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If a tensor A is defined on a vector fields set X(M) over a module M, we call A a tensor field on M. [1] Many mathematical structures called "tensors" are also tensor fields. For example, the Riemann curvature tensor is a tensor field as it associates a tensor to each point of a Riemannian manifold, which is a topological space.
The stress tensor and strain tensor are both second-order tensor fields, and are related in a general linear elastic material by a fourth-order elasticity tensor field. In detail, the tensor quantifying stress in a 3-dimensional solid object has components that can be conveniently represented as a 3 × 3 array.
The electromagnetic tensor, conventionally labelled F, is defined as the exterior derivative of the electromagnetic four-potential, A, a differential 1-form: [1] [2] = . Therefore, F is a differential 2-form— an antisymmetric rank-2 tensor field—on Minkowski space. In component form,
A field can be classified as a scalar field, a vector field, a spinor field or a tensor field according to whether the represented physical quantity is a scalar, a vector, a spinor, or a tensor, respectively. A field has a consistent tensorial character wherever it is defined: i.e. a field cannot be a scalar field somewhere and a vector field ...
The metric tensor is an example of a tensor field. The components of a metric tensor in a coordinate basis take on the form of a symmetric matrix whose entries transform covariantly under changes to the coordinate system. Thus a metric tensor is a covariant symmetric tensor.
The gradient, , of a tensor field () in the direction of an arbitrary constant vector c is defined as: = (+) The gradient of a tensor field of order n is a tensor field of order n+1. Cartesian coordinates
On a manifold, a tensor field will typically have multiple, upper and lower indices, where Einstein notation is widely used. When the manifold is equipped with a metric, covariant and contravariant indices become very closely related to one another. Contravariant indices can be turned into covariant indices by contracting with the metric tensor ...
A simple tensor (also called a tensor of rank one, elementary tensor or decomposable tensor [1]) is a tensor that can be written as a product of tensors of the form = where a, b, ..., d are nonzero and in V or V ∗ – that is, if the tensor is nonzero and completely factorizable. Every tensor can be expressed as a sum of simple tensors.