Group Theory Finite Discrete Groups

and Applications John Demetrius

Vergados
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GROUP THEORY
Finite Discrete Groups and Applications
Copyright © 2023 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
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In memory of my teacher
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 Preface

The role played by symmetry in the understanding of the physical world is

well known. Initially, mainly in the era of ancient Greek philosophers and
mathematicians, it involved the study and geometric properties of:
(a) plane shapes.
Not only the common ones, such as regular triangles, squares and hexagons,
but even more involved ones, such as the dodecagon and icosagon; and
(b) three-dimensional objects.
Regular polyhedra, including the common ones, such as the cube and tetra-
hedron, as well as those that are more involved, such as the dodecahedron
and icosahedron. The recognition of the existence of symmetries led to
the notion of transformations, which lead from one state of the system to
another. It was then realized that such transformations, under the opera-
tion of multiplication, constitute a set called a group by mathematicians,
a system possessing very interesting mathematical properties. Thus, group
theory was developed. This theory became much more interesting and led
to some additional applications with the emergence of quantum mechan-
ics. Soon, the internal degrees of freedom were recognized and put into the
realm of symmetries, and thus, group theory is no longer purely geometric.
For practical as well as pedagogical reasons, group theory is split into
two different parts. The first deals with discrete groups and the second
with continuous groups. In the first case, the elements of the group are
countable and usually finite in number. This part deals more with geo-
metric symmetries. The second is characterized by group elements, which
depend on continuous parameters. We will not consider the case of contin-
uous groups in the current volume since there exist many books on this sub-
ject, including, in particular, a text covering such topics by the first author,

vii
viii Group Theory: Finite Discrete Groups

recently published by WSPC, which can be considered a companion volume

to this book.
The current book deals with discrete groups. It is a translation from
a book in Greek with the same title by the first author, suitably updated
and extended. It was intended to cover the material given in the first of
a two-semester course given at the University of Ioannina. Parts of this
material have also been delivered to senior-level physics students at Nanjing
University, Nanjing, China, in 2012.
In the long past, this subject was taught in a course on algebra, with the
applications considered a part of mathematical methods in physics, with a
focus on applications in a specific research area of physics. We have come a
long way from that, and this subject is now taught everywhere, as outlined
above, i.e. in a bona fide group theory course. In many cases, however, after
a brief presentation of the basic theoretical ideas, many instructors devise
special rules and rush to use them in specific applications. We believe,
however, that group theory should be presented from a unified perspective
involving both the beauty of symmetries, resulting in elegant mathematical
expressions, and using it as a tool for applications, either currently popular
or expected to emerge in the future. This approach is not recommended
for the Epicurean type who would like to look up a formula or use the
results of some table without understanding their derivation. We expect,
however, that in the long run, our approach will be more beneficial for
the student who will have the patience to go through the material. To
this end, we made every effort to include illustrative examples, which are
the simplest possible to clarify the basic concepts introduced. Some simple
applications, especially those that may contribute to a better understanding
of some relevant concepts of the theory, have been included as illustrative
examples. A set of useful tables has been included, with the dedicated
student expected to construct some segments of them as part of homework.
More detailed applications form the material of a whole chapter, which may
be skipped at first reading. This approach resulted in a much larger volume
for the book. I hope this will not have an adverse effect on the student’s
decision to register for a one-semester course.
On this occasion, I would like to thank former student of physics, Mil-
tos Christoulakis, currently the president of Happy–Box, for preparing the
cover as well as most of the figures in the book.

J. D. Vergados, V-I Vergadou-Remediaki

Ioannina, October 2022,
 Contents

Preface vii

1. The Role of Symmetries in Physics — A Prelude 1

1.1 Geometric symmetries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Symmetry in the dynamics of classical mechanics . . . . 5
1.3 Symmetry in quantum mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2. Introduction to Discrete Groups 13

2.1 Definitions and basic concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2 The symmetric group Sn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2.1 Brief overview of permutations . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.3 A first examination of Sn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3.1 The A4 group as a subgroup of S4 . . . . . . . . 22
2.3.2 Application to the construction of (fully)
symmetric and antisymmetric functions . . . . . 22
2.4 Point symmetry groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.4.1 The symmetry of ammonia . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.4.2 Some categories of point groups . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.5 Extended point symmetry groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.5.1 Time reversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.5.2 Central inversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.6 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

ix
x Group Theory: Finite Discrete Groups

3. Discrete Groups — Basic Theorems 43

3.1 Cayley’s reordering theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2 Conjugate elements and classes of conjugate
elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.3 The conjugate classes of Sn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.4 Subgroups and cosets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.5 Regular subgroups and simple groups —
The factor group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.6 Possible groups of a given order g . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.7 Direct group product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.8 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

4. Elements of Representation Theory 67

4.1 Group representations: Illustrative examples . . . . . . . 67
4.2 Representations of group operators . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4.3 The regular representation of a group . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.4 Various ways of constructing representations . . . . . . . 73
4.5 Direct product of representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.6 Equivalent representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.7 Representation construction in the space
of functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.7.1 Some examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.7.2 Application in the case of C3v . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4.7.3 Application in the case of S6 . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4.8 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

5. Representation Reduction — Schur’s Lemmas —

Character Tables 91
5.1 Representation reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.2 Unitary representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
5.3 Characters of representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
5.4 The two lemmas of Schur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
5.5 Orthogonality theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
5.5.1 Character orthogonality relations . . . . . . . . . 102
5.5.2 A criterion of irreducibility of group
representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.6 More on representation reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
5.7 Some examples of representation reduction . . . . . . . . 107
 Contents xi

5.8 Reduction of the direct product of group

representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
5.9 Reduction of the direct product of groups . . . . . . . . . 117
5.10 Double covering groups of discrete groups . . . . . . . . . 122
5.11 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

6. Simple Applications in Quantum Mechanics 127

6.1 Behavior of a quantum system acted upon by group
operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
6.2 Wigner’s theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
6.3 Useful examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
6.4 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

7. Symmetries and Normal Modes of Oscillation 145

7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
7.2 Normal modes of oscillation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
7.2.1 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
7.3 Some applications involving the use of symmetry . . . . . 149
7.4 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

8. Space Groups 161

8.1 Introductory notions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
8.2 The group of translations in space . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
8.3 The allowed crystal symmetries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
8.4 Space groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
8.4.1 Crystal systems in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
8.4.2 Crystal systems in two dimensions . . . . . . . . 171
8.5 Character tables of the irreducible representations
of crystal groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
8.6 Generators of the crystal groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
8.7 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

9. Irreducible Representations of Space Groups 175

9.1 Irreducible representations of space groups . . . . . . . . 175
9.2 The group of vector k of the reduced Brillouin zone . . . 180
9.3 Construction of the irreducible representations of the
space group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
xii Group Theory: Finite Discrete Groups

9.4 Graphene — A remarkable example of a 2D crystal . . . 192

9.4.1 The irreducible representations of the space group
connected with point symmetry C6v . . . . . . . 194
9.5 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

