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In mathematics, especially the usage of linear algebra in mathematical physics and differential geometry, Einstein notation (also known as the Einstein summation convention or Einstein summation notation) is a notational convention that implies summation over a set of indexed terms in a formula, thus achieving brevity.
Einstein notation is used throughout this article. This article uses the "analyst's" sign convention for Laplacians, except when noted otherwise. This article uses the "analyst's" sign convention for Laplacians, except when noted otherwise.
The gradient of the function f(x,y) = −(cos 2 x + cos 2 y) 2 depicted as a projected vector field on the bottom plane. The gradient (or gradient vector field) of a scalar function f(x 1, x 2, x 3, …, x n) is denoted ∇f or ∇ → f where ∇ denotes the vector differential operator, del. The notation grad f is also commonly used to ...
In Einstein notation (implicit summation over repeated index), contravariant components are denoted with upper indices as in = A covector or cotangent vector has components that co-vary with a change of basis in the corresponding (initial) vector space. That is, the components must be transformed by the same matrix as the change of basis matrix ...
Covariant vectors, on the other hand, have units of one-over-distance (as in a gradient) and transform in the same way as the coordinate system. For example, in changing from meters to millimeters, the coordinate units become smaller and the number measuring a gradient will also become smaller: 1 Kelvin per m becomes 0.001 Kelvin per mm.
In Cartesian coordinates, the divergence of a continuously differentiable vector field = + + is the scalar-valued function: = = (, , ) (, , ) = + +.. As the name implies, the divergence is a (local) measure of the degree to which vectors in the field diverge.
In differential geometry, the four-gradient (or 4-gradient) is the four-vector analogue of the gradient from vector calculus. In special relativity and in quantum mechanics , the four-gradient is used to define the properties and relations between the various physical four-vectors and tensors .
The Einstein tensor allows the Einstein field equations to be written in the concise form: + =, where is the cosmological constant and is the Einstein gravitational constant. From the explicit form of the Einstein tensor , the Einstein tensor is a nonlinear function of the metric tensor, but is linear in the second partial derivatives of the ...