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Metric Tensor (general Relativity)
In general relativity, the metric tensor (in this context often abbreviated to simply the metric) is the fundamental object of study. The metric captures all the geometric and causal structure of spacetime, being used to define notions such as time, distance, volume, curvature, angle, and separation of the future and the past. In general relativity, the metric tensor plays the role of the gravitational potential in the classical theory of gravitation, although the physical content of the associated equations is entirely different. Gutfreund and Renn say "that in general relativity the gravitational potential is represented by the metric tensor." Notation and conventions This article works with a metric signature that is mostly positive (); see sign convention. The gravitation constant G will be kept explicit. This article employs the Einstein summation convention, where repeated indices are automatically summed over. Definition Mathematically, spacetime is represented by a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Relativity
General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. General theory of relativity, relativity generalizes special relativity and refines Newton's law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time in physics, time, or four-dimensional spacetime. In particular, the ''curvature of spacetime'' is directly related to the energy and momentum of whatever is present, including matter and radiation. The relation is specified by the Einstein field equations, a system of second-order partial differential equations. Newton's law of universal gravitation, which describes gravity in classical mechanics, can be seen as a prediction of general relativity for the almost flat spacetime geometry around stationary mass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dot Product
In mathematics, the dot product or scalar productThe term ''scalar product'' means literally "product with a Scalar (mathematics), scalar as a result". It is also used for other symmetric bilinear forms, for example in a pseudo-Euclidean space. Not to be confused with scalar multiplication. is an algebraic operation that takes two equal-length sequences of numbers (usually coordinate vectors), and returns a single number. In Euclidean geometry, the dot product of the Cartesian coordinates of two Euclidean vector, vectors is widely used. It is often called the inner product (or rarely the projection product) of Euclidean space, even though it is not the only inner product that can be defined on Euclidean space (see ''Inner product space'' for more). It should not be confused with the cross product. Algebraically, the dot product is the sum of the Product (mathematics), products of the corresponding entries of the two sequences of numbers. Geometrically, it is the product of the Euc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abstract Index Notation
Abstract index notation (also referred to as slot-naming index notation) is a mathematical notation for tensors and spinors that uses indices to indicate their types, rather than their components in a particular basis. The indices are mere placeholders, not related to any basis and, in particular, are non-numerical. Thus it should not be confused with the Ricci calculus. The notation was introduced by Roger Penrose as a way to use the formal aspects of the Einstein summation convention to compensate for the difficulty in describing tensor contraction, contractions and covariant derivative, covariant differentiation in modern abstract tensor notation, while preserving the explicit Covariance and contravariance of vectors, covariance of the expressions involved. Let V be a vector space, and V^* its dual space. Consider, for example, an order-2 Covariance and contravariance of vectors, covariant tensor h \in V^*\otimes V^*. Then h can be identified with a bilinear form on V. In ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eigenvalues
In linear algebra, an eigenvector ( ) or characteristic vector is a vector that has its direction unchanged (or reversed) by a given linear transformation. More precisely, an eigenvector \mathbf v of a linear transformation T is scaled by a constant factor \lambda when the linear transformation is applied to it: T\mathbf v=\lambda \mathbf v. The corresponding eigenvalue, characteristic value, or characteristic root is the multiplying factor \lambda (possibly a negative or complex number). Geometrically, vectors are multi-dimensional quantities with magnitude and direction, often pictured as arrows. A linear transformation rotates, stretches, or shears the vectors upon which it acts. A linear transformation's eigenvectors are those vectors that are only stretched or shrunk, with neither rotation nor shear. The corresponding eigenvalue is the factor by which an eigenvector is stretched or shrunk. If the eigenvalue is negative, the eigenvector's direction is reversed. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-singular Matrix
In linear algebra, an invertible matrix (''non-singular'', ''non-degenarate'' or ''regular'') is a square matrix that has an inverse. In other words, if some other matrix is multiplied by the invertible matrix, the result can be multiplied by an inverse to undo the operation. An invertible matrix multiplied by its inverse yields the identity matrix. Invertible matrices are the same size as their inverse. Definition An -by- square matrix is called invertible if there exists an -by- square matrix such that\mathbf = \mathbf = \mathbf_n ,where denotes the -by- identity matrix and the multiplication used is ordinary matrix multiplication. If this is the case, then the matrix is uniquely determined by , and is called the (multiplicative) ''inverse'' of , denoted by . Matrix inversion is the process of finding the matrix which when multiplied by the original matrix gives the identity matrix. Over a field, a square matrix that is ''not'' invertible is called singular or degenerat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symmetric Matrix