10. Normal Modes in Crystals 199

10.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
10.2 Normal modes for 1D crystal with one kind of
particle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
10.3 Normal modes in 1D crystal with two kinds of
molecules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
10.4 Normal oscillation modes of graphene . . . . . . . . . . . 205
10.4.1 The classical equation of motion approach:
A prelude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
10.4.2 The method of diagonalizing the potential . . . . 207

Special topics and applications 215

11. The Symmetric Group S n 217
11.1 The role of the symmetric group Sn in quantum
mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
11.2 The irreducible representations of the symmetric
group Sn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
11.3 Construction of functions of a given Sn symmetry . . . . 221
11.3.1 The Young operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
11.3.2 An example — The Irreducible representations
of S3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
11.4 Construction of symmetric and antisymmetric functions
in two spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
11.4.1 Construction of antisymmetric functions . . . . . 230
11.4.2 Construction of symmetric functions . . . . . . . 232
11.5 Kronecker products and the emergence of tensors . . . . 232
11.6 Construction of tensors of a given symmetry . . . . . . . 233

11.7 Kronecker products [f ] ⊗ [f ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
11.8 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
 Contents xiii

12. Further Applications in Molecular Physics and

Crystal Structure — Crystal Harmonics 245
12.1 Introductory notions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
12.2 Reduction of SO(3) representations under discrete
symmetries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
12.2.1 Reduction of single-valued representations of
SO(3) under discrete symmetries . . . . . . . . . 247
12.2.2 The reduction of double-valued representations of
SO(3) under discrete symmetries . . . . . . . . . 255
12.3 Some reduction tables of representations of SO(3) under
discrete symmetries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
12.4 Crystal harmonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
12.5 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

13. Applications of Discrete Groups in Particle Physics 269

13.1 The group A4 as a subgroup of S4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
13.2 The structure of A4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
13.3 The character matrix of A4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
13.4 Reduction of the Kronecker product of the representations
of A4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
13.5 An application in particle physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
13.5.1 The scalar potential in the framework of A4 . . . 280
13.5.2 The lepton masses in a simple A4 model . . . . . 281
13.5.3 A semirealistic model for the neutrino masses . . 286
13.6 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

14. Exotic Discrete Groups for Quantum

Mechanics — Field Theory 293
14.1 Matrix groups with elements integers mod(p) . . . . . . . 293
14.2 The modular group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
14.3 The Heisenberg–Weyl group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
14.3.1 A faithful representation of the discrete
Heisenberg group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
14.3.2 Magnetic translations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
14.3.3 The metaplectic representation by Weyl . . . . . 306
14.4 The construction of the SL2 (p) generators . . . . . . . . 310
xiv Group Theory: Finite Discrete Groups

14.5 Examples: The cases p = 3, 5, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

14.5.1 The case p = 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
14.5.2 The case p = 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
14.5.3 The case p = 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
14.6 Concluding remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

15. Appendix I: Proofs of Various Theorems 319

16. Appendix II: Representation Reduction

Via a Chain of Group Operators 325
16.1 Chains of subspaces of basis vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
16.2 Some examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
16.3 Proof of a theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

17. Appendix III: Generators and Character Tables

of Point Groups 331

Bibliography 343
Index 347
 Chapter 1

The Role of Symmetries in Physics —

A Prelude

The notion of symmetry is not, of course, a new one. It has been known
since the very ancient times that the human body possesses right/left sym-
metry, a “mirror symmetry”, i.e. a reflection with respect to a plane; that a
cube has a high degree of symmetry, both with respect to rotations around
some axes as well as reflections with respect to certain planes; that the
sphere is the most symmetric of all bodies. The idea of geometric symme-
try affected deeply the thought of many ancient Greek philosophers, includ-
ing Pythagoras, Plato and others. Indeed, Plato attempted to describe the
motion of the heavenly bodies in terms of circles or circles over circles
(circles on epicenters).
In spite of its beauty as a theory, however, group theory (GT) did not
become a truly useful tool in physics until after the foundation of quantum
mechanics in the 1920s. To this end, a crucial role was played by Wigner,
Weyl, Gelfand, Racah and others. In other words, GT became very useful
to the physical sciences when it was realized that the set of linear trans-
formations, which lead from one state of a system to another, constitute a
group.
As outlined above, the ancient notion of symmetry became very useful
to the physical sciences. What is a symmetry? Roughly, a symmetry is
a property of some object which remains invariant under some operations.
Note that the notion of symmetry requires both an object and the operation
which acts or operates on the object. Invariance means that the relevant
property of the object remains the same before and after the operation has
been acted upon it.

1
2 Group Theory: Finite Discrete Groups

1.1 Geometric symmetries

As we have already mentioned, these symmetries were the first to be recog-
nized by the ancient Greeks. They relate to transformations which main-
tain the distance between two points of a body and map it onto itself. Such
transformations are essentially of three types:

(i) Rotations about an axis of symmetry by a given angle.

As a concrete example, let us consider a square. We label the four corners of
the square A, B, C, D. Intuitively, if we rotate the square by 90◦ clockwise,
we get the picture shown in Fig. 1.1(a). Let us call this operation S. Then,
the square remains the same with the original orientation. What do we
mean by “the same”? It means that, if we drop the labels A, B, C, D, you
do not see any difference. Now, a rotation of 180◦ also leaves the square
invariant. Let us call this operation T. Clearly, we can achieve the same
result by applying the operator S twice. Thus, we write T = S·S. Similarly,
a rotation of 270◦ , indicated as U , leaves the square invariant, and U =
(S · S)S. Clearly, a rotation of 360◦ does not change anything, and we
identify this with the identity operator and designate it as E.
We call the operation S a rotation of the system by an angle π/4 around
an axis perpendicular to the plane of the square, passing through its cen-
ter. In the standard notation, we indicate the operation associated with
S as C1 . If we apply this operation four times successively, the system
returns to its original position. We say that this axis is of fourth order,
2π 360 2 3 4
π/2 = 90 = 4. We indicate the successive operations as C1 , C1 , C1 , C1 .
4
Obviously, C1 = E, where E is the identity operator

We can easily see that a rotation by π/2 in the opposite sense, i.e.
counter clockwise, which is indicated by −π/2, gives a similar effect as a
clockwise rotation by 3π/2. Indicating this as C−1 , we verify that C−1 =

(a) (b)

Fig. 1.1. Symmetry operations on a square: (a) rotation around a four-fold axis,
(b) reflection through a plane which is perpendicular to the square and passes through
the middles of AB and CD.
 The Role of Symmetries in Physics — A Prelude 3

