Journal of Mathematics and the Arts

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Hyperbolic isocoronal tilings

Eduard C. Taganap & Ma. Louise Antonette N. De Las Peñas

To cite this article: Eduard C. Taganap & Ma. Louise Antonette N. De Las Peñas (2018)
Hyperbolic isocoronal tilings, Journal of Mathematics and the Arts, 12:2-3, 96-110, DOI:
10.1080/17513472.2018.1466432

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2018.1466432

Published online: 26 Jun 2018.

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JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS AND THE ARTS, 2018
VOL. 12, NOS. 2–3, 96–110
https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2018.1466432

Hyperbolic isocoronal tilings

~ asb
Eduard C. Taganapa,b and Ma. Louise Antonette N. De Las Pen
a
Department of Mathematics, Ateneo de Manila University, Metro Manila, Philippines; bDepartment of
Mathematics and Physics, Central Luzon State University, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This paper discusses a method that facilitates the systematic Received 29 January 2018
derivation of isocoronal tilings from isohedral tilings. The method is Accepted 2 April 2018
applied to construct isocoronal tilings in the hyperbolic plane and KEYWORDS
determine their symmetry groups. Hyperbolic tilings;
monocoronal; isocoronal;
isogonal; symmetry group

MATHEMATICS SUBJECT
CLASSIFICATION
52C20; 05B45; 58D19

1. Introduction
Throughout history, the splendour and complexity of the art of tilings has fascinated
many, including artists, architects, mathematicians and scientists. The study of tilings
facilitated connections between mathematics and culture, through the symmetries present
in tilings, such as the Islamic tilings in the Alhambra at Granada in Spain and in Muslim
religious buildings that are very rich in symmetry. The inherent symmetry properties of
tilings have allowed tilings to be natural models of scientific structures, and useful tools in
artwork. For example, regular and semi-regular tilings with their vertex transitivity prop-
erties have been used to represent molecular structures [4] and nanostructures [6,26,27].
In [8,9,10,13], Dunham has used semi-regular tilings to construct renditions of families of
Escher’s circle limit patterns displayed in the hyperbolic Poincare disk model, and in
[11,12] Tony Bomford’s Hyperbolic Spiderweb rug (1981) was inspired by M.C. Escher’s
Circle Limit IV (1960), based on the regular hexagon tiling. In recent years, due to advan-
ces in digital technologies, tilings have been used in shaping structures in contemporary
architecture: examples are the aperiodic pinwheel tiling in the Federation Square in Mel-
bourne [16,17], and the periodic tiling by single-shaped tiles in the Harpa concert hall in
Reykjavik, Iceland [1].
In tiling theory, one of the oldest problems being studied is the classification and enu-
meration of tilings. One way to classify tilings is through the transitivity properties of their
vertices, edges and faces under their groups of symmetries. If the symmetry group of a til-
ing T acts transitively on its vertices, edges or faces, then T is called an isogonal, isotoxal
or isohedral tiling, respectively. Gr€unbaum and Shephard have provided in their articles,

CONTACT Ma. Louise Antonette N. De Las Pe~nas mdelaspenas@ateneo.edu

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
 JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS AND THE ARTS 97

catalogues of tilings in the Euclidean plane E2 , that are isogonal [19], isotoxal [20,21] and
isohedral [23]. In [22], they also enumerated all isogonal, isotoxal and isohedral tilings in
the spherical plane S2 . In the hyperbolic plane H2 , Huson classified all tile-k-transitive
tilings (which includes isohedral tilings) using the Delaney Dress symbol [25]. In [28], the
14 infinite families of isotoxal tilings in the planes of constant curvatures obtained by
combinatorial classification of fundamental domains are discussed. In [29], Mitchell clas-
sified uniform tilings (isogonal tilings by regular polygons) in H2 with valence 3 and 4
using combinatorial techniques.
Another class of tilings are the isocoronal tilings that have a vertex coronae transi-
tive property. An isocoronal tiling is a tiling whose symmetry group acts transitively
on its vertex coronae [14]. The vertex corona of a vertex of a tiling is the vertex
together with its adjacent tiles. In a recent work [15], Frettl€oh and Garber explored
monocoronal tilings, tilings where all vertex coronae are congruent. In the article, a
classification of isocoronal tilings in E2 has been provided, based on a combinatorial
approach.
In this study, we continue the study of isocoronal tilings. An objective of this paper is to
contribute to the characterization of isocoronal tilings, in particular, by providing a
method that gives rise to planar isocoronal tilings by convex polygons that are edge-to-
edge. The approach is group theoretic, and allows for the derivation of the symmetry
groups of the tilings. We discuss the application of the method to arrive at hyperbolic iso-
coronal tilings, which are scarce in the literature.
The paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we give the basic definitions and nota-
tions used in the paper. Section 3 contains the framework for constructing isocoronal
tilings from isohedral tilings. In Section 4, we discuss hyperbolic isocoronal tilings from
the ½pn  tiling. Section 5 gives the conclusion and future outlook for this study.

