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Differential Calculus Over Commutative Algebras
In mathematics the differential calculus over commutative algebras is a part of commutative algebra based on the observation that most concepts known from classical differential calculus can be formulated in purely algebraic terms. Instances of this are: # The whole topological information of a smooth manifold M is encoded in the algebraic properties of its \R-algebra of smooth functions A = C^\infty (M), as in the Banach–Stone theorem. # Vector bundles over M correspond to projective finitely generated modules over A, via the functor \Gamma which associates to a vector bundle its module of sections. # Vector fields on M are naturally identified with derivations of the algebra A. # More generally, a linear differential operator of order k, sending sections of a vector bundle E\rightarrow M to sections of another bundle F \rightarrow M is seen to be an \R-linear map \Delta : \Gamma (E) \to \Gamma (F) between the associated modules, such that for any k + 1 elements f_0, \ldots, f_k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics with the major subdisciplines of number theory, algebra, geometry, and analysis, respectively. There is no general consensus among mathematicians about a common definition for their academic discipline. Most mathematical activity involves the discovery of properties of abstract objects and the use of pure reason to prove them. These objects consist of either abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicsentities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. A ''proof'' consists of a succession of applications of deductive rules to already established results. These results include previously proved theorems, axioms, andin case of abstraction from naturesome basic properties that are considered true starting points of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet Space
In differential topology, the jet bundle is a certain construction that makes a new smooth fiber bundle out of a given smooth fiber bundle. It makes it possible to write differential equations on sections of a fiber bundle in an invariant form. Jets may also be seen as the coordinate free versions of Taylor expansions. Historically, jet bundles are attributed to Charles Ehresmann, and were an advance on the method (prolongation) of Élie Cartan, of dealing ''geometrically'' with higher derivatives, by imposing differential form conditions on newly introduced formal variables. Jet bundles are sometimes called sprays, although sprays usually refer more specifically to the associated vector field induced on the corresponding bundle (e.g., the geodesic spray on Finsler manifolds.) Since the early 1980s, jet bundles have appeared as a concise way to describe phenomena associated with the derivatives of maps, particularly those associated with the calculus of variations. Cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berezin Integral
In mathematical physics, the Berezin integral, named after Felix Berezin, (also known as Grassmann integral, after Hermann Grassmann), is a way to define integration for functions of Grassmann variables (elements of the exterior algebra). It is not an integral in the Lebesgue sense; the word "integral" is used because the Berezin integral has properties analogous to the Lebesgue integral and because it extends the path integral in physics, where it is used as a sum over histories for fermions. Definition Let \Lambda^n be the exterior algebra of polynomials in anticommuting elements \theta_,\dots,\theta_ over the field of complex numbers. (The ordering of the generators \theta_1,\dots,\theta_n is fixed and defines the orientation of the exterior algebra.) One variable The ''Berezin integral'' over the sole Grassmann variable \theta = \theta_1 is defined to be a linear functional : \int f(\theta)+bg(\theta)\, d\theta = a\int f(\theta) \, d\theta + b\int g(\theta) \, d\theta, \ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graded Manifold
In algebraic geometry, graded manifolds are extensions of the concept of manifolds based on ideas coming from supersymmetry and supercommutative algebra. Both graded manifolds and supermanifolds are phrased in terms of sheaves of graded commutative algebras. However, graded manifolds are characterized by sheaves on smooth manifolds, while supermanifolds are constructed by gluing of sheaves of supervector spaces. Graded manifolds A graded manifold of dimension (n,m) is defined as a locally ringed space (Z,A) where Z is an n-dimensional smooth manifold and A is a C^\infty_Z-sheaf of Grassmann algebras of rank m where C^\infty_Z is the sheaf of smooth real functions on Z. The sheaf A is called the structure sheaf of the graded manifold (Z,A), and the manifold Z is said to be the body of (Z,A). Sections of the sheaf A are called graded functions on a graded manifold (Z,A). They make up a graded commutative C^\infty(Z)-ring A(Z) called the structure ring of (Z,A). The well-known B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supermanifold
In physics and mathematics, supermanifolds are generalizations of the manifold concept based on ideas coming from supersymmetry. Several definitions are in use, some of which are described below. Informal definition An informal definition is commonly used in physics textbooks and introductory lectures. It defines a supermanifold as a manifold with both bosonic and fermionic coordinates. Locally, it is composed of coordinate charts that make it look like a "flat", "Euclidean" superspace. These local coordinates are often denoted by :(x,\theta,\bar) where ''x'' is the ( real-number-valued) spacetime coordinate, and \theta\, and \bar are Grassmann-valued spatial "directions". The physical interpretation of the Grassmann-valued coordinates are the subject of debate; explicit experimental searches for supersymmetry have not yielded any positive results. However, the use of Grassmann variables allow for the tremendous simplification of a number of important mathematical results. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supercommutative Algebra
