Covariant derivatives read in a local frame #
Let V → M be a finite-rank smooth vector bundle and let e be a trivialization of V with
b a basis of the model fibre, so that e.localFrame b is a smooth frame of V over
e.baseSet. This file reads a covariant derivative on V in that frame.
Writing σ = ∑ i, σⁱ • eᵢ over e.baseSet, any covariant derivative ∇ satisfies
∇ σ = ∑ i, dσⁱ ⊗ eᵢ + ∑ i, σⁱ • ∇ eᵢ
on e.baseSet. The first summand is itself a covariant derivative over e.baseSet, the flat
one attached to the frame; it is frameCovariantDerivative, and it witnesses that covariant
derivatives always exist locally. The second summand is tensorial in σ, and is the Christoffel
form christoffelForm of ∇ in the frame: ∇ is the flat derivative plus christoffelForm.
For an arbitrary local frame, IsLocalFrameOn.covariantDerivative_eq_sum gives the same product
rule directly in its native coefficients.
Specializing to the tangent bundle and expanding ∇_{eᵢ} eⱼ again in the frame gives the scalar
Christoffel symbols christoffelSymbol; they are C^∞ on e.baseSet for a C^∞ covariant
derivative, and they give the classical coordinate formula for ∇ σ along a frame direction.
Main definitions and results #
TauCeti.Manifold.frameCovariantDerivative: the flat covariant derivative attached to a local frame, andTauCeti.Manifold.isCovariantDerivativeOn_frameCovariantDerivative, the proof that it is a covariant derivative over the trivialization base set, andTauCeti.Manifold.contMDiffCovariantDerivativeOn_frameCovariantDerivative, its regularity there.TauCeti.Manifold.frameCovariantDerivative_eq_symmL_comp: the flat derivative of a section whose frame coefficients are the coordinates of a model-valued map, andTauCeti.Manifold.frameCovariantDerivative_symmL_const, its vanishing on constant coordinates.TauCeti.Manifold.covariantDerivative_eq_frameCovariantDerivative_add_sum: the local frame formula for an arbitrary covariant derivative.TauCeti.Manifold.covariantDerivative_eq_of_localFrame_eq: two covariant derivatives which agree on the frame sections at a point agree at that point on every section differentiable there.TauCeti.Manifold.christoffelForm: the Christoffel form of a covariant derivative in a local frame, withTauCeti.Manifold.christoffelForm_applycomputing it andTauCeti.Manifold.covariantDerivative_eq_add_christoffelFormexpressing the covariant derivative as the flat one plus it.TauCeti.Manifold.covariantDerivative_symm_eq_christoffelFormandTauCeti.Manifold.covariantDerivative_symm_apply_symm: a covariant derivative differentiates a section with constant coordinates in the trivialization by the Christoffel form, and on the tangent bundle by the Christoffel map.TauCeti.Manifold.covariantDerivative_symm_comp_apply_symm: on the tangent bundle, the covariant derivative of the vector field with coordinatesgin the trivialization has coordinatesdg + Γ(g, ·).TauCeti.Manifold.christoffelSymbol: the scalar Christoffel symbols of a covariant derivative on the tangent bundle in a local frame, withTauCeti.Manifold.covariantDerivative_localFrame_eq_sum_christoffelSymbolexpanding∇_{eᵢ} eⱼ,TauCeti.Manifold.contMDiffOn_christoffelSymboltheir smoothness, andTauCeti.Manifold.christoffelForm_localFrame_applyidentifying them with the frame components of the Christoffel form.TauCeti.Manifold.christoffelMap: the Christoffel form transported to a continuous bilinear map on the model space, withTauCeti.Manifold.christoffelMap_applyreading it back as the Christoffel form andTauCeti.Manifold.contMDiffOn_christoffelMapproving its smoothness.TauCeti.Manifold.covariantDerivative_apply_localFrame_eq_sum: the classical coordinate formula(∇_{eᵢ} σ)ᵏ = dσᵏ(eᵢ) + ∑ j, σʲ Γᵏᵢⱼ.
References #
- M. P. do Carmo, Riemannian Geometry, Birkhäuser, 1992, Ch. 2, §2.