2. General notations and definitions

Let X be the Euclidean E2 , spherical S2 or hyperbolic H2 planes. A tiling T of X is a col-
lection of tiles T ¼ fti : i 2 Ng that is a covering ð [ i ti ¼ XÞ as well as a packing



Int ðti Þ \ Int tj ¼ ; if i 6¼ j, Int ðt Þ denotes the interior of tile t). In this work, the tiles
are convex polygons (n-gons, n > 2). A tiling by convex polygons is edge-to-edge if the
intersection of any of its two tiles is either the common edge or common vertex of the
tiles, or empty. Two tiles having a common edge are said to be adjacent.
A vertex of T is a point x such that x is a vertex of at least one tile in T . A vertex with w
number of edges incident to it is said to have valence w.
The corona C ðt Þ of a tile t in T is the set of all tiles that have non-empty intersection
with t. More specifically, C ðt Þ ¼ ft 0 2 T : t \ t 0 6¼ ;g. Two tiles t and t0 could possibly
have the same corona, that is C ðt Þ ¼ C ðt0 Þ but t 6¼ t 0 . We distinguish between these
coronae by using the term centred corona C ðt Þ to mean the pair consisting of the corona
C ðt Þ and its fixed centre t.
The symmetry group G of T is the group of all isometries that leave T invariant.
A fundamental domain D of G is a domain (open and connected subset) in X such that
(i) X ¼ [ g2G gD and (ii) if g1 , g2 2 G with g1 6¼ g2 then g1 D \ g2 D ¼ ;. A fundamental
domain of G is also referred to as a fundamental region of the tiling.
98 e
E. C. TAGANAP AND M. L. A. N. DE LAS PENAS

T is an isohedral tiling if G acts transitively on its tiles. That is, the set of tiles form one
orbit under G. Given a tile t 2 T ; Gt ¼ T where Gt ¼ fgt 2 T : g 2 Gg is referred to
as the orbit of t under G. We define the stabilizer of t in G, denoted by StabG ðt Þ, as the
subgroup of G consisting of elements that fix t, that is StabG ðt Þ ¼ fg 2 G : gt ¼ t g . An
isohedral tiling is denoted by ½v1 :v2 : . . . :vn  where a tile consists of n vertices with valen-
ces v1 , v2 , . . ., vn (in cyclic order) [22].
An isocoronal tiling is monocoronal; this tiling is described by ðp1 : p2 : . . . :pn Þ where
p1 , p2 , . . ., pn are the n polygons that constitute a vertex corona.
In this work, we describe the symmetry groups of isocoronal tilings using Conway’s
orbifold notation [2]. The orbifold notation is based on the type of symmetries occurring
in the group. The symbol  denotes a reflection,  a glide reflection, B a translation and a
positive integer s indicates an s-fold rotation. If s comes after , the centre of the corre-
sponding rotation lies on the axis of reflection, so the symmetry there is dihedral of order
2s. To shorten the notation, superscripts will be used. To describe the symmetry group of
a tiling in some discussions that follow, elements of the symmetry group will be indicated
on a fundamental region of the tiling. A centre of rotation of order n, n > 2 will be labelled
by an n-gon. A twofold rotation will be labelled by a circle. The axes of reflections and
glide reflections will be indicated by solid lines and broken lines, respectively. Hyperbolic
tilings in this paper will be exhibited on the Poincare disk model of the hyperbolic plane.
Congruent edges of the exhibited isocoronal tilings will be given the same colour.

