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The covariant derivative is a generalization of the directional derivative from vector calculus.As with the directional derivative, the covariant derivative is a rule, , which takes as its inputs: (1) a vector, u, defined at a point P, and (2) a vector field v defined in a neighborhood of P. [7]
In a finite-dimensional vector space V over a field K with a symmetric bilinear form g : V × V → K (which may be referred to as the metric tensor), there is little distinction between covariant and contravariant vectors, because the bilinear form allows covectors to be identified with vectors. That is, a vector v uniquely determines a ...
The covariant derivative of a vector field with components is given by: ; = ) = + and similarly the ...
The covariant derivative is such a map for k = 0. The exterior covariant derivatives extends this map to general k. There are several equivalent ways to define this object: [3] Suppose that a vector-valued differential 2-form is regarded as assigning to each p a multilinear map s p: T p M × T p M → E p which is completely anti-symmetric.
The Levi-Civita connection (like any affine connection) also defines a derivative along curves, sometimes denoted by D. Given a smooth curve γ on (M, g) and a vector field V along γ its derivative is defined by = ˙ (). Formally, D is the pullback connection γ*∇ on the pullback bundle γ*TM.
The covariant derivative in general relativity is a special example of the gauge covariant derivative. It corresponds to the Levi Civita connection (a special Riemannian connection ) on the tangent bundle (or the frame bundle ) i.e. it acts on tangent vector fields or more generally, tensors.
In the math branches of differential geometry and vector calculus, the second covariant derivative, or the second order covariant derivative, of a vector field is the derivative of its derivative with respect to another two tangent vector fields.
The covariant derivative is a generalization of the directional derivative from vector calculus. As with the directional derivative, the covariant derivative is a rule, which takes as its inputs: (1) a vector, u, (along which the derivative is taken) defined at a point P, and (2) a vector field, v, defined in a neighborhood of P.