Primitive basis

Base primitive (Fr). Base primitiva (It)

Definition

A primitive basis is a crystallographic basis of the vector lattice L such that every lattice vector t of L may be obtained as an integral linear combination of the basis vectors, a, b, c.

In mathematics, a primitive basis is often called a lattice basis, whereas in crystallography the latter has a more general meaning and corresponds to a crystallographic basis.

See also

• direct lattice
• primitive cell
• Sections 8.1 and 9.1 of International Tables of Crystallography, Volume A

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