3. Construction of isocoronal tilings

Lemma 3.1: Let T be an isohedral tiling with symmetry group G. Let H < G such that
StabH ðt Þ ¼ feg, t 2 T . H acts transitively on the tiles in T if and only if
½G : H  ¼ j StabG ðt Þ j .
Proof. If H < G acts transitively on the tiles in T then Gt ¼ Ht. This implies that
½G : StabG ðt Þ ¼ ½H : StabH ðt Þ [24]. Thus ½G : H  ¼ j StabG ðt Þ j .
Conversely, suppose ½G : H  ¼ j StabG ðt Þ j ¼ n. Let si , sj 2 StabG ðt Þ, si 6¼ sj and si ,
sj 6¼ e. Suppose si 2 Hsj . So si ¼ hsj for some h 2 H. Note that si s1 j h1 ¼ e. Then, H
1 1 1 1 1
¼ si sj h H ¼ si sj H implying that si sj 2 H. Hence, si sj 2 StabH ðt Þ. But since si
s1
j 6¼ e we have a contradiction. Thus, si 2 = Hsj . Since j StabG ðt Þ j ¼ ½G : H  then the
elements of StabG ðt Þ form a complete set of right coset representatives of H in G. We can
write T ¼ Gt ¼ ðHs1 [ Hs2 [    [ Hsn Þt ¼ Ht where fs1 ; s2 ; . . . ; sn g ¼ StabG ðt Þ.
Hence, H acts transitively on the tiles in T . &
Theorem 3.1: Let T be an edge-to-edge isohedral tiling ½v1 :v2 : . . . :vn  with symmetry
group G. Assume HG such that StabH ðt Þ ¼ feg, t 2 T . If H acts transitively on the tiles
in T then there exists an edge-to-edge isocoronal tiling ðv1 :v2 : . . . :vn Þ with symmetry
group G H.
Proof. Consider x 2 Int ðt Þ where t is a tile in T . Form the H-orbit Hx of x. Since
StabH ðt Þ ¼ feg and H acts transitively on the tiles in T , every tile in T contains a point
from Hx. Connect using an edge two points from Hx that belong to two adjacent tiles.
This is possible since T is edge-to-edge. Consequently, a tiling T  is formed with poly-
gons as tiles and points from Hx as vertices. The polygons form a covering and packing of
 JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS AND THE ARTS 99

the plane such that the intersection of a pair of polygons is a common edge, a common
vertex or the empty set. That is, we obtain an edge-to-edge tiling T .
Given a vertex yi of t with valence vi , i ¼ 1, 2, . . ., n, a vi -gon is formed (with yi in its
interior) by connecting the points from Hx contained in the tiles incident to yi . Note that
t has n vertices with valences v1 , v2 , . . ., vn (in cyclic order). Thus, v1 -, v2 -, . . ., vn -gons are
formed incident to x, which constitute the vertex corona of x.
Let x1 , x2 be two vertices of T , x1 2 Int ðt1 Þ, x2 2 Int ðt2 Þ where t1 , t2 2 T . We have
t2 ¼ ht1 , h 2 H. Then, hC ðt1 Þ ¼ C ðt2 Þ where C ðt1 Þ, C ðt2 Þ are the centred coronae of t1 ,
t2; respectively. Hence, B ¼ hA where A, B is the vertex corona of x1 , x2; respectively.
Since HT  ¼ T  then G H where G is the symmetry group of T  . &
p
As an example, consider the isohedral tiling ½3:4:8:4 by 4-gons with interior angles 2p 3 2,
,
p p
4 and 2 . Its symmetry group is G ¼ ⟨P, Q, R⟩ ffi 832 (the respective axes lP , lQ , lR of
reflections P, Q, R are shown in Figure 1(a)). The StabG ðt Þ ffi D1 (dihedral group of order
2), t 2 ½3:4:8:4. Consider the subgroup H of index 2 in G where H ¼ h PQ; PR i ffi 832

Figure 1. Construction of the isocoronal tiling (3.4.8.4) from isohedral tiling [3.4.8.4] using H.
(a) Axes of generators of G are shown. A fundamental region is shaded showing centres of eightfold,
threefold and twofold rotations lying on lP , lQ , lR . (b) The centres of generators of H; x 2 Int ðt Þ, t a
tile in ½3:4:8:4; a fundamental region of H. (c) The orbit Hx of x under H. (d) Isocoronal tiling with ver-
tex corona consisting of a regular 3-gon, a regular 8-gon and two congruent non-equiangular 4-gons
with congruent alternating edges, obtained by connecting the points in Hx. Isocoronal tiling with ver-
tex corona consisting of: (e) a regular 3-gon, a regular 8-gon and two congruent equiangular 4-gons
with congruent alternating edges; (f) regular polygons: 3-gon, 4-gon, 8-gon and 4-gon (in cyclic order).
100 e
E. C. TAGANAP AND M. L. A. N. DE LAS PENAS

