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{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}{{Short description|Affine connection on the tangent bundle of a manifold}}In Riemannian or pseudo-Riemannian geometry (in particular the Lorentzian geometry of general relativity), the Levi-Civita connection is the unique affine connection on the tangent bundle of a manifold (i.e. affine connection) that preserves the (pseudo-)Riemannian metric and is torsion-free.The fundamental theorem of Riemannian geometry states that there is a unique connection which satisfies these properties.In the theory of Riemannian and pseudo-Riemannian manifolds the term covariant derivative is often used for the Levi-Civita connection. The components (structure coefficients) of this connection with respect to a system of local coordinates are called Christoffel symbols.

History

The Levi-Civita connection is named after Tullio Levi-Civita, although originally "discovered" by Elwin Bruno Christoffel. Levi-Civita,JOURNAL, Tullio Levi-Civita, 1917, Nozione di parallelismo in una varietà qualunque, The notion of parallelism on any manifold,weblink Rendiconti del Circolo Matematico di Palermo, it, 42, 173–205, 10.1007/BF03014898, 46.1125.02, Tullio, Levi-Civita, 122088291, In 1869, Christoffel discovered that the components of the intrinsic derivative of a vector field, upon changing the coordinate system, transform as the components of a contravariant vector. This discovery was the real beginning of tensor analysis. In 1906, L. E. J. Brouwer was the first mathematician to consider the parallel transport of a vector for the case of a space of constant curvature.JOURNAL, L. E. J. Brouwer, 1906, Het krachtveld der niet-Euclidische, negatief gekromde ruimten, Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen. Verslagen, 15, 75–94, L. E. J., Brouwer, JOURNAL, 1906, The force field of the non-Euclidean spaces with negative curvature, Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen. Proceedings, 9, 116–133, L. E. J., Brouwer, 1906KNAB....9..116B, In 1917, Levi-Civita pointed out its importance for the case of a hypersurface immersed in a Euclidean space, i.e., for the case of a Riemannian manifold embedded in a "larger" ambient space. He interpreted the intrinsic derivative in the case of an embedded surface as the tangential component of the usual derivative in the ambient affine space. The Levi-Civita notions of intrinsic derivative and parallel displacement of a vector along a curve make sense on an abstract Riemannian manifold, even though the original motivation relied on a specific embedding M^n subset mathbf{R}^{n(n+1)/2}.In 1918, independently of Levi-Civita, Jan Arnoldus Schouten obtained analogous results.JOURNAL, Jan Arnoldus, Schouten, Jan Arnoldus Schouten, Die direkte Analysis zur neueren Relativiteitstheorie, Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam, 12, 6, 95, 1918, Levi-Civita's results.JOURNAL, Hermann, Weyl, Hermann Weyl, Gravitation und Elektrizitat, Sitzungsberichte Berliner Akademie, 465–480, 1918, JOURNAL, Hermann, Weyl, Reine Infinitesimal geometrie, Mathematische Zeitschrift, 2, 3–4, 384–411, 1918, 10.1007/bf01199420, 1918MatZ....2..384W, 186232500,weblink

Notation

• {{math|(M, g)}} denotes a Riemannian or pseudo-Riemannian manifold.
• {{math|TM}} is the tangent bundle of {{math|M}}.
• {{math|g}} is the Riemannian or pseudo-Riemannian metric of {{math|M}}.
• {{math|X, Y, Z}} are smooth vector fields on {{math|M}}, i. e. smooth sections of {{math|TM}}.
• {{math|[X, Y]}} is the Lie bracket of {{math|X}} and {{math|Y}}. It is again a smooth vector field.

The metric {{math|g}} can take up to two vectors or vector fields {{math|X, Y}} as arguments. In the former case the output is a number, the (pseudo-)inner product of {{math|X}} and {{math|Y}}. In the latter case, the inner product of {{math|X'p, Y'p}} is taken at all points {{math|p}} on the manifold so that {{math|g(X, Y)}} defines a smooth function on {{math|M}}. Vector fields act (by definition) as differential operators on smooth functions. In local coordinates (x_1,ldots, x_n) , the action reads where Einstein's summation convention is used.

Formal definition

An affine connection nabla is called a Levi-Civita connection if

1. it preserves the metric, i.e., nabla g = 0 .
2. it is torsion-free, i.e., for any vector fields X and Y we have nabla_X Y - nabla_Y X = [X,Y], where [X, Y] is the Lie bracket of the vector fields X and Y.

