A new method for lattice reduction using directional and hyperplanar shearing.

A geometric method of lattice reduction based on cycles of directional and hyperplanar shears is presented. The deviation from cubicity at each step of the reduction is evaluated by a parameter called `basis rhombicity' which is the sum of the absolute values of the elements of the metric tensor associated with the basis. The levels of reduction are quite similar to those obtained with the Lenstra-Lenstra-Lovász (LLL) algorithm, at least up to the moderate dimensions that have been tested (lower than 20). The method can be used to reduce unit cells attached to given hyperplanes.