In group theory, a branch of abstract algebra, a character table is a two-dimensional table whose rows correspond to irreducible group representations, and whose columns correspond to classes of group elements. The entries consist of characters, the trace of the matrices representing group elements of the column's class in the given row's group representation.
In chemistry, crystallography, and spectroscopy, character tables of point groups are used to classify e.g. molecular vibrations according to their symmetry, and to predict whether a transition between two states is forbidden for symmetry reasons.
Read more about Character Table: Definition and Example, Orthogonality Relations, Properties, Outer Automorphisms
Famous quotes containing the words character and/or table:
“Reputation is not of enough value to sacrifice character for it.”
—“Miss Clark,” U.S. charity worker. As quoted in Petticoat Surgeon, ch. 9, by Bertha Van Hoosen (1947)
“A child who is not rigorously instructed in the matter of table manners is a child whose future is being dealt with cavalierly. A person who makes an admiral’s hat out of linen napkins is not going to be in wild social demand.”
—Fran Lebowitz (20th century)