In linear algebra, a symmetric matrix is a square matrix that is equal to its transpose. Formally, Because equal matrices have equal dimensions, only square matrices can be symmetric. The entries of a symmetric matrix are symmetric with respect to the main diagonal. So if a_ denotes the entry in the ith row and jth column then for all indices i and j. Every square diagonal matrix is symmetric, since all off-diagonal elements are zero. Similarly in characteristic different from 2, each diagonal element of a skew-symmetric matrix must be zero, since each is its own negative. In linear algebra, a real symmetric matrix represents a self-adjoint operator represented in an orthonormal basis over a real inner product space. The corresponding object for a complex inner product space is a Hermitian matrix with complex-valued entries, which is equal to its conjugate transpose. Therefore, in linear algebra over the complex numbers, it is often assumed that a symmetric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tensor Field
In mathematics and physics, a tensor field is a function assigning a tensor to each point of a region of a mathematical space (typically a Euclidean space or manifold) or of the physical space. Tensor fields are used in differential geometry, algebraic geometry, general relativity, in the analysis of stress and strain in material object, 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 magnitude and a direction, like velocity), a tensor field is a generalization of a ''scalar field'' and a ''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 . A tensor field, in common usage, is often referred to in the shorter form "tensor". For example, the ''Riemann curvature tensor'' refers a tensor ''field'', as it associates a tensor to each ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tensor Product
In mathematics, the tensor product V \otimes W of two vector spaces V and W (over the same field) is a vector space to which is associated a bilinear map V\times W \rightarrow V\otimes W that maps a pair (v,w),\ v\in V, w\in W to an element of V \otimes W denoted . An element of the form v \otimes w is called the tensor product of v and w. An element of V \otimes W is a tensor, and the tensor product of two vectors is sometimes called an ''elementary tensor'' or a ''decomposable tensor''. The elementary tensors span V \otimes W in the sense that every element of V \otimes W is a sum of elementary tensors. If bases are given for V and W, a basis of V \otimes W is formed by all tensor products of a basis element of V and a basis element of W. The tensor product of two vector spaces captures the properties of all bilinear maps in the sense that a bilinear map from V\times W into another vector space Z factors uniquely through a linear map V\otimes W\to Z (see the section below ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gradient
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function f of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p gives the direction and the rate of fastest increase. The gradient transforms like a vector under change of basis of the space of variables of f. If the gradient of a function is non-zero at a point p, the direction of the gradient is the direction in which the function increases most quickly from p, and the magnitude of the gradient is the rate of increase in that direction, the greatest absolute directional derivative. Further, a point where the gradient is the zero vector is known as a stationary point. The gradient thus plays a fundamental role in optimization theory, where it is used to minimize a function by gradient descent. In coordinate-free terms, the gradient of a function f(\mathbf) may be defined by: df=\nabla f \cdot d\mathbf where df is the total infinitesimal change in f for a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One-form
In differential geometry, a one-form (or covector field) on a differentiable manifold is a differential form of degree one, that 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. Let \omega be a one-form. Then \begin \omega: U & \rightarrow \bigcup_ T^*_p(\R^n) \\ p & \mapsto \omega_p \in T_p^*(\R^n) \end 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-trivi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlas (topology)
In mathematics, particularly topology, an atlas is a concept used to describe a manifold. An atlas consists of individual ''charts'' that, roughly speaking, describe individual regions of the manifold. In general, the notion of atlas underlies the formal definition of a manifold and related structures such as vector bundles and other fiber bundles. Charts The definition of an atlas depends on the notion of a ''chart''. A chart for a topological space ''M'' is a homeomorphism \varphi from an open subset ''U'' of ''M'' to an open subset of a Euclidean space. The chart is traditionally recorded as the ordered pair (U, \varphi). When a coordinate system is chosen in the Euclidean space, this defines coordinates on U: the coordinates of a point P of U are defined as the coordinates of \varphi(P). The pair formed by a chart and such a coordinate system is called a local coordinate system, coordinate chart, coordinate patch, coordinate map, or local frame. Formal definition of at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Local Coordinates
Local coordinates are the ones used in a ''local coordinate system'' or a ''local coordinate space''. Simple examples: * Houses. In order to work in a house construction, the measurements are referred to a control arbitrary point that will allow to check it: stick/sticks on the ground, steel bar, nails... * Addresses. Using house numbers to locate a house on a street; the street is a local coordinate system within a larger system composed of city townships, states, countries, postal codes, etc. Local systems exist for convenience. On ancient times, every work was made on relative bases as there was no conception of global systems. Practically, it is better to use local systems for small works as houses, buildings... For most of the applications, it is desired the position of one element relative to one building or location, and in a more local way, relative to one furniture or person. In a regular way, you will not give your position by geographical coordinates rather than "I am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