C13 . Thus, C−1 · C1 = E, i.e. C−1 is the inverse of C1 . Similarly, C−2 is the
inverse of C2 . Furthermore, these operators commute, i.e. C1n C1k = C1k C1n ,
and the system {C1 , C12 , C13 , C14 = E} is closed under multiplication.
(ii) Reflections.
Another operation is reflection, i.e. a mirror image of the square with
respect to a plane that contains the above axis and is perpendicular to the
plane of the square passing through the middle of its two opposite sides,
e.g. through the middle of AB and CD indicated as m1 , see Fig. 1.1(b).
The relevant operator will be indicated by σx . There is another reflection
corresponding to a similar reflection plane passing through the middle of
AC and BD, with the relevant operator designated as σy . There exist two
additional similar reflection planes passing through the opposite corners of
the square, one through A and C and the other through B and D ; these will
be designated as σ1 and σ2 , respectively. Obviously, σi2 = E, i = x, y, 1, 2,
i.e. each of these elements is its own inverse.
(iii) Inversion (with respect to a center).
An inversion causes a transformation of the coordinates
(x, y, z) → (−x, −y, −z). (1.1)
One can see that in our example, inversion is not a new operation, but
it coincides with a rotation by π. Both of these operations have the same
effect: they interchange A ↔ C and B ↔ D. Furthermore, one can show
that the set
{C1 , C12 , C13 , C14 = E, σx , σy , σ1 , σ2 }
is a closed set under multiplication. Note that two elements, X and Y , do
not always commute, i.e. in some cases, X · Y = Y · X. Anyway, the above
elements constitute a group associated with the symmetry known as C4V .
It was, of course, natural, in view of the ideas of the ancient philosophers,
that the geometric symmetries would be recognized as the first applications
of group theory in physics, in particular in crystallography and solid-state
structures.
Next comes the notion of a space group. By this, we understand the
symmetry group which is characteristic of a given periodic system, as for
example an ideal crystal. This consists of the set of transformations which
carry one point of the system to another. Thus, the space groups should
contain point groups, such as the ones we have considered above as well as
translation transformations. This imposes conditions on how the elements
of the crystal repeat themselves so that they generate the whole crystal. As
4 Group Theory: Finite Discrete Groups

a result, only a fraction of the point group symmetries are compatible with
the required space symmetry. This is because the structure elements of
the point group symmetries, when repeated, must cover the whole crystal.
We all know that the whole floor can be covered by placing side by side
tiles of certain shapes, e.g. triangles, parallelograms (squares, diamonds) or
regular hexagons, see Fig. 1.2. This cannot be done by placing circles or

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

Fig. 1.2. Various shapes that can cover the whole plane: (a) scalene triangles com-
bined to form a parallelogram (second-order axis), (b) equilateral triangles (third-order
axis), (c) squares (fourth-order axis) and (d) hexagons (sixth-order axis). This cannot
be accomplished by using: (e) regular pentagons and (f) circles or ellipses. Note that in
each shape, we have two geometric quantities: two size parameters a and b as well as the
angle φ between them. Thus, (a) we have a = b and φ arbitrary, and in the other cases,
we have a = b, while the angles are 2π/3, π/2 and π/3 for (b), (c) and (d), respectively.
 The Role of Symmetries in Physics — A Prelude 5

regular pentagons. The whole three-dimensional (3D) space can be covered

by properly placing prisms with bases of the above shapes.

1.2 Symmetry in the dynamics of classical mechanics

The role of the dynamic symmetries, i.e. those that leave invariant the
equations of motion, was recognized later. A first and very interesting
example was the motion of a planet around the sun, Kepler’s problem. The
solution to this problem was, of course, first obtained by solving Newton’s
equations of motion, using the world gravitational attraction, also invented
by Newton. The predicted orbits were in very good agreement with obser-
vation. It is worthwhile, however, to look at Kepler’s problem from a dif-
ferent perspective and more carefully (see Fig. 1.3). The main points are
as follows:

• The orbit lies on a plane.

• The orbit is an ellipse (or in general a conic section) with a fixed axis
length.
• The direction of the vector connecting the two foci of the ellipse remains
fixed. In other words, the position of the perihelion (point of the orbit
closest to the sun) is fixed.

The planarity of the orbit stems from the fact that Newton’s force is cen-
tral, which leads to the conservation of angular momentum. As the angular
momentum cannot change and the orbit must always lie at right angles to it,

Fig. 1.3. In Kepler’s description, the motion of a planet around the sun is exhibited.
In particular, the role of the Rünge–Lenz vector, indicted in the picture by A, guarantees
the stability of perihelion, point 1 in the figure.
6 Group Theory: Finite Discrete Groups

the orbit must be planar. Therefore, the symmetry (centrality) of the force
leads to the planarity of the orbit. The conservation of angular momen-
tum is related to the fact that the system would remain unchanged after a
rotation of space (isotropy).
The length of the longer axis is determined by the energy of the system,
which is conserved by the specific form of interaction between two bodies,
known as conservative force. The eccentricity of the motion is constant
because it is determined by the energy and angular momentum of the sys-
tem, both of which are constant. But why should the perihelion remain
constant?
The answer to this question is less obvious. It has to do with the fact
that the attractive force is inversely proportional to the square of the dis-
tance between the two objects, F ∝ r12 . A small deviation from this, even
1
when F ∝ r2+ , no matter how small  might be, destroys the stability of
the perihelion. This is what actually occurs when we take into account the
presence of other planets or generalize Newton’s theory using the general
theory of relativity developed by Einstein.1
The important conclusion to be drawn from this is that by recogniz-
ing and invoking symmetry, the problem posed by Kepler can be solved
without requiring the solution of a differential equation. We will not dis-
cuss this topic here, but it has been treated elsewhere, e.g. in the book
Vergados (2017). Even more importantly, the existence of symmetry in a
system results in the conservation of some quantity that characterizes the
system. Conversely, the conservation of some quantity characterizing a sys-
tem dictates the existence of a symmetry characterizing the system. This
is known as Noether’s theorem.

1.3 Symmetry in quantum mechanics

As has already been mentioned, group theory became a more useful tool in
solving problems in physics after the development of quantum mechanics.
Here, the results were surprising, especially in the case where the group
transformations leave the system’s Hamilton operator invariant. The ana-
logue in quantum mechanics to Kepler’s problem is hydrogen-like atoms.
The quantum numbers that describe the states of the system are expected

1 Indeed, the first indication that the general theory of relativity holds true came from

studying the movement of the perihelion of Mercury, as the phenomenon could not be
explained solely by the influence of the other planets on Mercury’s orbit.
 The Role of Symmetries in Physics — A Prelude 7

to depend on the orbital angular momentum quantum number, , but

they must be independent of m, i.e., the projection of the orbital angu-
lar momentum on the quantization axis. This is due to the fact that the
Hamilton operator remains unchanged under rotation in 3D space. How-
ever, the eigen energies of the system are independent of the azimuthal, ;
this is indicative of a greater symmetry, which is rotation in 4D space,
(Vergados, 2017). Recognition of this symmetry allows us to calculate
the eigen energies of the hydrogen-like atom without having to solve the
Schröedinger equation.
The arrival of quantum mechanics was the main reason for the familiar-
ity of physicists with group theory, which had already been developed by
mathematicians.
In quantum theory, invariance principles permit even more far-reaching
conclusions than in classical mechanics. In quantum mechanics, the state
of a physical system is described by a ray in a Hilbert space, |Ψ. A sym-
metry transformation gives rise to a linear operator, R, that acts on these
states and transforms them into new states. Just as in classical physics, the
symmetry can be used to generate new allowed states of the system. How-
ever, in quantum mechanics, there is a new and powerful twist due to the
linearity of the symmetry transformation and the superposition principle.
Thus, if |Ψ is an allowed state, then so is |RΨ, where R is the operator
in the Hilbert space corresponding to the symmetry transformation R. So
far, this is similar to classical mechanics. However, we can now superpose
these states, i.e. construct a new allowed state: |Ψ + |RΨ. (There is no
classical analogue for such a superposition, e.g. the superposition of two
orbits of the Earth.)
Quantum mechanics also revealed a new kind of symmetry: that of the
exchange of identical particles. This led to a classification of all elementary
particles as (a) Bosons, characterized by integral spin. Then, the wave func-
tion describing a many-identical-particles system must be invariant under
the interchange of any two particles; (b) Fermions, with half-integral spin,
whose wave function changes sign when any two particles are interchanged.
The quantum statistics of a collection of such particles is different, with
profound implications for their behavior in aggregate.
At this stage, Eugene Wigner played a very crucial role, connecting
group theory with quantum mechanics. In addition, a great contribution
toward the familiarity of physicists with group theory can be attributed to
Heisenberg and Weyl, mainly for showing the equivalence of Schrödinger’s
version of quantum mechanics with that of Heisenberg.
8 Group Theory: Finite Discrete Groups

