Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2019/paper-2/section-c/c10/c/solution

The reciprocal lattice is the set of wavevectors satisfying for every direct Bravais lattice translation . Equivalently, is an integer multiple of . It describes the spatial periodicities that can produce coherent Bragg scattering.
For direct primitive vectors and oriented cell volume , the primitive reciprocal vectors are
They obey , and every reciprocal vector is an integer combination of them. Their units are inverse length. The reciprocal primitive cell volume is , so expanding a direct lattice contracts its reciprocal scale.

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