Condition 1 above is sometimes referred to as compatibility with the metric, and condition 2 is sometimes called symmetry, cf. Do Carmo's text.BOOK, Carmo, Manfredo Perdigão do,weblink Riemannian geometry, 1992, Birkhäuser, Francis J. Flaherty, 0-8176-3490-8, Boston, 24667701,

Fundamental theorem of (pseudo) Riemannian Geometry

Theorem Every pseudo Riemannian manifold (M,g) has a unique Levi Civita connection nabla.proof:If a Levi-Civita connection exists, it must be unique. To see this, unravel the definition of the action of a connection on tensors to find Hence we can write condition 1 as By the symmetry of the metric tensor g we then find: By condition 2, the right hand side is therefore equal to and we find the Koszul formula Hence, if a Levi-Civita connection exists, it must be unique, because Z is arbitrary, g is non degenerate, and the right hand side does not depend on nabla. To prove existence, note that for given vector field X and Y, the right hand side of the Koszul expression is function-linear in the vector field Z, not just real linear. Hence by the non degeneracy of g, the right hand side uniquely defines some new vector field which we suggestively denote nabla_X Y as in the left hand side. By substituting the Koszul formula, one now checks that for all vector fields X, Y,Z, and all functions f Hence the Koszul expression does, in fact, define a connection, and this connection is compatible with the metric and is torsion free, i.e. is a (hence the) Levi-Civita connection.Note that with minor variations the same proof shows that there is a unique connection that is compatible with the metric and has prescribed torsion.

Christoffel symbols

Let nabla be an affine connection on the tangent bundle. Choose local coordinates x^1, ldots, x^n with coordinate basis vector fields partial_1, ldots, partial_n and write nabla_j for nabla_{partial_j}. The Christoffel symbols Gamma^l_{jk} of nabla with respect to these coordinates are defined as The Christoffel symbols conversely define the connection nabla on the coordinate neighbourhood because begin{align}nabla_X Y &= nabla_{X^jpartial_j} (Y^k partial_k) end{align}that is, An affine connection nabla is compatible with a metric iff i.e., if and only if An affine connection {{math|∇}} is torsion free iff i.e., if and only if is symmetric in its lower two indices.As one checks by taking for X, Y, Z, coordinate vector fields partial_j, partial_k, partial_l (or computes directly), the Koszul expression of the Levi-Civita connection derived above is equivalent to a definition of the Christoffel symbols in terms of the metric as where as usual g^{ij} are the coefficients of the dual metric tensor, i.e. the entries of the inverse of the matrix g_{kl}.

Derivative along curve

The Levi-Civita connection (like any affine connection) also defines a derivative along curves, sometimes denoted by {{math|D}}.Given a smooth curve {{math|γ}} on {{math|(M, g)}} and a vector field {{math|V}} along {{math|γ}} its derivative is defined by Formally, {{math|D}} is the pullback connection {{math|γ*∇}} on the pullback bundle {{math|γ*TM}}.In particular, dotgamma(t) is a vector field along the curve {{math|γ}} itself. If nabla_{dot{gamma}(t)}dot{gamma}(t) vanishes, the curve is called a geodesic of the covariant derivative. Formally, the condition can be restated as the vanishing of the pullback connection applied to dotgamma: If the covariant derivative is the Levi-Civita connection of a certain metric, then the geodesics for the connection are precisely those geodesics of the metric that are parametrised proportionally to their arc length.

Parallel transport

In general, parallel transport along a curve with respect to a connection defines isomorphisms between the tangent spaces at the points of the curve. If the connection is a Levi-Civita connection, then these isomorphisms are orthogonal – that is, they preserve the inner products on the various tangent spaces.The images below show parallel transport of the Levi-Civita connection associated to two different Riemannian metrics on the plane, expressed in polar coordinates. The metric of left image corresponds to the standard Euclidean metric ds^2 = dx^2 + dy^2 = dr^2 + r^2 dtheta^2, while the metric on the right has standard form in polar coordinates (when r = 1), and thus preserves the vector {partial over partial theta} tangent to the circle. This second metric has a singularity at the origin, as can be seen by expressing it in Cartesian coordinates: dr = frac{xdx + ydy}{sqrt{x^2 + y^2}} dtheta = frac{xdy - ydx}{x^2 + y^2} dr^2 + dtheta^2 = frac{(xdx + ydy)^2}{x^2+y^2} + frac{(xdy - ydx)^2}{(x^2+y^2)^2}{{multiple image| align = center| direction = horizontal| caption_align = center| width = 200| header = Parallel transports under Levi-Civita connections| header_align = center| header_background = | footer = | footer_align = | footer_background = | background color =|image1=Cartesian_transport.gif|width1=200|caption1=This transport is given by the metric ds^2 = dr^2 + r^2 dtheta^2.|alt1=Cartesian transport|image2=Circle_transport.gif|width2=200|caption2=This transport is given by the metric ds^2 = dr^2 + dtheta^2.|alt2=Polar transport}}

