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The number of each upper and lower indices of a tensor gives its type: a tensor with p upper and q lower indices is said to be of type (p, q), or to be a type-(p, q) tensor. The number of indices of a tensor, regardless of variance, is called the degree of the tensor (alternatively, its valence , order or rank , although rank is ambiguous).
A metric tensor is a (symmetric) (0, 2)-tensor; it is thus possible to contract an upper index of a tensor with one of the lower indices of the metric tensor in the product. This produces a new tensor with the same index structure as the previous tensor, but with lower index generally shown in the same position of the contracted upper index.
Vector and tensor calculus in general curvilinear coordinates is used in tensor analysis on four-dimensional curvilinear manifolds in general relativity, [8] in the mechanics of curved shells, [6] in examining the invariance properties of Maxwell's equations which has been of interest in metamaterials [9] [10] and in many other fields.
It can be considered, broadly, as a measure of the degree to which the geometry of a given metric tensor differs locally from that of ordinary Euclidean space or pseudo-Euclidean space. The Ricci tensor can be characterized by measurement of how a shape is deformed as one moves along geodesics in the space.
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.
Ricci calculus The earliest foundation of tensor theory – tensor index notation. [1] Order of a tensor The components of a tensor with respect to a basis is an indexed array. The order of a tensor is the number of indices needed. Some texts may refer to the tensor order using the term degree or rank. Rank of a tensor
In differential geometry, the Einstein tensor (named after Albert Einstein; also known as the trace-reversed Ricci tensor) is used to express the curvature of a pseudo-Riemannian manifold. In general relativity , it occurs in the Einstein field equations for gravitation that describe spacetime curvature in a manner that is consistent with ...
As the name implies, the divergence is a (local) measure of the degree to which vectors in the field diverge. The divergence of a tensor field of non-zero order k is written as =, a contraction of a tensor field of order k − 1. Specifically, the divergence of a vector is a scalar.