0
Figure 2. Isocoronal tilings from the isohedral tiling [3.4.8.4] using H = ⟨P; QR⟩ ffi 38.

(centres of generators of H are shown in Figure 1(b)). H acts transitively on the tiles of
½3:4:8:4 and StabH ðt Þ ¼ feg.
Let x 2 Int ðt Þ. We consider the following possibilities: (i) x does not lie on an axis of
reflection symmetry of t, (ii) x lies on an axis of reflection of t, x is not the incenter
of t and (iii) x is the incentre of t. We form the orbit Hx of x under the action of H and
connect the points in Hx that belong to adjacent tiles to obtain the isocoronal tiling
(see Figure 1(b–d) that illustrates case (i)). A vertex corona of the resulting tiling
shown in Figure 1(d) consists of a regular 3-gon, a regular 8-gon and two congruent non-
equiangular 4-gons with congruent alternating edges. The symmetry group of the tiling is
H ffi 832; a fundamental region of the tiling is t.
If we consider (ii), we obtain the isocoronal tiling with vertex corona consisting of a
regular 3-gon, a regular 8-gon and two congruent equiangular 4-gons with congruent
alternating edges (Figure 1(e)). Its fundamental region is half of t and its symmetry group
is G ¼ H [ QH ffi 832.
Case (iii) results to an isocoronal tiling with vertex corona consisting of a 3-gon, an 8-
gon and two congruent 4-gons, all of which are regular polygons (Figure 1(f)). Its symme-
try group is G ffi 832; its fundamental region is half of t.
As can be observed from the above example, choosing various positions for x yields dif-
ferent polygons in a vertex corona of the tiling. Choosing x that lies on a fixed point or
axis of symmetry of StabG ðt Þ, yields additional symmetries in the resulting vertex corona.
Considering other subgroups of G of index 2, that satisfy the assumptions of Theorem 3.1
results in isocoronal tilings with vertex corona consisting of 3-gon, 4-gon, 8-gon and 4-
gon (in cyclic order) (Figure 2). The software groups, algorithms programming is a useful
tool in identifying appropriate subgroups of G to consider [31].

4. Isocoronal tilings from ½pn  tilings

Among the challenges in classifying isocoronal hyperbolic tilings and determining their
symmetry groups are due to the infinite number of symmetry groups possible and the
wider variety of symmetries present [30]. Applying combinatorial methods (see, e.g.
[15,29]) to generate these tilings pose difficulties in terms of listing possibilities of poly-
gons appearing in a vertex corona (which are infinite), and validating whether unions of
patches with particular vertex coronae tile the hyperbolic plane.
 JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS AND THE ARTS 101

In terms of the framework given in the previous section, we illustrate a manner to gen-
erate classes of hyperbolic isocoronal tilings and determine their symmetry groups. We
start with a well-known isohedral tiling such as the ½pn  tiling, and use well-known sub-
groups of its symmetry group. This will yield isocoronal tilings with vertex corona consist-
ing of n p-gons.
It can be recalled from [3] that a ½pn  tiling of H2 is an edge-to-edge isohedral
tiling where p regular n-gons meet at a vertex satisfying 1p þ n1 < 12. A fundamental region
of ½pn  is a right triangle with interior angles pn, p
p and p2 ; and whose vertices lie on the
centre, vertex and midpoint of an edge of a tile in [pn ]. The symmetry group of ½pn 
is G0 ¼ ⟨P, Q, R : P2 ¼ Q2 ¼ R2 ¼ ðPQÞn ¼ ðQRÞp ¼ ðRPÞ2 ¼ e⟩ ffi np2. P, Q, R are
reflections with axes passing through the sides of the fundamental region of ½pn .
Since StabG0 ðt Þ ffi Dn (dihedral group of order 2n), t 2 ½pn , we consider index 2n
subgroups of G0 such that StabHi ðt Þ ¼ feg. For purposes of this paper we consider the
subgroups Hi (i ¼ 1, 2, 3) as follows:
* ðQRÞn ; A ; A ; . . . ; A : +
1 2 n p
H1 ¼ p ffi 2n
n n
ððQRÞ Þn ¼ A21 ¼ A22 ¼    ¼ A2n ¼ An An1    A1 ¼ e

where Ai ¼ ðPQÞi RPðQPÞi , i ¼ 1, 2, . . ., n;

p
H2 ¼ h B1 ; B2 ; . . . ; Bp : B2p    B22 B21 ¼ e i ffi 2
2 2

where p ¼ n, Bj ¼ ðPQÞ2j ðPQRÞðQPÞ2j , j ¼ 1, 2, . . ., p2 [3].

