Questions tagged [connections]
Ehresmann connections; covariant derivatives; connections on vector bundles, principal bundles, ∞-bundles, submersions, bundle gerbes; holonomy and higher holonomy; parallel transport; torsion; curvature. See also the tags [principal-bundles], [vector-bundles], [gerbes], [curvature], [geodesics], [characteristic-classes], [torsion].
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When can a connection Induce a Riemannian metric for which it is the Levi-Civita connection?
As we all know, for a Riemannian manifold $(M,g)$, there exists a unique torsion-free connection $\nabla_g$, the Levi-Civita connection, that is compatible with the metric.
I was wondering if one can ...
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A geometric interpretation of the Levi-Civita connection?
Let $M$ be a Riemannian manifold. There exists a unique torsion-free connection in the (co)tangent bundle of $M$ such that the metric of $M$ is covariantly constant. This connection is called the Levi-...
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What is the Levi-Civita connection trying to describe?
I have seen similar questions, but none of the answers relate to my difficulty, which I will now proceed to convey.
Let $(M,g)$ be a Riemannian manifolds. The Levi-Civita connection is the unique ...
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2
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Unifying Geometry for Characteristic Classes
When working with characteristic classes (more concretely Chern classes), one finds at least four essentially distinct approaches:
Axiomatic Approach. See, for instance, Vector Bundles and K-Theory, ...
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Rolling without slipping interpretation of torsion
This is, in a sense, a follow up to this question.
Hehl and Obukhov try to give an intuitive description of torsion. I am confused about their description. I am looking at the following paragraph on ...
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6
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pull-back connection
I have a question related to the definition of the pull-back connection, more specifically about its uniqueness or the canonical way to induce it.
The definition that one finds in general goes ...
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Conceptual definition of the extension of a connection to 1-forms
I have a question that arose while reading Milnor's "Characteristic Classes". I will use the notation from that book.
Let $M$ be a smooth manifold and let $\zeta$ be a complex vector bundle ...
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Vector bundle $L$ admits connection if and only if degree of every direct summand of $L$ divisible by $\text{char}\,k$, intuition
Consider the following theorem of Atiyah.
Let $X$ be a connected smooth projective curve over an algebraically closed field $k$. Then a vector bundle $L$ on $X$ admits a connection if and only if the ...
user61522
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Why is it important that partial derivatives commute?
I am asking this in the context of differential geometry (specifically Riemannian).
When the Levi-Civita Connection is defined, we require that the torsion tensor is 0, which in local coordinates ...
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3
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Manifolds admitting flat connections
For each Riemannian manifold one can construct the Levi-Civita connection. While this connection is unique, we can call a (Riemannian) manifold flat if the Levi-Civita connection is flat. However when ...
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How many flat connections has a line bundle in algebraic geometry?
Suppose $X$ is a projective variety over $\mathbb C$. I am happy to entertain more or different adjectives — I'm not looking for the most general statement, but rather to understand when and how ...
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3
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Geometrical meaning of the Ricci Tensor and its Symmetry
Let $M$ be a smooth, pseudo-Riemannian manifold with $\dim(M) \ge 2.$ Let $\nabla$ be any affine connection on $M$. No reason for it to be the Levi-Civita connection. All we assume is that it has zero ...
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Can a manifold have a curvature-free connection that is not torsion-free?
Suppose I have a smooth manifold with a tangent bundle, and I have a connection. If this connection is curvature-free, is it guaranteed to be torsion-free? (I am not assuming a metric, just a finite-...
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Tensor contraction and Covariant Derivative
What is the importance and intuition behind the the contraction operator on tensors (or the trace of a matrix, for that matter)?
In addition, I see that one of the requirements for a covariant ...
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A non-Abelian de Rham complex?
This question is inspired by this physics stack exchange post, which is recent and has not received an answer yet, nontheless I feel that there is a better way to ask this question here with a larger ...
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3
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Why is the integral of the second chern class an integer?
I'm currently reading the paper "Holonomy, the Quantum Adiabatic Theorem, and Berry's Phase" by Barry Simon.
Imagine a vector bundle with a connection $\nabla$. For simplicity, we assume that this is ...
