Predictions of the possible post-transition symmetries of an R 3c zone center continuous phase transition are made using recent extensions of the Landau theory. The Landau theory is summarized and direct group theoretical methods are applied to the R 3c phase. General techniques for solving systems of nonlinear polynomial equations are reviewed and these techniques are applied to the minimization of the free energy F for the aforementioned possible symmetries. The results of the direct methods and the minimization procedures are shown to be compatible. It is shown that the transition to R 3c in NaNO3 is consistent with the above results as well as with the observed atomic displacements.
(c) 1984 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in The Journal of Chemical Physics and may be found at http://link.aip.org/link/?JCPSA6/80/5745/1;