- J. M. Lee, Introduction to Riemannian Manifolds, GTM 176, 2018, Ch. 4.
A covariant derivative in a local frame differentiates the coefficients and the frame sections by the product rule. Only differentiability of the coefficient functions at the point is required.
The flat covariant derivative of a local frame #
The flat covariant derivative attached to the local frame induced by a trivialization e of
V and a basis b of the model fibre: it differentiates the coefficient functions of a section
and keeps the frame fixed. It is a covariant derivative over e.baseSet, by
isCovariantDerivativeOn_frameCovariantDerivative; outside that set it carries a junk value.
Instances For
The flat covariant derivative of the frame, evaluated on a tangent vector.
If the coefficients of a section in the frame of e agree near x with the coordinates of a
model-valued map g that has derivative A at x, then its flat frame derivative at x is
e.symmL x ∘ A.
The section z ↦ e.symmL z v has constant coefficients in the frame of e, so its flat frame
derivative at a point of the base set vanishes.
The flat frame derivative satisfies the covariant-derivative axioms on the base set of the trivialization defining the frame.
The local frame formula #
The local frame formula: over the base set of a trivialization, a covariant derivative is the flat derivative of the frame coefficients plus the coefficients times the covariant derivatives of the frame sections.
Two covariant derivatives over the base set of a trivialization which agree on the frame sections at a point agree there on every section differentiable at that point.
The Christoffel form #
The Christoffel form of a covariant derivative in a local frame: the endomorphism-valued
one-form by which the covariant derivative differs from the flat derivative
frameCovariantDerivative of the frame.
Instances For
A covariant derivative is the flat derivative of its frame plus its Christoffel form.
The Christoffel form is the frame expansion of the covariant derivatives of the frame sections.
A covariant derivative differentiates the section with constant coordinates v in the
trivialization e by its Christoffel form: the flat derivative of such a section vanishes.
Regularity of the flat covariant derivative of a local frame #
The flat covariant derivative of a local frame is C^n on the base set of the trivialization
defining the frame, on a C^m manifold and a C^k bundle with n + 1 ≤ m and n + 1 ≤ k: it
sends a section which is C^(n + 1) there to a C^n section of Hom(TM, V) there.
Christoffel symbols on the tangent bundle #
The Christoffel symbols of a covariant derivative on the tangent bundle, in the local frame
induced by a trivialization e and a basis b of the model space: christoffelSymbol I b e cov i j k x is the k-th coefficient of ∇_{eᵢ} eⱼ at x. Outside e.baseSet it carries a junk
value.
Instances For
The defining formula for the Christoffel symbols.
The Christoffel symbols expand the covariant derivative of a frame section along a frame direction back in the frame.
The Christoffel form transported through the tangent-bundle trivialization to a model-space-valued continuous bilinear map.
Instances For
The model-space Christoffel map is the Christoffel form read in the trivialization: it acts on the coordinates of a fibre vector and of a tangent direction, and returns the coordinates of the value of the Christoffel form on them.
A covariant derivative on the tangent bundle differentiates the vector field with constant
coordinates v in the trivialization e, in the direction with coordinates u, by the Christoffel
map: the result has coordinates christoffelMap b hcov x v u.
The coordinate formula for a covariant derivative on the tangent bundle. The covariant
derivative of the vector field with coordinates g in the trivialization e, in the direction
with coordinates u, has coordinates dg(u) + Γ(g, u), where Γ is the Christoffel map.
The Christoffel symbols of a C^n covariant derivative are C^n on the base set of the
trivialization defining the frame.
The frame components of the Christoffel form are the Christoffel symbols.
The basis coefficients of the model-space Christoffel map are the scalar Christoffel symbols.
The scalar basis coefficients of the model-space Christoffel map are precisely the Christoffel symbols.
The model-space Christoffel map of a C^n covariant derivative is C^n on the base set of
the trivialization defining its coordinates.
The classical coordinate formula for a covariant derivative on the tangent bundle: along the
frame direction eᵢ, the k-th component of ∇ σ is the derivative of the k-th coefficient of
σ plus the Christoffel contraction ∑ j, σʲ Γᵏᵢⱼ.