The covariant acceleration of a curve #
The covariant acceleration of a curve γ for a connection ∇ on the tangent bundle is the
covariant derivative of its velocity field along γ, D_t γ'. It is the along-curve derivative
CovariantDerivative.alongCurveWithin of AlongCurve/Basic.lean specialised to the velocity
field TauCeti.Manifold.curveVelocityWithin, both taken within a parameter set s; the
unrestricted acceleration is the s = Set.univ case. Geodesics are the curves whose covariant
acceleration for the Levi-Civita connection vanishes, and the first variation formula for the
energy integrates the inner product of the acceleration with the variation field.
In a chart the acceleration is the classical second-order expression u'' + Γ (u', u'), where
u is the curve read in the extended chart and Γ is the Christoffel map of the connection. For
a C² curve this holds in every chart whose trivialization contains the current point of the
curve, by the chart independence CovariantDerivative.symmL_alongCurveInChartWithin of the
along-curve derivative. Under a reparametrization φ the acceleration obeys the chain rule
D_t (γ ∘ φ)' = φ'' γ'(φ t) + (φ')² D_t γ'(φ t).
Main definitions and results #
CovariantDerivative.accelerationWithin: the covariant acceleration within a parameter set, unfolded byCovariantDerivative.accelerationWithin_def, andCovariantDerivative.accelerationits unrestricted case, unfolded byCovariantDerivative.acceleration_def.CovariantDerivative.accelerationWithin_of_mem_nhds: on a neighbourhood of the parameter the acceleration within the set is the unrestricted one.CovariantDerivative.accelerationWithin_const: a constant curve has zero acceleration.CovariantDerivative.accelerationWithin_eq_symmL: the acceleration in a chart,u'' + Γ (u', u')read in an arbitrary chart around the current point.CovariantDerivative.accelerationWithin_eq_zero_iff: the acceleration vanishes exactly whenu'' + Γ (u', u')does in the chart at the current point.CovariantDerivative.accelerationWithin_compandCovariantDerivative.acceleration_comp: the chain rule for the acceleration under reparametrization.
References #
- M. P. do Carmo, Riemannian Geometry, Birkhauser, 1992, Ch. 2, §2 and Ch. 3, §2.
- J. M. Lee, Introduction to Riemannian Manifolds, GTM 176, 2018, Ch. 4, the acceleration of a curve and its coordinate formula.
The covariant acceleration D_t γ' of the curve γ within the parameter set s: the
derivative along γ, for the connection cov, of the velocity field of γ within s. It
inherits the junk values of CovariantDerivative.alongCurveWithin where the curve is not
differentiable or s does not have unique derivatives.
Instances For
The covariant acceleration D_t γ' of the curve γ, with unrestricted derivatives. This
is the s = Set.univ case of CovariantDerivative.accelerationWithin.
Instances For
The covariant acceleration within a parameter set is the derivative of the velocity field along the curve.
Restricting the acceleration to the whole parameter space gives the unrestricted acceleration.
The unrestricted covariant acceleration is the unrestricted derivative of the unrestricted velocity field along the curve.
On a parameter set which is a neighbourhood of t, the acceleration within that set is the
unrestricted acceleration: both the velocity near t and its derivative along the curve are then
the unrestricted ones.
A constant curve has zero covariant acceleration within any parameter set.
A constant curve has zero unrestricted covariant acceleration.
The covariant acceleration vanishes exactly when the curve read in the extended chart at the
current point solves the second-order equation u'' + Γ (u', u') = 0 there.
The chain rule for the covariant acceleration. If φ maps the parameter set u into
s and is differentiable on u, with derivWithin φ u differentiable at t, then
D_t (γ ∘ φ)' = φ''(t) γ'(φ t) + φ'(t)² D_t γ'(φ t). The curve must be differentiable on s,
and its velocity field must read differentiably at φ t in the chart centred at γ (φ t).
The chain rule for the unrestricted covariant acceleration:
D_t (γ ∘ φ)' = φ''(t) γ'(φ t) + φ'(t)² D_t γ'(φ t).
The covariant acceleration in a chart. For a C² curve on a parameter set with unique
derivatives, the acceleration at t is the classical second-order expression u'' + Γ (u', u'),
for u the curve read in the extended chart at x and Γ the Christoffel map of cov there,
transported back from the trivialization at x. The chart is arbitrary, provided its
trivialization contains γ t.