One can interpret a symmetry transformation as a change in our

point of view when looking at a system that does not alter the results
of possible experiments. In quantum mechanics, we know that (pure)
states are denoted by wave functions |Ψ in the Hilbert space. These func-
tions are members of a vector space equipped with a scalar product,2 i.e.
Ψf |Ψi  = Ψi |Ψf ∗ . The measurable quantities are not the wave functions
themselves, but the expectation values of any observable quantity. The
probability of obtaining an expectation value after measurement depends
on the transition probabilities between states, which is given by the square
of the modulus of the overlap of two wave functions, |Ψf |Ψi 2 |. Hence,
a symmetry transform should keep these probabilities invariant. So, in a
quantum scenario, we define as symmetry transformations those which pre-
serve transition probabilities between the states.
So far, the discussion has been about the transition probabilities, but
how do the individual states themselves transform under a symmetry trans-
formation? The answer to this particular question was provided by Wigner.
Wigner’s theorem: Any symmetry transformation can be represented on
the Hilbert space of physical states3 by an operator which is either linear
and unitary or antilinear and antiunitary.
For a symmetry operator U , the theorem can be stated as:

U ΨA |U ΨB  = ΨA |ΨB , U = unitary (1.2)

or

U ΨA |U ΨB  = ΨA |ΨB ∗ , U = antiunitary. (1.3)

The theorem was stated and proved for the first time in 1931 by Wigner
himself in his book (Wigner, 1959). It has thereafter been proved by many

2 The scalar product is defined through an integral, e.g. in one dimension, as f |g =
 +∞ ∗
−∞ f (x)g(x)dx. These functions must satisfy the condition f |f  < ∞ and similarly
for g. Thus, they can be normalized: f |f  = g|g = 1. These relations can easily be
generalized in 3D.
3 Mathematically, however, physical states are denoted by “rays” in the Hilbert space.

A set of normalized states whose elements differ only by a complex phase are called
rays, i.e., the states ψ and eiθ ψ are members of the same ray R for some real θ. They
correspond to the same physical state. Hence, a symmetry transformation is a ray trans-
formation T such that if T : R1 → T R1 and T : R2 → T R2 , it follows that

|Ψ1 |Ψ2 2 | = ||Ψ1 |Ψ2 2 |

for any Ψ1 ∈ R1 , Ψ2 ∈ R2 , Ψ1 ∈ T R1 and Ψ2 ∈ T R2 .

 The Role of Symmetries in Physics — A Prelude 9

people, the most prominent being Bargmann, Ulhorn and, more recently,
(Weinberg, 1996).
Unitary transformations are commonly used and discussed extensively
in this book. The antiunitary operators are encountered in the case of time
reversal, see Section 2.5. One can show that an antiunitary operator can
be written as a product of a unitary operator and the complex conjugation
operation (Vergados, 2018, Section 12.4.2).
We also owe to Wigner another interesting approach to quantum
mechanics:
If we denote as x all the coordinates that describe a system, the time-
independent Schrödinger differential equation may take the following form:

H(x)ψ(x) = Eψ(x), (1.4)

where H(x) is the Hamiltonian describing the system. In this space, we
consider a linear transformation, which is an element of a group, A ∈ G:
x → x = Ax. (1.5)
This implies a transformation TA in functional space:
ψ → ψ  = TA ψ = ψ(A−1 x), (1.6)
as was obtained by Wigner. Then, Eq. (1.4) becomes
H(A−1 x)ψ(A−1 x) = Eψ(A−1 x). (1.7)
Thus, Eq. (1.4(remains unchanged as long as

H(A−1 x) = H(x). (1.8)

This is equivalent to
HTA = TA H. (1.9)
In fact, from Eqs. (1.8) and (1.7), one finds
H(x)ψ(A−1 x) = Eψ(A−1 x) ⇒ H(x)TA ψ(x) = ETA ψ(x) ⇒ (1.10)
(TA−1 HTA )ψ(x) = Eψ(x) ⇒ TA−1 HTA = H ⇒ HTA = TA H. (1.11)
Now, considering a representation of TA , TA → T (A), in some basis, we
show that
T (A)T (H) = T (H)T (A),
where T (H) is the representation of the operator H in the same basis.
10 Group Theory: Finite Discrete Groups

Let ψi (x) be an orthogonal basis in functional space. Then,

T (H)ij = ψi (x)|H|ψj (x) ≡ Hij , T (A)ij = ψi (x)|TA |ψj (x),
 

Hij = T  (H)ij = dxψi∗ (x)|H|ψj (x) = dxψi∗ (A−1 x)|H|ψj (A−1 x)

= dx ψi∗ (x )|H(x )|ψj (x ) = Hij


Hij = T  (H)ij = dxTA ψi (x)|H|TA ψj (x)
 
= (T (A))∗kj (T (A))j ψk∗ (x)|H|ψ
k 
  
= (T (A))∗kj (T (A))j Hk = (T (A))+ T (H)T (A) ij ⇒
k 

T (A) = (T (A))+ T (H)T (A).

Following Wigner, we make the reasonable assumption that the repre-

sentation is unique, then

T (A) ⇒ Γ(A), Γ+ (A) = Γ−1 (A) = Γ(A−1 ) ⇔ T (H)

= Γ−1 (A)T (H)Γ(A) ⇒
Γ(A)T (H) = T (H)Γ(A). (1.12)

In order to solve Eq. (1.4) the following strategy is used: We expand

the function ψ in the basis ψi ,

ψ= αi ψi .
i

Equation (1.4) now becomes:

