Higher order covariant derivative notation












0












$begingroup$


The covariant derivative of a tensor can be noted equivalently as



$$nabla_b X^a qquad mathrm{and} qquad X^a_{; ;b}$$



If we want to express a higher order covariant derivative



$$nabla_c nabla_b X^a,$$



here it is clear that $nabla_b$ acts first, in the other notation which one should write?



$$X^a_{; ;bc} qquad mathrm{or} qquad X^a_{; ;cb}$$



I guess is the first one, because $(X^a_{; ;b})_{;c}$ resembles more to $X^a_{; ;bc}$



Thank you.










share|cite|improve this question









$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    This first one, essentially for your reasoning.
    $endgroup$
    – Matt
    Dec 11 '18 at 8:37
















0












$begingroup$


The covariant derivative of a tensor can be noted equivalently as



$$nabla_b X^a qquad mathrm{and} qquad X^a_{; ;b}$$



If we want to express a higher order covariant derivative



$$nabla_c nabla_b X^a,$$



here it is clear that $nabla_b$ acts first, in the other notation which one should write?



$$X^a_{; ;bc} qquad mathrm{or} qquad X^a_{; ;cb}$$



I guess is the first one, because $(X^a_{; ;b})_{;c}$ resembles more to $X^a_{; ;bc}$



Thank you.










share|cite|improve this question









$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    This first one, essentially for your reasoning.
    $endgroup$
    – Matt
    Dec 11 '18 at 8:37














0












0








0





$begingroup$


The covariant derivative of a tensor can be noted equivalently as



$$nabla_b X^a qquad mathrm{and} qquad X^a_{; ;b}$$



If we want to express a higher order covariant derivative



$$nabla_c nabla_b X^a,$$



here it is clear that $nabla_b$ acts first, in the other notation which one should write?



$$X^a_{; ;bc} qquad mathrm{or} qquad X^a_{; ;cb}$$



I guess is the first one, because $(X^a_{; ;b})_{;c}$ resembles more to $X^a_{; ;bc}$



Thank you.










share|cite|improve this question









$endgroup$




The covariant derivative of a tensor can be noted equivalently as



$$nabla_b X^a qquad mathrm{and} qquad X^a_{; ;b}$$



If we want to express a higher order covariant derivative



$$nabla_c nabla_b X^a,$$



here it is clear that $nabla_b$ acts first, in the other notation which one should write?



$$X^a_{; ;bc} qquad mathrm{or} qquad X^a_{; ;cb}$$



I guess is the first one, because $(X^a_{; ;b})_{;c}$ resembles more to $X^a_{; ;bc}$



Thank you.







differential-geometry tensors general-relativity






share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question











share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question










asked Dec 8 '18 at 16:32









AlexAlex

63




63












  • $begingroup$
    This first one, essentially for your reasoning.
    $endgroup$
    – Matt
    Dec 11 '18 at 8:37


















  • $begingroup$
    This first one, essentially for your reasoning.
    $endgroup$
    – Matt
    Dec 11 '18 at 8:37
















$begingroup$
This first one, essentially for your reasoning.
$endgroup$
– Matt
Dec 11 '18 at 8:37




$begingroup$
This first one, essentially for your reasoning.
$endgroup$
– Matt
Dec 11 '18 at 8:37










0






active

oldest

votes











Your Answer





StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
});
});
}, "mathjax-editing");

StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "69"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});


}
});














draft saved

draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f3031316%2fhigher-order-covariant-derivative-notation%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown

























0






active

oldest

votes








0






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes
















draft saved

draft discarded




















































Thanks for contributing an answer to Mathematics Stack Exchange!


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid



  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f3031316%2fhigher-order-covariant-derivative-notation%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown







Popular posts from this blog

Plaza Victoria

In PowerPoint, is there a keyboard shortcut for bulleted / numbered list?

How to put 3 figures in Latex with 2 figures side by side and 1 below these side by side images but in...