Rotational symmetry

Generally, an object with rotational symmetry also known in biological contexts as radial symmetry, is an object that looks the same after a certain amount of rotation. An object may have more than one rotational symmetry; for instance, if reflections or turning it over are not counted. The degree of rotational symmetry is how many degrees the shape has to be turned to look the same on a different side or vertex. It cannot be the same side or vertex.

Formal treatment

Formally the rotational symmetry is symmetry with respect to some or all rotations in m-dimensional Euclidean space. Rotations are direct isometries, i.e., isometries preserving orientation. Therefore a symmetry group of rotational symmetry is a subgroup of E⁺(m) (see Euclidean group).

Symmetry with respect to all rotations about all points implies translational symmetry with respect to all translations, so space is homogeneous, and the symmetry group is the whole E(m). With the modified notion of symmetry for vector fields the symmetry group can also be E⁺(m).