 
αi Hψi = αi Eψi .
i i

Taking the scalar product of both sides of the equation with ψj |, we
find
 
αi ψj |H|ψi = αi Eψj ψi  = Eαj ⇒
i i

αi (Hji − Eδij ) = 0
i
 The Role of Symmetries in Physics — A Prelude 11

or, in matrix form,

(H)|α = E|α. (1.13)
Eq. (1.13) is equivalent to (1.4).
It is sufficient, therefore, to solve Eq. (1.13). If, by utilizing the symme-
try, we hit the bull’s eye when selecting the basis, we will be able to reduce
the matrix (H), i.e.
⎛  (1)  ⎞
H  0(2)  0 ··· ··· 0
⎜ 0 H ··· ··· 0 ⎟
⎜  0(3)  ⎟
(H) = ⎜ ⎜ 0 0 H  · · ·  · · · 0 ⎟,
⎟ (1.14)
⎝ 0 0 0 H (4)
···  0  ⎠
0 0 0 ··· · · · H (k)
since the Hamiltonian cannot mix states of different symmetry. This holds
true thanks to another famous theorem by Wigner, which will emerge as
our group theory evolves, see Section 6.2. Please, be patient!
For the moment, just be satisfied that all we have to do is diagonalize
matrices of smaller dimensions.
We may therefore conclude that group theory is recognized as a useful
tool for the comprehension and study of various systems. Recognition of
symmetry in a system relieves us of the necessity to solve complex equa-
tions in order to discover the system’s characteristics. This holds true even
when the symmetry is not absolute, but approximate. In that case, the
symmetry will help us find an approximate solution, which may then be
used as a basis for finding a more accurate solution with perturbation the-
ory. The matrices which must be diagonalized in that case are considerably
smaller. Moreover, the existence of symmetry allows us to find the form of
the Hamilton operator, when that is not already known. In this book, we
pay special attention to “geometric symmetries” and their use in quantum
mechanics problems (normal modes, etc.).
Some people may argue that physicists need not concern themselves
with the abstract group theory that a mathematician might deal with, but
the realization in some way of the abstract group elements, i.e their repre-
sentation, which is nothing but matrices that follow the same multiplication
rules with the abstract elements. We consider it necessary, however, to dis-
cuss the structure of abstract groups, despite the difficulty posed for those
who are not mathematically inclined. It is, after all, necessary to introduce
a minimum of mathematical concepts before we go on to their applications.
This is what we will do next in Chapter 2.
This page intentionally left blank
 Chapter 2

Introduction to Discrete Groups

The notion of the group, which is linked with explaining symmetry, became
part of mathematics more than two centuries ago. From then on, it devel-
oped quite quickly thanks to the creative work of Gauss, Cauchy, Abel,
Hamilton, Galois and, especially, Caylay, Cartan, Dynkin and others. In
spite of its beauty as a theory, however, group theory (GT) did not become
a truly useful tool in physics untill after the foundation of quantum mechan-
ics in the 1920s. To this end, a crucial role was played by Wigner, Weyl,
Gelfand, Racah and others. In other words, GT became very useful to the
physical sciences when it was realized that the set of linear transformations,
which lead from one state of a system to another, constitute a group.

2.1 Definitions and basic concepts

Definition: A group is a set G ≡ {E, A, B, C, . . .}, with elements differ-
ing from each other, equipped with a binary operation, which is usually a
multiplication, denoted by ∗, and having the following properties:
(i) The operation when acting on two elements of G produces a new
element of G, i.e.

A ∈ G, B ∈ G ⇒ ∃C  ∈ G and C ∈ G such that A ∗ B = C,

B ∗ A = C. (2.1)
It is usual to omit the multiplication symbol, so the above may be
written as AB = C, etc.

13
14 Group Theory: Finite Discrete Groups

(ii) A ∈ G, B ∈ G, C ∈ G and A = B ⇒ CA = CB.

(iii) The operation is associative, i.e.

A(BC) = (AB)C, (2.2)

which means that the brackets denoting the order in which the oper-
ations are to be performed are unnecessary and may be omitted.
(iv) The set G contains an element E such that

AE = EA = A, A ∈ G. (2.3)

This element E is the identity element and can also be denoted as 1

or 0, depending on the operation, but it should not be confused with
the numbers 1 or 0.
(v) For every A ∈ G, there is B ∈ G such that AB = E. B is then referred
to as the inverse of A and is denoted by A−1 .

The above axioms can be used to prove the following:

• The identity element E is unique. Let us say that AE = A and AE  = A,

A ∈ G. Then,

AE = AE  ⇒ A−1 AE = A−1 AE  ⇒ E = E  .

• The product of many elements of the group may be defined: ABCD . . ..

• If the group is finite, that is, if the number of elements g of the group is
finite, then the product of the operation on an element cannot continue
infinitely. At some point, the new product will coincide with one of the
elements of the group. Specifically,

If A ∈ G, there exists an integer n, n > 0, such that An = E,

where An = AA, . . . , A (n times product), n ≤ g.

