Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-condensed-matter-physics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2014/1/d/solution
Past exam of the condensed matter physics course of the University of Oxford 2014 1 d Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
The FCC parity rule forbids and and allows and . To follow each same plane family through the deformation, use fractional coordinates in the compressed old cell and in the new cube. The preceding vectors giveThus becomes , withCrucially, this transformation retains the plane spacing and diffraction order, not just a normal direction:
| Old FCC reflection | New-cell reciprocal coordinates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Not a new reciprocal-lattice vector; absent | ||
| Odd index sum; absent | ||
| Even index sum; allowed | ||
| Even index sum; allowed |
The two physically allowed reflections remain allowed, and the two absent ones remain absent. Their angles and spacings change under strain; their allowedness as tracked reciprocal vectors does not.
The half-integer entry is deliberate. It cannot be relabeled as the ordinary BCC reflection while claiming to track the same diffraction order. Multiplying its indices by two doubles the reciprocal vector and halves the spacing; that new allowed reflection is the image of old FCC , not old . If only an orientation label is wanted, the old and planes both have the new orientation, but are distinct orders. This is the distinction between diffraction indexing under a cell change and merely reducing a plane normal to the smallest integer ratio.
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