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Almost-contact Manifold
In the mathematical field of differential geometry, an almost-contact structure is a certain kind of geometric structure on a smooth manifold. Such structures were introduced by Shigeo Sasaki in 1960. Precisely, given a smooth manifold M, an almost-contact structure consists of a hyperplane distribution Q, an almost-complex structure J on Q,and a vector field \xi which is transverse to Q. That is, for each point p of M, one selects a codimension-one linear subspace Q_p of the tangent space T_p M, a linear map J_p : Q_p \to Q_p such that J_p \circ J_p = - \operatorname_, and an element \xi_p of T_p M which is not contained in Q_p. Given such data, one can define, for each p in M, a linear map \eta_p : T_p M \to \R and a linear map \varphi_p : T_p M \to T_p M by \begin \eta_p(u)&=0\textu\in Q_p\\ \eta_p(\xi_p)&=1\\ \varphi_p(u)&=J_p(u)\textu\in Q_p\\ \varphi_p(\xi)&=0. \end This defines a one-form \eta and (1,1)-tensor field \varphi on M, and one can check directly, by decompos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differential Geometry
Differential geometry is a mathematical discipline that studies the geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds. It uses the techniques of differential calculus, integral calculus, linear algebra and multilinear algebra. The field has its origins in the study of spherical geometry as far back as antiquity. It also relates to astronomy, the geodesy of the Earth, and later the study of hyperbolic geometry by Lobachevsky. The simplest examples of smooth spaces are the plane and space curves and surfaces in the three-dimensional Euclidean space, and the study of these shapes formed the basis for development of modern differential geometry during the 18th and 19th centuries. Since the late 19th century, differential geometry has grown into a field concerned more generally with geometric structures on differentiable manifolds. A geometric structure is one which defines some notion of size, distance, shape, volume, or other rigidifying structu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smooth Manifold
In mathematics, a differentiable manifold (also differential manifold) is a type of manifold that is locally similar enough to a vector space to allow one to apply calculus. Any manifold can be described by a collection of charts (atlas). One may then apply ideas from calculus while working within the individual charts, since each chart lies within a vector space to which the usual rules of calculus apply. If the charts are suitably compatible (namely, the transition from one chart to another is differentiable), then computations done in one chart are valid in any other differentiable chart. In formal terms, a differentiable manifold is a topological manifold with a globally defined differential structure. Any topological manifold can be given a differential structure locally by using the homeomorphisms in its atlas and the standard differential structure on a vector space. To induce a global differential structure on the local coordinate systems induced by the homeomorphisms, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shigeo Sasaki
Shigeo Sasaki () (18 November 1912 Yamagata Prefecture, Japan – 14 August 1987 Tokyo) was a Japanese mathematician working on differential geometry who introduced Sasaki manifolds. He retired from Tohoku University , or is a Japanese national university located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tōhoku Region, Japan. It is informally referred to as . Established in 1907, it was the third Imperial University in Japan and among the first three Designated National ...'s Mathematical Institute in April 1976. Publications * References * * 20th-century Japanese mathematicians 1912 births 1987 deaths {{Japan-mathematician-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Distribution (differential Geometry)
In differential geometry, a discipline within mathematics, a distribution on a manifold M is an assignment x \mapsto \Delta_x \subseteq T_x M of vector subspaces satisfying certain properties. In the most common situations, a distribution is asked to be a vector subbundle of the tangent bundle TM. Distributions satisfying a further integrability condition give rise to foliations, i.e. partitions of the manifold into smaller submanifolds. These notions have several applications in many fields of mathematics, e.g. integrable systems, Poisson geometry, non-commutative geometry, sub-Riemannian geometry, differential topology, etc. Even though they share the same name, distributions presented in this article have nothing to do with distributions in the sense of analysis. Definition Let M be a smooth manifold; a (smooth) distribution \Delta assigns to any point x \in M a vector subspace \Delta_x \subset T_xM in a smooth way. More precisely, \Delta consists in a collection \_ of vecto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almost-complex Structure
In mathematics, an almost complex manifold is a smooth manifold equipped with a smooth linear complex structure on each tangent space. Every complex manifold is an almost complex manifold, but there are almost complex manifolds that are not complex manifolds. Almost complex structures have important applications in symplectic geometry. The concept is due to Charles Ehresmann and Heinz Hopf in the 1940s. Formal definition Let ''M'' be a smooth manifold. An almost complex structure ''J'' on ''M'' is a linear complex structure (that is, a linear map which squares to −1) on each tangent space of the manifold, which varies smoothly on the manifold. In other words, we have a smooth tensor field ''J'' of degree such that J^2=-1 when regarded as a vector bundle isomorphism J\colon TM\to TM on the tangent bundle. A manifold equipped with an almost complex structure is called an almost complex manifold. If ''M'' admits an almost complex structure, it must be even-dimensional. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linear Subspace