*E ; E ; ...;E : +
1 2 n pn
H3 ¼ p p p ffi 
2
E1 ¼ E2 ¼ . . . ¼ En ¼ ðE1 E2 Þ ¼ ðE2 E3 Þ ¼    ¼ ðEn E1 Þ2 ¼ e
2 2 2 2 2

where Ei ¼ ðPQÞi ðRÞðQPÞi , i ¼ 1, 2, . . ., n [3].

Theorems 4.1–4.3 characterize the isocoronal tilings and their symmetry groups, using
the subgroups H1 , H2 and H3; respectively. In Figures 3–8, we show images that supple-
ment the construction of isocoronal tilings. The fundamental region of an isocoronal til-
ing that result is shaded yellow.
Theorem 4.1: Given a ½pn  tiling where n divides p, then there exist edge-to-edge isocoronal
tilings with vertex corona consisting of n congruent p-gons with symmetry groups:
p n
p n2
p n1
p
2n ; 2 2  ðn evenÞ; 2 2  22 ðn evenÞ; 2 2  2 ðn oddÞ; and  np2:
n n n n

Proof. Consider H1 . Let t, a tile in the ½pn  tiling such that ðQRÞn is a np-fold rotation cen-
tred at a vertex (labelled A) of t and A1 , A2 , . . ., An are twofold rotations centred at mid-
points of edges of t. Take a point x 2 Int ðt Þ. Forming H1 x and connecting the points in
102 e
E. C. TAGANAP AND M. L. A. N. DE LAS PENAS

 
Figure 3. Isocoronal tiling with symmetry group
 324 from the 124 tiling (with symmetry group
ð12Þ42). (a) A fundamental region of the 124 tiling is shaded showing the centres of 12-fold, 4-fold
and 2-fold rotations. (b) A fundamental region of the isocoronal tiling is shaded showing the centres of
threefold and twofold rotations. In (b) and in the succeeding figures of isocoronal tilings, congruent
edges are given the same colour.

H1 x that belong to adjacent tiles results to an edge-to-edge isocoronal tiling with vertex
corona consisting of n p-gons by Theorem 3.1.
Now we show that the n p-gons in a vertex corona are congruent. Take P a p-gon in the
vertex corona of x, with P centred at A of t. The other n  1 p-gons in the vertex corona of
x are images of P under the products of the twofold rotations centred at the midpoints of
n edges of t. In particular, A1 P is a p-gon adjacent to P, ðA2 A1 ÞP is adjacent to A1 P, and
so on until ðAn An1    A1 ÞP ¼ P: Hence, the n p-gons in a vertex corona are congruent.
The types of p-gons in the vertex corona of x (such as P) vary depending on the posi-
tion of x.

 
Figure 4. Isocoronal tiling with symmetry group
 23 2 from the 126 tiling (with symmetry group
ð12Þ62). (a) A fundamental region of the 126 tiling is shaded showing the centres of 12-fold, 6-fold
and 2-fold rotations. (b) A fundamental region of the isocoronal tiling is shaded showing the centres of
two twofold rotations not lying on the axes of reflection symmetries, and a twofold rotation lying on
the axis of reflection symmetry g.
 JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS AND THE ARTS 103

 
Figure 5. Isocoronal tiling with symmetry group 22 23 from the 126 tiling. A fundamental region of
the isocoronal tiling is shaded showing the centres of two twofold rotations not lying on the axes of
reflection symmetries, and three twofold rotations lying on the axes of reflection symmetries.

(1) Suppose x does not lie on an axis of reflection symmetry of t (Figure 3(b)). P has n
consecutive edges of varying lengths with this sequence of edges appearing d times
in P repeatedly since there is a d ¼ np -fold rotation centred at A. P has Cd symmetry
(its symmetry group is Cd , a cyclic group of order d). A fundamental region of the
isocoronal

p ntiling is t (Figure 3(b)). The0 symmetry group of the isocoronal tiling is
H1 ffi n 2 , an index 2n subgroup of G .
(2) (n is even) Suppose x lies on an axis of reflection symmetry g of t that passes through
opposite vertices A, B of t; x not the midpoint of AB (Figure 4(b)). In this case, P has
p
2 edges of varying lengths with symmetry group Dd since the d ¼ n -fold rotation
n

centred at A lies on AB, axis of reflection g. The vertex corona of x is mirror sym-
metric under g. A fundamental region of the isocoronal tiling is half of t, an nþ2
2 -gon

