D6 are {e},{c,c5},{c2,c4},{c3},{b,bc2,bc4} and {bc,bc3,bc5}.
Show that the character table of D6 is
\begin{tabular}{l|rrrrrr} D6 & e & {c,c5} & {c2,c4} & {c3} & {b,bc2,bc4} & {bc,bc3,bc5} \ \hlineχ1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 \ χ2 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & −1 & −1 \ χ3 & 1 & −1 & 1 & −1 & 1 & −1 \ χ4 & 1 & −1 & 1 & −1 & −1 & 1 \ χ5 & 2 & 1 & −1 & −2 & 0 & 0 \ χ6 & 2 & −1 & −1 & 2 & 0 & 0 \end{tabular}
(ii) Show that the character of an SO(3) rotation with angle θ in the 2l+1 dimensional irreducible representation of SO(3) is given by
χl(θ)=1+2cosθ+2cos(2θ)+…+2cos((l−1)θ)+2cos(lθ)
For a hexagonal crystal of atoms find how the degeneracy of the D-wave orbital states (l=2) in the atomic central potential is split by the crystal potential with D6 symmetry and give the new degeneracies.
By using the fact that D3 is isomorphic to D6/{e,c3}, or otherwise, find the degeneracies of eigenstates if the hexagonal symmetry is broken to the subgroup D3 by a deformation. The introduction of a magnetic field further reduces the symmetry to C3. What will the degeneracies of the energy eigenstates be now?