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Affine Vector Field
An affine vector field (sometimes affine collineation or affine) is a projective vector field preserving geodesics and preserving the affine parameter. Mathematically, this is expressed by the following condition: :(\mathcal_X g_)_=0 See also * Conformal vector field * Curvature collineation * Homothetic vector field * Killing vector field * Matter collineation * Spacetime symmetries Spacetime symmetries are features of spacetime that can be described as exhibiting some form of symmetry. The role of symmetry in physics is important in simplifying solutions to many problems. Spacetime symmetries are used in the study of exact ... Mathematical methods in general relativity {{math-physics-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Projective Vector Field
A projective vector field (projective) is a smooth vector field on a semi Riemannian manifold (p.ex. spacetime) M whose flow preserves the geodesic structure of M without necessarily preserving the affine parameter of any geodesic. More intuitively, the flow of the projective maps geodesics smoothly into geodesics without preserving the affine parameter. Decomposition In dealing with a vector field X on a semi Riemannian manifold (p.ex. in general relativity), it is often useful to decompose the covariant derivative into its symmetric and skew-symmetric parts: :X_=\frach_+ F_ where :h_=(\mathcal_X g)_=X_+X_ and :F_=\frac(X_-X_) Note that X_a are the covariant components of X. Equivalent conditions Mathematically, the condition for a vector field X to be projective is equivalent to the existence of a one-form \psi satisfying :X_\, =R_X^d+2g_\psi_ which is equivalent to :h_\, =2g_\psi_c+g_\psi_b+g_\psi_a The set of all global projective vector fields over a connected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geodesic
In geometry, a geodesic () is a curve representing in some sense the shortest path ( arc) between two points in a surface, or more generally in a Riemannian manifold. The term also has meaning in any differentiable manifold with a connection. It is a generalization of the notion of a "straight line". The noun '' geodesic'' and the adjective '' geodetic'' come from ''geodesy'', the science of measuring the size and shape of Earth, though many of the underlying principles can be applied to any ellipsoidal geometry. In the original sense, a geodesic was the shortest route between two points on the Earth's surface. For a spherical Earth, it is a segment of a great circle (see also great-circle distance). The term has since been generalized to more abstract mathematical spaces; for example, in graph theory, one might consider a geodesic between two vertices/nodes of a graph. In a Riemannian manifold or submanifold, geodesics are characterised by the property of having vanis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Affine Parameter
In geometry, a geodesic () is a curve representing in some sense the shortest path (arc) between two points in a surface, or more generally in a Riemannian manifold. The term also has meaning in any differentiable manifold with a connection. It is a generalization of the notion of a " straight line". The noun ''geodesic'' and the adjective '' geodetic'' come from ''geodesy'', the science of measuring the size and shape of Earth, though many of the underlying principles can be applied to any ellipsoidal geometry. In the original sense, a geodesic was the shortest route between two points on the Earth's surface. For a spherical Earth, it is a segment of a great circle (see also great-circle distance). The term has since been generalized to more abstract mathematical spaces; for example, in graph theory, one might consider a geodesic between two vertices/nodes of a graph. In a Riemannian manifold or submanifold, geodesics are characterised by the property of having vanishi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conformal Vector Field
In conformal geometry, a conformal Killing vector field on a manifold of dimension ''n'' with (pseudo) Riemannian metric g (also called a conformal Killing vector, CKV, or conformal colineation), is a vector field X whose (locally defined) flow defines conformal transformations, that is, preserve g up to scale and preserve the conformal structure. Several equivalent formulations, called the conformal Killing equation, exist in terms of the Lie derivative of the flow e.g. \mathcal_g = \lambda g for some function \lambda on the manifold. For n \ne 2 there are a finite number of solutions, specifying the conformal symmetry of that space, but in two dimensions, there is an infinity of solutions. The name Killing refers to Wilhelm Killing, who first investigated Killing vector fields. Densitized metric tensor and Conformal Killing vectors A vector field X is a Killing vector field if and only if its flow preserves the metric tensor g (strictly speaking for each compact subsets ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curvature Collineation
