On the algebra of binary codes representing close-packed stacking sequences.

A systematic use of binary codes derived from the Hagg symbol are used to study close-packed polytypes. Seitz operators acting over the corresponding binary codes are defined and used. The number of non-equivalent polytypes of a given length are calculated through the use of the Seitz operators. The same procedure is applied to the problem of counting the number of polytypes complying with a given symmetry group. All counting problems are reduced to an eigenvector problem in the binary code space. The symmetry of the binary codes leads to the different space groups to which polytypes can belong.