In general, the operation is not commutative, so that in most cases, AB =

BA. If, however, it happens that

A ∈ G, B ∈ G ⇒ AB = BA,

the group is then called an Abelian group. We will see that the structure
of such a group is very simple. When the elements of the group can be
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juggles with the people’s desire for enlarged foreign markets and
freer exchanges by pretending to establish closer trade relations for a
country whose articles of export are almost exclusively agricultural
products with other countries that are also agricultural, while
erecting a Custom House barrier of prohibitive tariff taxes against
the rich countries of the world that stand ready to take our entire
surplus of products and to exchange therefor commodities which are
necessaries and comforts of life among our own people.
Sec. 5.—We recognize in the trusts and combinations which are
designed to enable capital to secure more than its just share of the
joint product of capital and labor, a natural consequence of the
prohibitive taxes which prevent the free competition which is the life
of honest trade, but we believe their worst evils can be abated by law,
and we demand the rigid enforcement of the laws made to prevent
and control them, together with such further legislation in restraint
of their abuses as experience may show to be necessary.
Sec. 6.—The Republican party, while professing a policy of
reserving the public land for small holdings by actual settlers, has
given away the people’s heritage till now a few railroad and non-
resident aliens, individual and corporate, possess a larger area than
that of all our farms between the two seas. The last Democratic
administration reversed the improvident and unwise policy of the
Republican party touching the public domain, and reclaimed from
corporations and syndicates, alien and domestic, and restored to the
people nearly one hundred million acres of valuable land to be
sacredly held as homesteads for our citizens, and we pledge ourselves
to continue this policy until every acre of land so unlawfully held
shall be reclaimed and restored to the people.
Sec. 7.—We denounce the Republican legislation known as the
Sherman act of 1890 as a cowardly makeshift fraught with
possibilities of danger in the future which should make all of its
supporters, as well as its author, anxious for its speedy repeal. We
hold to the use of both gold and silver as the standard money of the
country, and to the coinage of both gold and silver without
discriminating against either metal or charge of mintage, but the
dollar unit of coinage for both metals must be of equal intrinsic and
exchangeable value, or be adjusted through international agreement
or by such safeguards of legislation as shall insure the maintenance
of the parity of the two metals, and the equal power of every dollar at
all times in the markets and in the payment of debts, and we demand
that all paper currency shall be kept at par with and redeemable in
such coin. We insist upon this policy as especially necessary for the
protection of the farmers and laboring classes, the first and most
defenceless victims of unstable money and a fluctuating currency.
Sec. 8.—We recommend that the prohibitory ten per cent. tax on
State bank issues be repealed.
Sec. 9.—Public office is a public trust. We reaffirm the declaration
of the Democratic National Convention of 1876 for the reform of the
civil service and we call for the honest enforcement of all laws
regulating the same. The nomination of a President, as in the recent
Republican convention, by delegations composed largely of his
appointees, holding office at his pleasure, is a scandalous satire upon
free popular institutions and a startling illustration of the methods
by which a President may gratify his ambition. We denounce a policy
under which federal office-holders usurp control of party
conventions in the States, and we pledge the Democratic party to the
reform of these and all other abuses which threaten individual liberty
and local self-government.
Sec. 10.—The Democratic party is the only party that has ever
given the country a foreign policy consistent and vigorous,
compelling respect abroad and inspiring confidence at home. While
avoiding entangling alliances it has aimed to cultivate friendly
relations with other nations and especially with our neighbors on the
American continent whose destiny is closely linked with our own,
and we view with alarm the tendency to a policy of irritation and
bluster, which is liable at any time to confront us with the alternative
of humiliation or war.
We favor the maintenance of a navy strong enough for all purposes
of national defence and to properly maintain the honor and dignity
of the country abroad.
Sec. 11.—The country has always been the refuge of the oppressed
from every land—exiles for conscience sake—and in the spirit of the
founders of our government we condemn the oppression practised
by the Russian government upon its Lutheran and Jewish subjects,
and we call upon our national government, in the interest of justice
and humanity, by all just and proper means, to use its prompt and
best efforts to bring about a cessation of these cruel persecutions in
the dominions of the Czar and to secure to the oppressed equal
rights.
We tender our profound and earnest sympathy to those lovers of
freedom who are struggling for home rule and the great cause of local
self government in Ireland.
Sec. 12.—We heartily approve all legitimate efforts to prevent the
United States from being used as the dumping ground for the known
criminals and professional paupers of Europe, and we demand the
rigid enforcement of the laws against Chinese immigration or the
importation of foreign workmen under contract to degrade American
labor and lessen its wages, but we condemn and denounce any and
all attempts to restrict the immigration of the industrious and worthy
of foreign lands.
Sec. 13.—This Convention hereby renews the expression of
appreciation of the patriotism of the soldiers and sailors of the Union
in the war for its preservation, and we favor just and liberal pensions
for all disabled Union soldiers, their widows and dependents, but we
demand that the work of the Pension Office shall be done
industriously, impartially and honestly. We denounce the present
administration of that office as incompetent, corrupt, disgraceful and
dishonest.
Sec. 14.—The federal government should care for and improve the
Mississippi River and other great waterways of the Republic so as to
secure for the interior States easy and cheap transportation to the
tidewater.
When any waterway of the Republic is of sufficient importance to
demand the aid of the government, that such aid should be extended,
a definite plan of continuous work until permanent improvement is
secured.
Sec. 15.—For purposes of national defence and the promotion of
commerce between the States we recognize the early construction of
the Nicaragua Canal and its protection against foreign control as of
great importance to the United States.
Sec. 16.—Recognizing the World’s Columbian Exposition as a
national undertaking of vast importance, in which the general
government has invited the co-operation of all the Powers of the
world, and appreciating the acceptance by many of such Powers of
the invitation for extended and the broadest liberal efforts being
made by them to contribute to the grandeur of the undertaking, we
are of the opinion that Congress should make such necessary
financial provision as shall be requisite to the maintenance of the
national honor and public faith.
Sec. 17.—Popular education being the only safe basis of popular
suffrage, we recommend to the several States most liberal
appropriations for the public schools. Free common schools are the
nursery of good government and they have always received the
fostering care of the Democratic party, which favors every means of
increasing intelligence. Freedom of education being an essential of
civil and religious liberty as well as a necessity for the development of
intelligence, must not be interfered with under any pretext whatever.
We are opposed to State interference with parental rights and rights
of conscience in the education of children as an infringement of the
fundamental democratic doctrine that the largest individual liberty
consistent with the rights of others insures the highest type of
American citizenship and the best government.
Sec. 18.—We approve the action of the present House of
Representatives in passing bills for the admission into the Union as
States of the Territories of New Mexico and Arizona, and we favor
the early admission of all the Territories having necessary population
and resources to admit them to Statehood, and while they remain
Territories we hold that the officials appointed to administer the
government of any Territory, together with the Districts of Columbia
and Alaska, should be bona fide residents of the Territory or District
in which their duties are to be performed. The Democratic party
believes in home rule and the control of their own affairs by the
people of the vicinage.
Sec. 19.—We favor legislation by Congress and State Legislatures
to protect the lives and limbs of railway employés and those of other
hazardous transportation companies and denounce the inactivity of
the Republican party and particularly the Republican Senate for
causing the defeat of measures beneficial and protective to this class
of wageworkers.
Sec. 20.—We are in favor of the enactment by the States of laws for
abolishing the notorious sweating system, for abolishing contract
convict labor and for prohibiting the employment in factories of
children under fifteen years of age.
Sec. 21.—We are opposed to all sumptuary laws as an interference
with the individual rights of the citizen.
Sec. 22.—Upon this statement of principles and policies the
Democratic party asks the intelligent judgment of the American
people. It asks a change of administration and a change of party in
order that there may be a change of system and a change of methods,
thus assuring the maintenance, unimpaired, of institutions under
which the Republic has grown great and powerful.
The Tariff Issue, 1892.
 REPUBLICAN.
We reaffirm the American doctrine of
Protection. We call attention to its
growth abroad. We maintain that the
prosperous condition of our country
is largely due to the wise revenue
legislation of the Republican
Congress.
We believe that all articles which
cannot be produced in the United
States, except luxuries, should be
admitted free of duty, and that on all
imports coming into competition
with the products of American labor
there should be levied duties equal to
the difference between wages abroad
and at home.
We assert that the prices of
manufactured articles of general
consumption have been reduced
under the operation of the tariff act
of 1890.
We denounce the efforts of the
Democratic majority of the House of
Representatives to destroy our tariff
laws, as is manifested by their attacks
upon wool, lead and lead ores, the
chief product of a number of States,
and we ask the people for their
judgment thereon.
DEMOCRATIC.
We denounce Republican Protection as
a fraud—as a robbery of the great
majority of the American people for the
benefit of a few. We declare it to be a
fundamental principle of the
Democratic party that the government
has no constitutional power to impose
and collect a dollar for tax except for
purposes of revenue only, and demand
that the collection of such taxes be
imposed by the government when only
honestly and economically
administered.
[The above paragraph was adopted by a
vote of 504 to 342 as a substitute for
the following, reported from the
majority of the committee: “We
reiterate the oft repeated doctrines of
the Democratic party that the necessity
of the government is the only
justification for taxations, and
whenever a tax is unnecessary it is
unjustifiable; that when Custom House
taxation is levied upon articles of any
kind produced in this country, the
difference between the cost of labor
here and labor abroad, when such a
difference exists, fully measures any
possible benefits to labor, and the
enormous additional impositions of the
existing tariff fall with crushing force
upon our farmers and workingmen,
and, for the mere advantage of the few
whom it enriches, exact from labor a
grossly unjust share of the expenses of
the government, and we demand such a
revision of the tariff laws as will remove
their iniquitous inequalities, lighten
their oppressions and put them on a
constitutional and equitable basis. But
in making reduction in taxes, it is not
proposed to injure any domestic
industries, but rather to promote their
healthy growth. From the foundation of
this government, taxes collected at the
Custom House have been the chief
source of Federal revenue. Such they
must continue to be. Moreover, many
industries have come to rely upon
legislation for successful continuance,
so that any change of law must be at
every step regardful of the labor and
capital thus involved. The process of
reform must be subject in the execution
of this plain dictate of justice.”]
 The Reciprocity Issue, 1892.
REPUBLICAN.
We point to the success of the
Republican policy of reciprocity,
under which our export trade has
vastly increased and new and
enlarged markets have been opened
for the products of our farms and
workshops.
We remind the people of the bitter
opposition of the Democratic party to
this practical business measure, and
claim that, executed by a Republican
administration, our present laws will
eventually give us control or the
trade of the world.
DEMOCRATIC.
Trade interchange on the basis of
reciprocal advantages to the countries
participating is a time-honored
doctrine of the Democratic faith, but
we denounce the sham reciprocity
which juggles with the people’s desire
for enlarged foreign markets and free
exchanges by pretending to establish
closer trade relations for a country
whose articles of export are almost
exclusively agricultural products with
other countries that are also
agricultural, while erecting a Custom
House barrier of prohibitive tariff taxes
against the richest countries of the
world that stand ready to take our
entire surplus of products and to
exchange therefor commodities which
are necessaries and comforts of life
among our own people.
 The Silver Issue, 1892.
REPUBLICAN.
The American people, from tradition
and interest, favor bi-metallism, and
the Republican party demands the
use of both gold and silver as
standard money, with such
restrictions and under such
provisions, to be determined by
legislation, as will secure the
maintenance of the parity values of
the two metals, so that the
purchasing and debt-paying power of
the dollar, whether of silver, gold or
paper, shall be at all times equal. The
interests or the producers of the
country, its farmers and its
workingmen, demand that every
dollar, paper or coin, issued by the
government, shall be as good as any
other. We commend the wise and
patriotic steps already taken by our
government to secure an
international conference, to adopt
such measures as will insure a parity
of value between gold and silver for
use as money throughout the world.
DEMOCRATIC.
We denounce the Republican
legislation known as the Sherman act of
1890 as a cowardly makeshift, fraught
with possibilities of danger in the
future, which should make all its
supporters, as well as its author,
anxious for its speedy repeal. We hold
to the use of both gold and silver as the
standard money of the country, and to
the coinage of both gold and silver,
without discriminating against either
metal or charge for mintage, the dollar
unit or coinage of both metals must be
of equal intrinsic and exchangeable
value, or be adjusted through
international agreement or by such
safeguards of legislation as shall insure
the maintenance of the parity of the
two metals, and the equal power of
every dollar at all times in the markets
and in the payment of debts, and we
demand that all paper currency shall be
kept at par with and redeemable in
such coin. We insist upon this policy as
specially necessary for the protection of
the farmers and laboring classes the
first and most defenceless victims of
unstable money and a fluctuating
currency.
The Ballot Issue, 1892.
 REPUBLICAN.
We demand that every citizen of the
United States shall be allowed to cast
one free and unrestricted ballot in all
public elections and that such ballot
shall be counted and returned as
cast; that such laws shall be enacted
and enforced as will secure to every
citizen, be he rich or poor, native or
foreign born, white or black, this
sovereign right guaranteed by the
Constitution.
The free and honest popular ballot,
the just and equal representation of
all the people, as well as their just
and equal protection under the laws,
are the foundation of our republican
institutions, and the party will never
relax its efforts until the integrity of
the ballot and the purity of elections
shall be fully guaranteed and
protected in every State.
We denounce the continued inhuman
outrages perpetrated upon American
citizens for political reasons in
certain Southern States of the Union.
DEMOCRATIC.
We warn the people of our common
country, jealous for the preservation of
their free institutions, that the policy of
Federal control of elections to which
the Republican party has committed
itself is fraught with the gravest
dangers, scarcely less momentous than
would result from a revolution
practically establishing a monarchy on
the ruins of the republic. It strikes at
the North as well as the South, and
injures the colored citizen even more
than the white; it means a horde of
deputy marshals at every polling place,
armed with Federal power, returning
boards appointed and controlled by
Federal authority; the outrage of the
electoral rights of the people in the
several States; the subjugation of the
colored people to the control of the
party in power and the reviving of race
antagonisms, now happily abated, of
the utmost peril to the safety and
happiness of all—a measure
deliberately and justly described by a
leading Republican Senator as “the
most infamous bill that ever crossed
the threshold of the Senate.” Such a
policy, if sanctioned by law, would
mean the dominance of a self-
perpetuating oligarchy of office-
holders, and the party first intrusted
with its machinery could be dislodged
from power only by an appeal to the
reserved right of the people to resist
oppression which is inherent in all self-
governing communities. Two years ago
this revolutionary policy was
emphatically condemned by the people
at the polls; but, in contempt of that
verdict, the Republican party has
defiantly declared, in its latest
authoritative utterance, that its success
in the coming elections will mean the
enactment of the Force bill and the
usurpation of despotic control over
elections in all the States.

