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Metric Tensor (general Relativity), Metric Tensor
In the mathematical field of differential geometry, a metric tensor (or simply metric) is an additional structure on a manifold (such as a surface) that allows defining distances and angles, just as the inner product on a Euclidean space allows defining distances and angles there. More precisely, a metric tensor at a point of is a bilinear form defined on the tangent space at (that is, a bilinear function that maps pairs of tangent vectors to real numbers), and a metric field on consists of a metric tensor at each point of that varies smoothly with . A metric tensor is ''positive-definite'' if for every nonzero vector . A manifold equipped with a positive-definite metric tensor is known as a Riemannian manifold. Such a metric tensor can be thought of as specifying ''infinitesimal'' distance on the manifold. On a Riemannian manifold , the length of a smooth curve between two points and can be defined by integration, and the distance between and can be defined as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include number theory (the study of numbers), algebra (the study of formulas and related structures), geometry (the study of shapes and spaces that contain them), Mathematical analysis, analysis (the study of continuous changes), and set theory (presently used as a foundation for all mathematics). Mathematics involves the description and manipulation of mathematical object, abstract objects that consist of either abstraction (mathematics), abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicspurely abstract entities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. Mathematics uses pure reason to proof (mathematics), prove properties of objects, a ''proof'' consisting of a succession of applications of in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; ; ; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician, astronomer, Geodesy, geodesist, and physicist, who contributed to many fields in mathematics and science. He was director of the Göttingen Observatory and professor of astronomy from 1807 until his death in 1855. While studying at the University of Göttingen, he propounded several mathematical theorems. As an independent scholar, he wrote the masterpieces ''Disquisitiones Arithmeticae'' and ''Theoria motus corporum coelestium''. Gauss produced the second and third complete proofs of the fundamental theorem of algebra. In number theory, he made numerous contributions, such as the Gauss composition law, composition law, the Quadratic reciprocity, law of quadratic reciprocity and the Fermat polygonal number theorem. He also contributed to the theory of binary and ternary quadratic forms, the construction of the heptadecagon, and the theory of Hypergeometric function, hypergeometric ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; ; ; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician, astronomer, geodesist, and physicist, who contributed to many fields in mathematics and science. He was director of the Göttingen Observatory and professor of astronomy from 1807 until his death in 1855. While studying at the University of Göttingen, he propounded several mathematical theorems. As an independent scholar, he wrote the masterpieces '' Disquisitiones Arithmeticae'' and ''Theoria motus corporum coelestium''. Gauss produced the second and third complete proofs of the fundamental theorem of algebra. In number theory, he made numerous contributions, such as the composition law, the law of quadratic reciprocity and the Fermat polygonal number theorem. He also contributed to the theory of binary and ternary quadratic forms, the construction of the heptadecagon, and the theory of hypergeometric series. Due to Gauss' extensive and fundamental contributions to science ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smooth Function
In mathematical analysis, the smoothness of a function is a property measured by the number of continuous derivatives (''differentiability class)'' it has over its domain. A function of class C^k is a function of smoothness at least ; that is, a function of class C^k is a function that has a th derivative that is continuous in its domain. A function of class C^\infty or C^\infty-function (pronounced C-infinity function) is an infinitely differentiable function, that is, a function that has derivatives of all orders (this implies that all these derivatives are continuous). Generally, the term smooth function refers to a C^-function. However, it may also mean "sufficiently differentiable" for the problem under consideration. Differentiability classes Differentiability class is a classification of functions according to the properties of their derivatives. It is a measure of the highest order of derivative that exists and is continuous for a function. Consider an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symmetric Bilinear Form
In mathematics, a symmetric bilinear form on a vector space is a bilinear map from two copies of the vector space to the field of scalars such that the order of the two vectors does not affect the value of the map. In other words, it is a bilinear function B that maps every pair (u,v) of elements of the vector space V to the underlying field such that B(u,v)=B(v,u) for every u and v in V. They are also referred to more briefly as just symmetric forms when "bilinear" is understood. Symmetric bilinear forms on finite-dimensional vector spaces precisely correspond to symmetric matrices given a basis for ''V''. Among bilinear forms, the symmetric ones are important because they are the ones for which the vector space admits a particularly simple kind of basis known as an orthogonal basis (at least when the characteristic of the field is not 2). Given a symmetric bilinear form ''B'', the function is the associated quadratic form on the vector space. Moreover, if the characterist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nondegenerate Form
In mathematics, specifically linear algebra, a degenerate bilinear form on a vector space ''V'' is a bilinear form such that the map from ''V'' to ''V''∗ (the dual space of ''V'') given by is not an isomorphism. An equivalent definition when ''V'' is finite-dimensional is that it has a non-trivial kernel: there exist some non-zero ''x'' in ''V'' such that :f(x,y)=0\, for all \,y \in V. Nondegenerate forms A nondegenerate or nonsingular form is a bilinear form that is not degenerate, meaning that v \mapsto (x \mapsto f(x,v)) is an isomorphism, or equivalently in finite dimensions, if and only if :f(x,y)=0 for all y \in V implies that x = 0. Using the determinant If ''V'' is finite-dimensional then, relative to some basis for ''V'', a bilinear form is degenerate if and only if the determinant of the associated matrix is zero – if and only if the matrix is ''singular'', and accordingly degenerate forms are also called singular forms. Likewise, a nondegenerate form is one for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coordinate-free