 
Figure 6. Isocoronal tiling with symmetry
 3 group 232 from the 93 tiling (with symmetry group 932).
(a) A fundamental region of the 9 tiling is shaded showing the centres of ninefold, threefold and two-
fold rotations. (b) A fundamental region of the isocoronal tiling is shaded showing the centres of a two-
fold rotation not lying on an axis of reflection symmetry, and twofold and threefold rotations lying on the
axis of reflection symmetry g 00 . (c) Isocoronal tiling by regular 9-gons with symmetry group  932.
104 e
E. C. TAGANAP AND M. L. A. N. DE LAS PENAS

Figure 7. Isocoronal
 8  tilings with symmetry group (b) 4 , (c) 22  , (d)2 and (e) 82 2 from the iso-
hedral tiling 8 (with symmetry
  group 8 2). The vertex corona of x 2 Int ðt Þ is shown. In (a), a fun-
2

damental region of the 88 tiling is shaded showing the centres of eightfold and twofold rotations. In
(b), a fundamental region of the isocoronal tiling is shaded; axes of glide reflection symmetries in H
are shown, four of which passes through the midpoints of the edges the fundamental region. In (c), a
fundamental region of the isocoronal tiling is shaded showing the centres of two twofold rotations
(product of a glide reflection symmetry in H and the reflection symmetry g, whose axes intersect). In
(d), a fundamental region of the isocoronal tiling is shaded; axes of glide reflection symmetries in H
are shown, two of which passes through the fundamental region.

with AB as a side (Figure 4(b)). There are twofold rotations at midpoints of the n2
edges (not including the side AB) of the
fundamental region. The symmetry group
p
of the isocoronal tiling is H1 [ gH1 ffi 2  n ; an index n subgroup of G0 .
n
2

(3) (n is even) Suppose x lies on an axis of reflection symmetry g 0 of t that passes

through midpoints C, D of opposite edges of t; x not the midpoint of CD (Figure 5).
In this case, P has symmetry group Dd since there is a d ¼ np -fold rotational sym-
metry centred at A and a reflection symmetry (a product of g 0 and a twofold rota-
tion centred at C) along an edge of t containing A. This time, P has nþ2 2 edges of
varying lengths. The vertex corona of x is also mirror symmetric under g 0 . A funda-
mental region of the isocoronal tiling is half of t, an nþ42 -gon with CD as a side
(Figure 5). There are twofold rotations centred at midpoints of n2 2 edges (not
including side CD) of the fundamental region. C and D (centres of twofold rota-
tions) lie on the reflection axis of g 0 . The symmetry group of the isocoronal tiling is
0 n2

H1 [ g H1 ffi 2 2  np 22 , an index n subgroup of G0 .
 JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS AND THE ARTS 105

Figure 8. Isocoronal
 4  tilings with symmetry group (a) 4 , (b) 8 4, (c)4 2 and (d) 842 from the iso-
4 2 2 2

hedral tiling 8 . Fundamental regions of the isocoronal tilings are shaded showing the centres of
rotational symmetries lying on axes of reflection symmetries of the tilings.

(4) (n is odd) Assume x to lie on an axis of reflection symmetry g 00 of t that passes

through a vertex A of t and the midpoint B of the opposite edge of A; x not the
incentre of t (Figure 6(b)). As in the previous case, P has symmetry group Dd . This
time, P has nþ1
2 edges of varying lengths. The vertex corona of x is mirror symmetric
00
under g . A fundamental region of the isocoronal tiling is half of t, an nþ3
2 -gon with
AB as a side (Figure 6(b)). A and B (centres of np-fold and twofold rotations, respec-
tively) lie on the axis of reflection g 00 . There are twofold rotations with centres at
midpoints of n12 edges (not including the side containing B) of the fundamental
n1

region. The symmetry group of the isocoronal tiling is H1 [ g 00 H1 ffi 2 2  np 2, an
index n subgroup of G0 .
(5) For the case when x is chosen to be the incentre of t (Figure 6(c)), we obtain the iso-
0
coronal tiling ðpn Þ by regular p-gons. Its symmetry group is G ffi np2; a funda-
mental region of ½pn  is also its fundamental region. &

Theorem 4.2: Given a ½pn  tiling where n ¼ p and p is even, then there exist edge-to-edge
isocoronal tilings with vertex corona consisting of p congruent p-gons with symmetry groups:
p p2
p  p4
p  p
p 
 ; 2 4 odd ; 22   4 even ;  4 even ; and  p2 2:
2 2 2 2
106 e
E. C. TAGANAP AND M. L. A. N. DE LAS PENAS