Example: the unit sphere in {{math|R3}}

Let {{math|⟨ , ⟩}} be the usual scalar product on {{math|R3}}. Let {{math|S2}} be the unit sphere in {{math|R3}}. The tangent space to {{math|S2}} at a point {{math|m}} is naturally identified with the vector subspace of {{math|R3}} consisting of all vectors orthogonal to {{math|m}}. It follows that a vector field {{math|Y}} on {{math|S2}} can be seen as a map {{math|Y : S2 → R3}}, which satisfiesbigllangle Y(m), mbigrrangle = 0, qquad forall min mathbf{S}^2.Denote as {{math|dmY}} the differential of the map {{math|Y}} at the point {{math|m}}. Then we have:{{math theorem|name=Lemma|math_statement= The formulaleft(nabla_X Yright)(m) = d_mY(X(m)) + langle X(m),Y(m)rangle mdefines an affine connection on {{math|S2}} with vanishing torsion.}}{{math proof|proof= It is straightforward to prove that {{math|∇}} satisfies the Leibniz identity and is {{math|C∞(S2)}} linear in the first variable. It is also a straightforward computation to show that this connection is torsion free. So all that needs to be proved here is that the formula above produces a vector field tangent to {{math|S2}}. That is, we need to prove that for all {{math|m}} in {{math|S2}}bigllangleleft(nabla_X Yright)(m),mbigrrangle = 0qquad (1).Consider the map {{math|f}} that sends every {{math|m}} in {{math|S2}} to {{math|⟨Y(m), m⟩}}, which is always 0. The map {{math|f}} is constant, hence its differential vanishes. In particulard_mf(X) = bigllangle d_m Y(X),mbigrrangle + bigllangle Y(m), X(m)bigrrangle = 0.The equation (1) above follows. Q.E.D.}}In fact, this connection is the Levi-Civita connection for the metric on {{math|S2}} inherited from {{math|R3}}. Indeed, one can check that this connection preserves the metric.

Behavior under conformal rescaling

If the metric g in a conformal class is replaced by the conformally rescaled metric of the same class hat g=e^{2gamma}g, then the Levi-Civita connection transforms according to the ruleBOOK, Arthur Besse, Einstein manifolds, 1987, Springer, 58, widehatnabla_X Y = nabla_XY + X(gamma)Y + Y(gamma)X - g(X,Y)mathrm{grad}_g(gamma).where mathrm{grad}_g(gamma) is the gradient vector field of gamma i.e. the vector field g-dual to dgamma, in local coordinates given by g^{ik}(partial_i gamma)partial_k. Indeed, it is trivial to verify that widehatnabla is torsion-free. To verify metricity, assume that g(Y,Y) is constant. In that case,hat g(widehatnabla_XY,Y) = X(gamma)hat g(Y,Y) = frac12 X(hat g(Y,Y)).As an application, consider again the unit sphere, but this time under stereographic projection, so that the metric (in complex Fubini–Study coordinates z,bar z) is:g = frac{4,dz,dbar z}{(1+zbar z)^2}.This exhibits the metric of the sphere as conformally flat, with the Euclidean metric dz,dbar z, with gamma = ln(2)-ln (1+zbar z). We have dgamma = -(1+zbar z)^{-1}(bar z, dz + z,d{bar z}), and sowidehatnabla_{partial_z}partial_z = -frac{2bar zpartial_z}{1+zbar z}.With the Euclidean gradient mathrm{grad}_{Euc}(gamma) = -(1+zbar z)^{-1}(bar zpartial_z + zpartial_{bar z}), we havewidehatnabla_{partial_z}partial_{bar z} = 0.These relations, together with their complex conjugates, define the Christoffel symbols for the two-sphere.

See also

• Weitzenböck connection

Notes

{{Reflist}}

References

• BOOK, William M., Boothby, William M. Boothby, An introduction to differentiable manifolds and Riemannian geometry,weblink registration, Academic Press, 1986, 0-12-116052-1,
• BOOK, Kobayashi, Shoshichi, Shoshichi Kobayashi, Nomizu, Katsumi, Katsumi Nomizu, Foundations of differential geometry, John Wiley & Sons, 1963, 0-470-49647-9, See Volume I pag. 158

External links

• {{springer|title=Levi-Civita connection|id=p/l058230}}
• MathWorld: Levi-Civita Connection
• PlanetMath: Levi-Civita Connection
• Levi-Civita connection at the Manifold Atlas

{{Riemannian geometry}}{{Manifolds}}{{Tensors}}