Dichromatic symmetry

Dichromatic symmetry, also referred to as antisymmetry, black-and-white symmetry, magnetic symmetry, counterchange symmetry or dichroic symmetry, is a symmetry operation which reverses an object to its opposite. A more precise definition is "operations of antisymmetry transform objects possessing two possible values of a given property from one value to the other." Dichromatic symmetry refers specifically to two-coloured symmetry; this can be extended to three or more colours in which case it is termed polychromatic symmetry. A general term for dichromatic and polychromatic symmetry is simply colour symmetry. Dichromatic symmetry is used to describe magnetic crystals and in other areas of physics, such as time reversal, which require two-valued symmetry operations.