The symmetry group and harmonic potentials of an electrostatic generalized multipole

The concept of an electrostatic ordinary multipole has been extended to an electrostatic generalized multipole which consists of a pair of close placed electrostatic ordinary multipole and electrostatic round lens. The definition of the M function for an electrostatic ordinary multipole has been extended to that of the M function for an electrostatic generalized multipole. The relation between the symmetry group of anelectrostaticordinary multipole and that of its corresponding electrostatic generalized multipole, and the relation between their constraint relations among their mth partial harmonic potentials have been derived. By analyzing some important electrostatic generalized multipoles, it is concluded that if an electrostatic deflector-multipole and an electrostatic round lens are placed close to each other , one cannot assert that this combined system can always be treated by the aberration theory of a combined focusing-deflection system.