- 1,347
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2
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The algebraic version of Riemann-Hilbert correspondence
It is well known that if I have a differentiable manifold (holomorphic manifold) $M$, then I have a functor from the category of vector bundles on $M$ with flat connections to the category of local ...
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Formal adjoint of the covariant derivative
Let $E \to M$ be a vector bundle over some Riemannian metric $(M, g)$ and endow it with some fibre metric. Assume that covariant derivative $\nabla$ is compatible with the metric.
It is essentially ...
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2
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When is a flow geodesic and how to construct the connection from it
Let $(M,\Gamma)$ be a $C^\infty$ $n$ dimensional real manifold with a linear connection $\Gamma$ on it. I know the following:
If $\gamma:[t_0,t_1]\rightarrow M$ is a smooth curve and is a geodesic, ...
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1
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Frobenius Descent
Let $S$ be a scheme of positive characteristic $p$ and $X$ a smooth $S$-scheme. Let $F:X\rightarrow X^{(p)}$ denote the relative Frobenius. A result by Cartier (often called Cartier descent or ...
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Are bundle gerbes bundles of algebras?
The category of line bundles (possibly with connection)
on a smooth manifold M can be defined in two different ways:
The first definition uses transition functions that satisfy a cocycle condition
(...
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0
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Existence of flat connections via characteristic classes, for nice groups
I have two questions about what I write below (which honestly seems pretty elementary).
Is it true (more or less)?
Is there a clean reference that I can cite.
Let $G$ be a compact Lie group, $M$ a ...
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3
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Can a homotopy inverse of the map from a Lie group to loops on its classifying space be given by holonomy?
Let $G$ be the compact Lie group $SO(n)$. There are some classical constructions of the classifying bundle of $G$ based upon on direct limits of Grassmann and Stiefel manifolds:
$$BG \simeq \...
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2
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Intuition for Levi-Civita connection?
Levi-Civita connection is usually defined as the unique connection which is torsion free and preserves metric.
Question Is there some intuitively transparent constructive way to define it (or ...
12
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1
answer
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Riemannian vs Non-Riemannian curvature
If you neither know the metric nor the holonomy group, how do you recognize a curvature tensor is Riemannian?
I assume a curvature, by definition, satisfies Bianchi identities. I know it is ...
12
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3
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Modern treatment of Dirac monopoles and related topics
I know that the topic is classical and even "folklore", but many treatments make use of local coordinates and such treatments are rather messy. Could somewhere maybe provide some reference(s)...
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1
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Aren't Riemannian geodesics also geodesics of the associated Cartan geometry?
I was inspired by R. W. Sharpe's book on doing differential geometry through Cartan connections. Unfortunately, the book is fairly thin in terms of specific examples in Riemannian geometry, so I ...
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Connections in terms of tangent ($\infty$-)categories?
Given a commutative ring $k$ and a commutative $k$-algebra $A$, we know that the Kähler differential $\Omega_{A/k}^1$ could be described through machineries of tangent categories (see, for example, ...
user20948
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1
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Geometric interpretation of horizontal and vertical lift of vector field
In many References such as D.E. Blair, Riemannian Geometry of Contact and Symplectic Manifolds chapter 9, and Differential Geometric Structures
By Walter A. Poor Page 54; the horizontal and vertical ...
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Tangent bundle of a tensor product bundle
This question was also asked here on math-stackexchange.
Let $E\to M$ and $F\to M$ be vector bundles. The structure of their tangents $TE$ and $TF$ is well known. In particular, connectors map $K_E: ...
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When do flat holomorphic connections exist?
Let $X$ be a smooth projective variety over $\mathbb{C}$.
I know that a vector bundle $\mathcal{E}$ on $X$ admits a holomorphic/algebraic connection iff its Atiyah class vanishes, $A(\mathcal{E}) = 0$....
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1
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Which manifolds are sensitive to the cocycle in the Dijkgraaf-Witten model?
Often, TQFTs are defined in families, parametrised by some algebraic data. For example, the Turaev-Viro-Barrett-Westbury TQFTs are parametrised by spherical fusion categories, the Crane-Yetter TQFTs ...
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Global description of the Levi-Civita connection
I'm interested in finding a global (coordinate-free) description of the Levi-Civita connection on a (possibly infinite-dimensional) Riemannian manifold X.
I'm not looking for a description of this ...
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2
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Embedding of a bundle with connection into a bundle with flat connection?