Proof. Consider H2 . Here, PQR 2 H2 is a glide reflection with axis passing through mid-
points of adjacent edges of tile t in ½pn , and PQ is an n-fold rotation centred at the centre
of t. The glide reflections B1 , B2 , . . ., Bp have axes that are non-intersecting and are
2
passing through midpoints of adjacent edges of t.
Since n is even, the only possible positions of x in Int ðt Þ are: (i) x does not lie on an axis
of reflection symmetry of t, (ii) x lies on an axis of reflection symmetry g of t that passes
through opposite vertices A, B of t (x not the midpoint of AB), (iii) x lies on an axis of
reflection symmetry g 0 of t that passes through midpoints C, D of opposite edges of t; x
not the midpoint of CD, and (iv) x is chosen to be the incentre of t.
When x is chosen as in (i) or (iii), the resulting isocoronal tiling have symmetry group
p p2
2 . If x is chosen as in (ii), the symmetry group of the isocoronal tiling is 2 4 whenever
p p p4 p

2is odd. Whenever is even, its symmetry group is either 2  or  (depending on

2
2 4 4

whether g intersects the glide reflections in H2 or not). The isocoronal tiling has symmetry
group p2 2 when x is chosen to be the incentre of t. &
For example, consider the isohedral tiling ½8  by regular 8-gons (Figure 7(a)). Its sym-
8

metry group is G0 ¼ ⟨P, Q, R⟩ ffi 82 2 where P, Q, R are reflections. Let H ¼ h B1 ; B2 ;

B3 ; B4 i ffi 4 where Bi ¼ ðPQÞ2i ðPQRÞðQPÞ2i ; j ¼ 1, 2, 3, 4. Choosing x as in (i) we
obtain the isocoronal tiling with vertex corona consisting of eight 8-gons, as shown in
Figure 7(b). The tiles in its vertex corona consists of congruent polygons since the other
p-gons are images of a p-gon P (centred at vertex A, Figure 7(b)) under the composition
of glide reflections in H. In particular, B1 P is a p-gon adjacent to P, B21 P is adjacent to B1 P,
 
and so on until B2p    B22 B21 P ¼ P. Its symmetry group is 4 ; a fundamental region of
2

the tiling is a tile in ½88 .

The isocoronal tilings in Figures 7(c,d) are obtained by considering x to lie on axis of
reflection g that passes through opposite vertices of a tile in ½88 . Their symmetry groups
are 22   and 2 ; respectively; the fundamental regions of the tilings are half of a tile in
½88 . The isocoronal tiling by regular 8-gons in Figure 7(e) is obtained by taking x to be
the incentre of a tile in ½88 . Its symmetry group is G 0 ffi 82 2; a fundamental region of
the ½88  tiling is also its fundamental region.
Theorem 4.3: Given a ½pn  tiling where p is even, then there exist edge-to-edge isocoronal
tilings with vertex corona consisting of n equiangular p-gons with the following symmetry
groups:
pn pn2
2
pn2 pn1
2
 ; p2 ðn evenÞ;  22 ðn evenÞ;  p 2 ðn oddÞ; and  np2:
2 2 2 2

Proof. Consider H3 . Here E1 , E2 , . . ., En are reflections with axes along the edges of tile t
in ½pn  tiling. The vertex corona of x consists of n p-gons (which may not be pairwise con-
gruent). The p-gons in the vertex corona of x (centred at the vertices of t) has alternating
edge lengths that are equal due to the p2-fold rotations (product of reflections with axes
along adjacent edges of t) centred at the vertices of t. The possible positions of point x in
Int ðt Þ are the same as in Theorem 4.1. &
 JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS AND THE ARTS 107

As an example, consider the isohedral tiling ½84  by regular 4-gons. Its symmetry group
is G0 ¼ ⟨P, Q, R⟩ ffi 842 where P, Q, R are reflections. Consider the index 8 subgroup
H of G0 where H ¼ h R; PQRQP; ðPQÞ2 ðRÞðQPÞ2 ; ðPQÞ3 ðRÞðQPÞ3 i ffi 44 . Figure 8
shows the resulting isocoronal tilings with vertex corona of x consisting of (a) four non-
congruent equiangular irregular 8-gons, (b) two non-congruent regular 8-gons and two
congruent equiangular irregular 8-gons, (c) two distinct pairs of congruent equiangular
irregular 8-gons, (d) four congruent regular 8-gons.