Believing that the preservation of

republican government in the United
States is dependent upon the defeat of
this policy of legalized force and fraud,
we invite the support of all citizens who
desire to see the Constitution
maintained in its integrity with the
laws pursuant thereto which have given
our country a hundred years of
unexampled prosperity; and we pledge
the Democratic party, if it be intrusted
with power, not only to the defeat of
the Force bill but also to relentless
opposition to the Republican policy of
profligate expenditure, which in the
short space of two years has
squandered an enormous surplus and
emptied an overflowing Treasury, after
piling new burdens of taxation upon
the already overtaxed
 Civil Service, 1892.
REPUBLICAN.
We commend the spirit and evidence
of reform in the Civil Service and the
wise and consistent enforcement by
the Republican party of the laws
regulating the same.
DEMOCRATIC.
Public office is a public trust. We
reaffirm the declaration of the
Democratic National Convention of
1876 for the reform of the civil service,
and we call for the honest enforcement
of all laws regulating the same. The
nomination of a President, as in the
recent Republican Convention, by
delegations composed largely of his
appointees, holding office at his
pleasure, is a scandalous satire upon
free popular institutions and a startling
illustration of the methods by which a
President may gratify his ambition. We
denounce a policy under which Federal
office-holders usurp control of party
conventions in the States, and we
pledge the Democratic party to the
reform of these and all other abuses
which threaten individual liberty and
local self-government.
 The Third or People’s Party.

The political wing of the Farmers’ Alliance and the elements

favoring the entering of the Labor organizations into politics, united
in a National Convention at Omaha on the 4th of July, 1892. This
Convention was the outcome of several previous efforts on the part of
these several organizations to enter national politics. In many State
Conventions of the Alliance its sub-treasury plan divided the
organization into two factions—political and non-political, and as a
result the representation at Omaha did not reflect the views of the
entire organization.
Judge Gresham of Indiana, was prominently named as a
Presidential candidate, and he finally consented to the use of his
name if it could command unanimous support, but this was denied
by what were called “the old guard,” who favored the recognition of
those only who were plainly identified with the Third party.
At 12 o’clock the roll of States for nomination for President was
hardly completed and there were four candidates before the
Convention—Weaver, of Iowa; Kyle, of South Dakota; Field, of
Virginia, and Page of Virginia. The chance seemed favorable to
Weaver, but the uncertainty of a nomination on the first ballot made
his friends still painfully anxious. Gresham’s declination had been at
last reluctantly accepted by his admirers, and the refusal of Van
Wyck to allow the consideration of his name practically left the field
to the four candidates who had been formally presented.
 The Ballot.