A coordinate-free, or component-free, treatment of a scientific theory A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the universe, natural world that can be or that has been reproducibility, repeatedly tested and has corroborating evidence in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocol (s ... or mathematical topic develops its concepts on any form of manifold without reference to any particular coordinate system. Benefits Coordinate-free treatments generally allow for simpler systems of equations and inherently constrain certain types of inconsistency, allowing greater mathematical elegance at the cost of some abstraction from the detailed formulae needed to evaluate these equations within a particular system of coordinates. In addition to elegance, coordinate-free treatments are crucial in certain applications for proving that a given definition is well formulated. For example, for a vector space V with basis v_1, ..., v_n, it may be tempting to co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symmetric Tensor
In mathematics, a symmetric tensor is an unmixed tensor that is invariant under a permutation of its vector arguments: :T(v_1,v_2,\ldots,v_r) = T(v_,v_,\ldots,v_) for every permutation ''σ'' of the symbols Alternatively, a symmetric tensor of order ''r'' represented in coordinates as a quantity with ''r'' indices satisfies :T_ = T_. The space of symmetric tensors of order ''r'' on a finite-dimensional vector space ''V'' is naturally isomorphic to the dual of the space of homogeneous polynomials of degree ''r'' on ''V''. Over fields of characteristic zero, the graded vector space of all symmetric tensors can be naturally identified with the symmetric algebra on ''V''. A related concept is that of the antisymmetric tensor or alternating form. Symmetric tensors occur widely in engineering, physics and mathematics. Definition Let ''V'' be a vector space and :T\in V^ a tensor of order ''k''. Then ''T'' is a symmetric tensor if :\tau_\sigma T = T\, for the braiding ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covariance And Contravariance Of Vectors
In physics, especially in multilinear algebra and tensor analysis, covariance and contravariance describe how the quantitative description of certain geometric or physical entities changes with a change of basis. Briefly, a contravariant vector is a list of numbers that transforms oppositely to a change of basis, and a covariant vector is a list of numbers that transforms in the same way. Contravariant vectors are often just called ''vectors'' and covariant vectors are called ''covectors'' or ''dual vectors''. The terms ''covariant'' and ''contravariant'' were introduced by James Joseph Sylvester in 1851. Curvilinear coordinate systems, such as cylindrical coordinates, cylindrical or spherical coordinates, are often used in physical and geometric problems. Associated with any coordinate system is a natural choice of coordinate basis for vectors based at each point of the space, and covariance and contravariance are particularly important for understanding how the coordinate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symmetric Matrix
In linear algebra, a symmetric matrix is a square matrix that is equal to its transpose. Formally, Because equal matrices have equal dimensions, only square matrices can be symmetric. The entries of a symmetric matrix are symmetric with respect to the main diagonal. So if a_ denotes the entry in the ith row and jth column then for all indices i and j. Every square diagonal matrix is symmetric, since all off-diagonal elements are zero. Similarly in characteristic different from 2, each diagonal element of a skew-symmetric matrix must be zero, since each is its own negative. In linear algebra, a real symmetric matrix represents a self-adjoint operator represented in an orthonormal basis over a real inner product space. The corresponding object for a complex inner product space is a Hermitian matrix with complex-valued entries, which is equal to its conjugate transpose. Therefore, in linear algebra over the complex numbers, it is often assumed that a symmetric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coordinate Basis
In mathematics and mathematical physics, a coordinate basis or holonomic basis for a differentiable manifold is a set of basis vector fields defined at every point of a region of the manifold as :\mathbf_ = \lim_ \frac , where is the displacement vector between the point and a nearby point whose coordinate separation from is along the coordinate curve (i.e. the curve on the manifold through for which the local coordinate varies and all other coordinates are constant). It is possible to make an association between such a basis and directional derivative operators. Given a parameterized curve on the manifold defined by with the tangent vector , where , and a function defined in a neighbourhood of , the variation of along can be written as :\frac = \frac\frac = u^ \frac f . Since we have that , the identification is often made between a coordinate basis vector and the partial derivative operator , under the interpretation of vectors as operators acting on functions. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tensor Field
In mathematics and physics, a tensor field is a function assigning a tensor to each point of a region of a mathematical space (typically a Euclidean space or manifold) or of the physical space. Tensor fields are used in differential geometry, algebraic geometry, general relativity, in the analysis of stress and strain in material object, and in numerous applications in the physical sciences. As a tensor is a generalization of a scalar (a pure number representing a value, for example speed) and a vector (a magnitude and a direction, like velocity), a tensor field is a generalization of a ''scalar field'' and a ''vector field'' that assigns, respectively, a scalar or vector to each point of space. If a tensor is defined on a vector fields set over a module , we call a tensor field on . A tensor field, in common usage, is often referred to in the shorter form "tensor". For example, the ''Riemann curvature tensor'' refers a tensor ''field'', as it associates a tensor to each ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
