Density functional theory (DFT) has proven to be an effective way to obtain the physical properties of material systems. Using the linear stress-strain relationship, one is able to obtain the elastic constants from a set of DFT calculations. One particular challenge is that the elastic tensor thus obtained is usually not numerically symmetric with respect to the crystal symmetry. Neumann's principle, or principle of symmetry, states that [^1]:
If a crystal is invariant with respect to certain symmetry operations, any of its physical properties must also be invariant with respect to the same symmetry operations, or otherwise stated, the symmetry operations of any physical property of a crystal must include the symmetry operations of the point group of the crystal.
Therefore, it is worthwhile working out a routine to symmetrize the elastic tensor using the symmetry operations of the crystal.
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