5. Conclusion and future directions

In this paper, we present a method that yields edge-to-edge isocoronal tilings with convex
polygons as tiles from isohedral tilings. In particular from isohedral tilings ½v1 :v2 : . . . :vn 
with vertex valences v1 , v2 , . . ., vn , all isocoronal tilings ðv1 :v2 : . . . :vn Þ with vertex corona
consisting of v1 -gon, v2 -gon, . . ., vn -gon (in cyclic order) are obtained. It should be noted
that given an isohedral tiling T , at least one isocoronal tiling can be generated. The num-
ber of isocoronal tilings that result and the symmetries present in these tilings vary,
depending on the subgroups of the symmetry group of T that satisfy the conditions of
Theorem 3.1, and on the position of a point x in the interior of a tile in T . In a sense, an
isocoronal tiling obtained is dual to the given isohedral tiling. To determine isocoronal
tilings in E2 and S2 , one can refer to the list of isohedral tilings given in [7] and [22],
respectively. There are infinitely many isohedral tilings in H2 , so there is no exhaustive
list enumerating these. As shown in Section 4, generalizations can be made on classes of
hyperbolic isocoronal tilings from the ½pn  tiling. To arrive at other hyperbolic isohedral
tilings, one can refer, for instance, to Huson’s work in [25].
One can immediately deduce that isocoronal tilings are isogonal. The framework of
constructing isocoronal tilings also paves way to the derivation of classes of hyperbolic
isogonal tilings. Theorems 4.1–4.3 contribute to the lists of existing symmetry groups of
isogonal tilings discussed in [5], where tilings under investigations are hyperbolic uniform
tilings – isogonal tilings by regular polygons. In the first example, we were able to obtain a
uniform tiling from an isohedral tiling by considering the incentre x of a tile. One may
also investigate the necessary conditions needed to obtain uniform tilings from given iso-
hedral tilings.
Theorems 4.1 and 4.2 give rise to isocoronal tilings with vertex corona consisting of
congruent p-gons. That is, apart from being isogonal, these tilings are also monohedral –
with congruent tile shapes. It would be also worthwhile investigating the conditions
needed to arrive at isocoronal tilings that are also isohedral. Another aspect would also be
to look into conditions on arriving at isocoronal tilings that are isotoxal.
Mathematical problems presented above can be considered in higher dimensional
spaces. As a start, one may adapt our method of arriving at planar isocoronal tilings to
obtain isocoronal tilings of E3 or H3 . In Figure 9, shown is an isocoronal tiling of E3
obtained from isohedral tiling by cubes.
One can also extend the study to arrive at 2-isocoronal tilings (two transitive classes of
vertex coronae under its symmetry group) or to arrive at k-isocoronal tilings in general.
Isocoronal tilings form a subset of the set of monocoronal tilings. An isocoronal tiling
is a monocoronal tiling that is isogonal. In Figure 10, we exhibit two tilings that are mono-
coronal but not isogonal. It can be checked that the tilings have congruent vertex coronae.
108 e
E. C. TAGANAP AND M. L. A. N. DE LAS PENAS

Figure 9. Isocoronal tiling by rectangular prism in E3 from isohedral tiling by cubes.

The vertex corona of a vertex of the tiling T  in Figure 10(a) consists of two parallelo-
grams and two rectangles; whereas the vertex corona of a vertex of the hyperbolic tiling
T  in Figure 10(b) is composed of a regular 6-gon and three regular 4-gons. The symme-
try group G of T  is 22. There is no symmetry of G that sends vertex corona of A to
vertex corona of B for vertices A, B in T . In like manner for the tiling T  with symmetry
group G ¼ 242 there is no symmetry of G sending the vertex corona of C to the ver-
tex corona of D.
For future work we recommend a closer study of monocoronal tilings that are not iso-
gonal such as those given above and in addition to those studied in [15]. In particular, in
H2 one can look into classes of non-periodic monocoronal tilings other than duals of
B€or€
oczky tilings [15] and the non-periodic tilings by regular 3-gons and regular 5-gons
discussed in [18].

Figure 10. Monocoronal tilings that are not isogonal.

 JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS AND THE ARTS 109

It would be also interesting to study how methods of arriving at new classes of tilings
(e.g. isocoronal tilings) and advances in tiling theory can be applied to contemporary
architecture and design. Helpful references for this research would be [16,17].

Acknowledgements
The authors thank D. Frettl€oh for helpful discussions. E. Taganap would like to acknowledge the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through the Accelerated Science and Technology
Human Resource Development Program (ASTHRDP) for the scholarship grant and Central Luzon
State University for the financial support during his PhD studies.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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