In mathematics, a supercommutative (associative) algebra is a superalgebra (i.e. a Z2-graded algebra) such that for any two homogeneous elements ''x'', ''y'' we have :yx = (-1)^xy , where , ''x'', denotes the grade of the element and is 0 or 1 (in Z) according to whether the grade is even or odd, respectively. Equivalently, it is a superalgebra where the supercommutator : ,y= xy - (-1)^yx always vanishes. Algebraic structures which supercommute in the above sense are sometimes referred to as skew-commutative associative algebras to emphasize the anti-commutation, or, to emphasize the grading, graded-commutative or, if the supercommutativity is understood, simply commutative. Any commutative algebra is a supercommutative algebra if given the trivial gradation (i.e. all elements are even). Grassmann algebras (also known as exterior algebras) are the most common examples of nontrivial supercommutative algebras. The supercenter of any superalgebra is the set of elements that sup ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secondary Calculus And Cohomological Physics
In mathematics, secondary calculus is a proposed expansion of classical differential calculus on manifolds, to the "space" of solutions of a (nonlinear) partial differential equation. It is a sophisticated theory at the level of jet spaces and employing algebraic methods. Secondary calculus Secondary calculus acts on the space of solutions of a system of partial differential equations (usually non-linear equations). When the number of independent variables is zero, i.e. the equations are algebraic ones, secondary calculus reduces to classical differential calculus. All objects in secondary calculus are cohomology classes of differential complexes growing on diffieties. The latter are, in the framework of secondary calculus, the analog of smooth manifolds. Cohomological physics Cohomological physics was born with Gauss's theorem, describing the electric charge contained inside a given surface in terms of the flux of the electric field through the surface itself. Flux ... [...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] |
Algebraic Geometry
Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics, classically studying zeros of multivariate polynomials. Modern algebraic geometry is based on the use of abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, for solving geometrical problems about these sets of zeros. The fundamental objects of study in algebraic geometry are algebraic varieties, which are geometric manifestations of solutions of systems of polynomial equations. Examples of the most studied classes of algebraic varieties are: plane algebraic curves, which include lines, circles, parabolas, ellipses, hyperbolas, cubic curves like elliptic curves, and quartic curves like lemniscates and Cassini ovals. A point of the plane belongs to an algebraic curve if its coordinates satisfy a given polynomial equation. Basic questions involve the study of the points of special interest like the singular points, the inflection points and the points at infinity. More advanced questions involve the topology of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commutative Ring
In mathematics, a commutative ring is a ring in which the multiplication operation is commutative. The study of commutative rings is called commutative algebra. Complementarily, noncommutative algebra is the study of ring properties that are not specific to commutative rings. This distinction results from the high number of fundamental properties of commutative rings that do not extend to noncommutative rings. Definition and first examples Definition A ''ring'' is a set R equipped with two binary operations, i.e. operations combining any two elements of the ring to a third. They are called ''addition'' and ''multiplication'' and commonly denoted by "+" and "\cdot"; e.g. a+b and a \cdot b. To form a ring these two operations have to satisfy a number of properties: the ring has to be an abelian group under addition as well as a monoid under multiplication, where multiplication distributes over addition; i.e., a \cdot \left(b + c\right) = \left(a \cdot b\right) + \left(a \cdot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Representable Functor
In mathematics, particularly category theory, a representable functor is a certain functor from an arbitrary category into the category of sets. Such functors give representations of an abstract category in terms of known structures (i.e. sets and functions) allowing one to utilize, as much as possible, knowledge about the category of sets in other settings. From another point of view, representable functors for a category ''C'' are the functors ''given'' with ''C''. Their theory is a vast generalisation of upper sets in posets, and of Cayley's theorem in group theory. Definition Let C be a locally small category and let Set be the category of sets. For each object ''A'' of C let Hom(''A'',–) be the hom functor that maps object ''X'' to the set Hom(''A'',''X''). A functor ''F'' : C → Set is said to be representable if it is naturally isomorphic to Hom(''A'',–) for some object ''A'' of C. A representation of ''F'' is a pair (''A'', Φ) where :Φ : Hom(''A'',&ndash ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differential Form
In mathematics, differential forms provide a unified approach to define integrands over curves, surfaces, solids, and higher-dimensional manifolds. The modern notion of differential forms was pioneered by Élie Cartan. It has many applications, especially in geometry, topology and physics. For instance, the expression is an example of a -form, and can be integrated over an interval contained in the domain of : :\int_a^b f(x)\,dx. Similarly, the expression is a -form that can be integrated over a surface : :\int_S (f(x,y,z)\,dx\wedge dy + g(x,y,z)\,dz\wedge dx + h(x,y,z)\,dy\wedge dz). The symbol denotes the exterior product, sometimes called the ''wedge product'', of two differential forms. Likewise, a -form represents a volume element that can be integrated over a region of space. In general, a -form is an object that may be integrated over a -dimensional manifold, and is homogeneous of degree in the coordinate differentials dx, dy, \ldots. On an -dimensional manifold, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