The first ballot for President resulted as follows, only one ballot
necessary, Weaver being successful:
Alabama, Weaver, 43, Arkansas, Weaver, 12; Kyle, 20; California,
Weaver, 25; Colorado, Weaver, 6; Kyle, 10; Connecticut, Weaver, 8;
Kyle, 2; Delaware, Weaver, 1; Florida, Weaver, 16; Georgia, Weaver,
16; Kyle, 39; Idaho, Weaver, 12; Illinois, Weaver, 41; Kyle, 42;
Indiana, Weaver 54; Kyle, 5; Norton, 1; Iowa, Weaver, 52; Kansas,
Weaver, 40; Kentucky, Weaver, 40; Louisiana, Weaver, 32; Maine,
Weaver, 6; Kyle, 3; Massachusetts, Weaver, 9; Kyle, 18; Page, 1;
Michigan, Weaver, 56; Minnesota, Weaver, 27; Kyle, 9; Mississippi,
Weaver, 17; Missouri, Weaver, 61: Kyle, 7; Montana, Kyle, 12;
Nebraska, Weaver, 23; Kyle, 3; Nevada, Kyle, 7; New Jersey, Weaver,
4; New York, Weaver, 59; North Carolina, Weaver, 20; Kyle, 5; North
Dakota, Weaver, 11; Kyle, 1; Ohio, Weaver, 30; Kyle, 22; Oregon,
Weaver, 16; Pennsylvania, Weaver, 29; Stanford, 1; South Dakota,
Weaver, 1; Kyle, 15; Tennessee, Weaver, 45; Texas, Weaver, 60;
Virginia, Weaver, 48; Washington, Weaver, 15; West Virginia,
Weaver, 17; Wisconsin, Weaver, 7; Kyle, 41; Wyoming, Weaver, 3;
District of Columbia, Weaver, 8; Oklahoma, Weaver, 8. Total:
Weaver, 995; Kyle, 265; Norton, 1; Page, 1; Stanford, 1.
Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
Vermont, Alaska, Arizona, Indian Territory, New Mexico and Utah
are blank.
Norton moved to make the nomination unanimous, and Schilling,
of Wisconsin, Washburn, of Massachusetts, and the delegates from
South Dakota, Montana and Massachusetts seconded the motion. It
was carried with a hurrah and loud cheering.
General James G. Field, of Virginia, and of the Confederate
service, was nominated on the first ballot for Vice-President.
 People’s Party Platform.

Preamble: Corruption dominates the ballot-box, the Legislatures,

the Congress and touches even the ermine of the bench. The people
are demoralized, most of the States have been compelled to isolate
the voters at the polling places to prevent universal intimidation or
bribery. The newspapers are largely subsidized or muzzled, public
opinion silenced, business prostrated, our homes covered with
mortgages, labor impoverished and the land concentrating in the
hands of the capitalists.
The urban workmen are denied the right of organization for self-
protection; imported pauperized labor beats down their wages; a
hireling standing army, unrecognized by our laws, is established to
shoot them down, and they are rapidly degenerating into European
conditions. The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build
up colossal fortunes for a few, unprecedented in the history of
mankind, and the possessors of these in turn despise the republic
and endanger liberty. From the same prolific womb of governmental
injustice we breed the two great classes—tramps and millionaires.
The national power to create money is appropriated to enrich
bondholders; a vast public debt payable in legal tender currency has
been funded into gold-bearing bonds, thereby adding millions to the
burdens of the people.
Silver, which has been accepted as coin since the dawn of history,
has been demonetized to add to the purchasing power of gold by
decreasing the value of all forms of property as well as human labor,
and the supply of currency is purposely abridged to fatten usurers
and bankrupt enterprise and slave industry.
We declare that this republic can only endure as a free government
while built upon the love of the whole people for each other and for
the nation; that it cannot be pinned together by bayonets; that the
civil war is over, and that every passion and resentment which grew
out of it must die with it, and that we must be, in fact, as we are in
name, one united brotherhood of free men.
Our country finds itself confronted by conditions for which there is
no precedent in the history of the world. Our annual agricultural
productions amount to billions of dollars in value, which must within
a few weeks or months be exchanged for billions of dollars of
commodities consumed in their production. The existing currency
supply is wholly inadequate to make this exchange. The results are
falling prices, the formation of combines and rings, the
impoverishment of the producing class. We pledge ourselves that, if
given power, we will labor to correct these evils by wise and
reasonable legislation, in accordance with the terms of our platform.
The platform proper, declares:
First.—That the union of the labor forces of the United States this
day consummated shall be permanent and perpetual. May its spirit
into all hearts for the salvation of the Republic aid the uplifting of
mankind.
Second.—Wealth belongs to him who creates it, and every dollar
taken from industry without an equivalent is robbery. “If any will not
work, neither shall he eat.” The interests of rural and civic labor are
the same: their enemies are identical.
Third.—We believe that the time has come when the railroad
corporations will either own the people or the people must own the
railroads, and should the government enter upon the work of owning
and managing all railroads, we should favor an amendment to the
Constitution by which all persons engaged in the government service
shall be placed under a Civil Service regulation of the most rigid
character, so as to prevent the increase of the power of the national
administration by the use of such additional government employés.
Finance.—We demand a national currency, safe, sound and
flexible, issued by the general government only, a full legal tender for
all debts, public and private, and that without the use of banking
corporations, a just, equitable and efficient means of distribution
direct to the people, at a tax rate not to exceed two per cent, per
annum to be provided as set forth in the sub-Treasury plan of the
Farmers’ Alliance or a better system: also by payments in discharge
of its obligations for public improvements.
 (a).—We demand free and unlimited coinage of silver and gold at
the present legal ratio of 16 to 1.
(b).—We demand that the amount of circulating medium be
speedily increased to not less than $50 per capita.
(c).—We demand a graduated income tax.
(d).—We believe that the money of the country should be kept as
much as possible in the hands of the people, and hence we demand
that all State and national revenues shall be limited to the necessary
expenses of the government, economically and honestly
administered.
(e).—We demand that postal savings banks be established by the
government for the safe deposit of the earnings of the people and to
facilitate exchange.
Transportation.—Transportation being a means of exchange and a
public necessity, the government should own and operate the
railroads in the interests of the people.
(a).—The telegraph, telephone, like the post-office system, being a
necessity for the transmission of news, should be owned and
operated by the government in the interest of the people.
Land.—The land, including all the natural sources of wealth, is the
heritage of the people and should not be monopolized for speculative
purposes, and alien ownership of land should be prohibited. All land
now held by railroads and other corporations in excess of their actual
needs, and all lands now owned by aliens, should be reclaimed by the
government and held for actual settlers only.
AMERICAN POLITICS.