A curvature collineation (often abbreviated to CC) is vector field which preserves the Riemann tensor in the sense that, :\mathcal_X R^a_=0 where R^a_ are the components of the Riemann tensor. The set of all smooth curvature collineations forms a Lie algebra under the Lie bracket operation (if the smoothness condition is dropped, the set of all curvature collineations need not form a Lie algebra). The Lie algebra is denoted by CC(M) and may be infinite-dimensional. Every affine vector field is a curvature collineation. See also * Conformal vector field * Homothetic vector field * Killing vector field * Matter collineation * Spacetime symmetries Spacetime symmetries are features of spacetime that can be described as exhibiting some form of symmetry. The role of symmetry in physics is important in simplifying solutions to many problems. Spacetime symmetries are used in the study of exact ... Mathematical methods in general relativity {{math-physics-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homothetic Vector Field
In physics, a homothetic vector field (sometimes homothetic collineation or homothety) is a projective vector field which satisfies the condition: :\mathcal_X g_=2c g_ where c is a real constant. Homothetic vector fields find application in the study of singularities in general relativity. They can also be used to generate new solutions for Einstein equations by similarity reduction. See also * Affine vector field * Conformal Killing vector field * Curvature collineation * Killing vector field * Matter collineation * Spacetime symmetries Spacetime symmetries are features of spacetime that can be described as exhibiting some form of symmetry. The role of symmetry in physics is important in simplifying solutions to many problems. Spacetime symmetries are used in the study of exact ... References Mathematical methods in general relativity {{math-physics-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Killing Vector Field
In mathematics, a Killing vector field (often called a Killing field), named after Wilhelm Killing, is a vector field on a Riemannian manifold (or pseudo-Riemannian manifold) that preserves the metric. Killing fields are the infinitesimal generators of isometries; that is, flows generated by Killing fields are continuous isometries of the manifold. More simply, the flow generates a symmetry, in the sense that moving each point of an object the same distance in the direction of the Killing vector will not distort distances on the object. Definition Specifically, a vector field ''X'' is a Killing field if the Lie derivative with respect to ''X'' of the metric ''g'' vanishes: :\mathcal_ g = 0 \,. In terms of the Levi-Civita connection, this is :g\left(\nabla_Y X, Z\right) + g\left(Y, \nabla_Z X\right) = 0 \, for all vectors ''Y'' and ''Z''. In local coordinates, this amounts to the Killing equation :\nabla_\mu X_\nu + \nabla_ X_\mu = 0 \,. This condition is expressed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matter Collineation
A matter collineation (sometimes matter symmetry and abbreviated to MC) is a vector field that satisfies the condition, :\mathcal_X T_=0 where T_ are the energy–momentum tensor components. The intimate relation between geometry and physics may be highlighted here, as the vector field X is regarded as preserving certain physical quantities along the flow lines of X, this being true for any two observers. In connection with this, it may be shown that every Killing vector field is a matter collineation (by the Einstein field equations (EFE), with or without cosmological constant). Thus, given a solution of the EFE, a vector field that preserves the metric necessarily preserves the corresponding energy-momentum tensor. When the energy-momentum tensor represents a perfect fluid, every Killing vector field preserves the energy density, pressure and the fluid flow vector field. When the energy-momentum tensor represents an electromagnetic field, a Killing vector field does ''not neces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spacetime Symmetries
Spacetime symmetries are features of spacetime that can be described as exhibiting some form of symmetry. The role of symmetry in physics is important in simplifying solutions to many problems. Spacetime symmetries are used in the study of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations of general relativity. Spacetime symmetries are distinguished from internal symmetries. Physical motivation Physical problems are often investigated and solved by noticing features which have some form of symmetry. For example, in the Schwarzschild solution, the role of spherical symmetry is important in deriving the Schwarzschild solution and deducing the physical consequences of this symmetry (such as the nonexistence of gravitational radiation in a spherically pulsating star). In cosmological problems, symmetry plays a role in the cosmological principle, which restricts the type of universes that are consistent with large-scale observations (e.g. the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