I'm looking for a generalization of Nash's embedding theorem (for Riemannian manifolds) to vector bundles with a connection.
Given a smooth manifold $M$ together with a vector bundle $V$ on $M$ ...
- 587
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2
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Principal bundle approach to general relativity
I am curious if there is any literature (texbooks, mainly, but articles will do too, though I don't have easy access to any paid journal) that deals with general relativity by using Ehresmann ...
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1
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Generalized Dirac operators
So far I met three definitions of the so called generalized Dirac operator(or Dirac type operators. Everything takes place over Riemannian manifols $M$ and we have smooth hermitian vector bundle $S \...
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1
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How algebraic is the holonomy map?
Let $G$ be either a compact, simple, simply-connected Lie group, or a simply-connected complex reductive group (so either $SU(n)$ or $SL(n,\mathbb{C})$, for instance), or even complex affine. I don't ...
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Is there a mathematical explanation for the Aharonov-Casher effect?
Recall that the Aharonov-Bohm effect can be interpreted mathematically as follows.
Consider an electromagnetic field A on some smooth manifold M, i.e., A is an element in the first differential ...
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Is there a contact instanton connection on the tangent bundle of the 5-sphere?
A well-known example of a contact manifold is $S^5$, arising from it being a circle bundle over $\mathbb{CP^2}$. This is somewhat related to the reduction of the structure group from $SO(5)$ to $SU(2)$...
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Does every manifold have a flat connection?
Suppose I have a manifold and a vector bundle over it, but not a connection or a metric. Can I always find a connection on it that has a Riemann curvature tensor that is identically zero? If so, can I ...
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Skellam distribution: Deep connection between Poisson distributions and Bessel function?
The probability mass function for the Skellam distribution for a count difference $k=n_1-n_2$ from two Poisson-distributed variables with means $\mu_1$ and $\mu_2$ is given by:
$$
f(k;\mu_1,\mu_2)= ...
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1d TQFT minus connection =?
Correct me if I am wrong but I believe at least conceptually (maybe even rigorously) data of a 1-dimensional TQFT and of a vector bundle with connection are equivalent.
Going into more detail (and ...
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Chern class of a logarithmic connection
Let $X$ be a smooth complex projective algebraic variety and $E$ a line bundle on $X$. It is a classical result that if $E$ carries an integrable connection, then the first Chern class $c_1(E)$ ...
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Given a Lie $2$-group $G$ does every principal $G$ $2$-bundle admit a $2$-connection?
The statement is true for Lie groups and principal bundles, with every principal bundle admitting a connection and I see no reason for the analogue result not to hold in the Lie $2$-group case but I ...
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1
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regular singularities and comparison isomorphism
Let $X$ be a smooth variety over some field $k \subset \mathbb{C}$. By a theorem of Grothendieck, one has a canonical isomorphism of complex vector spaces
$$
\mathbb{H}^j(X, \Omega_{X/k}^\bullet) \...
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0
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301
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Flat Maurer-Cartan connection iff flat Berry connection
I am studying two connections on induced representation spaces $\text{Ind}_{H}^{G} \Gamma$, where $H \subseteq G$ are groups, and $\Gamma$ is an irrep of $H$.
The first is the canonical or $H$-...
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(Higher) flat connections and Grothendieck construction
For any (nice) topological space there is an equivalence between covering spaces and local systems $\pi_1X \to \operatorname{Set}$. We can think of it as a Grothendieck construction. If we take ...
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461
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Connections and curvature in commutative algebra
Since on any commutative algebra $R$ over ring $S$ we have module of Kahler differentials $(\Omega_{R/S},d)$ which extends to the algebraic de-Rham complex $(\Omega^\bullet,d),$ it is natural to ...
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semi flat connections
Let $L\to V$ be complex line bundle and $F_{t}:V\to V$, $t\in [0,1]$, be a loop of diffeomorphisms, $F_0=F_1=$ identity.
For every $x\in V$, we get a loop $\gamma_x(t)=\{F_t(x)\}$ whose class in $\...
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3
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Is there a way to define a Lie derivative of a connection?
I've been reading a little bit about the definition of symmetries on General Relativity, and they are related with the concept of Killing vector, i.e., vectors along which the Lie derivative of the ...
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