In mathematics, and more specifically in linear algebra, a linear subspace, also known as a vector subspaceThe term ''linear subspace'' is sometimes used for referring to flats and affine subspaces. In the case of vector spaces over the reals, linear subspaces, flats, and affine subspaces are also called ''linear manifolds'' for emphasizing that there are also manifolds. is a vector space that is a subset of some larger vector space. A linear subspace is usually simply called a ''subspace'' when the context serves to distinguish it from other types of subspaces. Definition If ''V'' is a vector space over a field ''K'' and if ''W'' is a subset of ''V'', then ''W'' is a linear subspace of ''V'' if under the operations of ''V'', ''W'' is a vector space over ''K''. Equivalently, a nonempty subset ''W'' is a subspace of ''V'' if, whenever are elements of ''W'' and are elements of ''K'', it follows that is in ''W''. As a corollary, all vector spaces are equipped with at least two ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tangent Space
In mathematics, the tangent space of a manifold generalizes to higher dimensions the notion of '' tangent planes'' to surfaces in three dimensions and ''tangent lines'' to curves in two dimensions. In the context of physics the tangent space to a manifold at a point can be viewed as the space of possible velocities for a particle moving on the manifold. Informal description In differential geometry, one can attach to every point x of a differentiable manifold a ''tangent space''—a real vector space that intuitively contains the possible directions in which one can tangentially pass through x . The elements of the tangent space at x are called the ''tangent vectors'' at x . This is a generalization of the notion of a vector, based at a given initial point, in a Euclidean space. The dimension of the tangent space at every point of a connected manifold is the same as that of the manifold itself. For example, if the given manifold is a 2 -sphere, then one can picture the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linear Map
In mathematics, and more specifically in linear algebra, a linear map (also called a linear mapping, linear transformation, vector space homomorphism, or in some contexts linear function) is a Map (mathematics), mapping V \to W between two vector spaces that preserves the operations of vector addition and scalar multiplication. The same names and the same definition are also used for the more general case of module (mathematics), modules over a ring (mathematics), ring; see Module homomorphism. If a linear map is a bijection then it is called a . In the case where V = W, a linear map is called a (linear) ''endomorphism''. Sometimes the term refers to this case, but the term "linear operator" can have different meanings for different conventions: for example, it can be used to emphasize that V and W are Real number, real vector spaces (not necessarily with V = W), or it can be used to emphasize that V is a function space, which is a common convention in functional analysis. Some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One-form
In differential geometry, a one-form on a differentiable manifold is a smooth section of the cotangent bundle. Equivalently, a one-form on a manifold M is a smooth mapping of the total space of the tangent bundle of M to \R whose restriction to each fibre is a linear functional on the tangent space. Symbolically, \alpha : TM \rightarrow ,\quad \alpha_x = \alpha, _: T_xM \rightarrow , where \alpha_x is linear. Often one-forms are described locally, particularly in local coordinates. In a local coordinate system, a one-form is a linear combination of the differentials of the coordinates: \alpha_x = f_1(x) \, dx_1 + f_2(x) \, dx_2 + \cdots + f_n(x) \, dx_n , where the f_i are smooth functions. From this perspective, a one-form has a covariant transformation law on passing from one coordinate system to another. Thus a one-form is an order 1 covariant tensor field. Examples The most basic non-trivial differential one-form is the "change in angle" form d\theta. This is defined as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tensor Field
In mathematics and physics, a tensor field assigns a tensor to each point of a mathematical space (typically a Euclidean space or manifold). Tensor fields are used in differential geometry, algebraic geometry, general relativity, in the analysis of stress and strain in materials, 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 pure number plus a direction, like velocity), a tensor field is a generalization of a scalar field or 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 . Many mathematical structures called "tensors" are also tensor fields. For example, the Riemann curvature tensor is a tensor ''field'' as it is defined on a manifold: it is named after Bernhard Riemann, and associates a tensor to each point of a Riemannian manif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Direct Sum
The direct sum is an operation between structures in abstract algebra, a branch of mathematics. It is defined differently, but analogously, for different kinds of structures. To see how the direct sum is used in abstract algebra, consider a more elementary kind of structure, the abelian group. The direct sum of two abelian groups A and B is another abelian group A\oplus B consisting of the ordered pairs (a,b) where a \in A and b \in B. To add ordered pairs, we define the sum (a, b) + (c, d) to be (a + c, b + d); in other words addition is defined coordinate-wise. For example, the direct sum \Reals \oplus \Reals , where \Reals is real coordinate space, is the Cartesian plane, \R ^2 . A similar process can be used to form the direct sum of two vector spaces or two modules. We can also form direct sums with any finite number of summands, for example A \oplus B \oplus C, provided A, B, and C are the same kinds of algebraic structures (e.g., all abelian groups, or all vector spa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
