Questions tagged [riemannian-geometry]

For questions about Riemann geometry, which is a branch of differential geometry dealing with Riemannian manifolds.

Introduction

Metaphorically, Riemannian geometry is what happens when we try to generalize the Pythagorean theorem to work on smooth manifolds in general, but accidently drop the Pythagorean theorem in a blender along the way.

Definition 1.1a: (Riemannian Metric) Suppose $M$ is a smooth manifold. A Riemannian metric on $M$ is a section $\mathrm{g}\in\Gamma(T^\vee\hspace{-.25em}M\otimes T^\vee\hspace{-.25em}M)$ such that, for each $p\in M$ and all $X_p,Y_p\in T_pM$,

  • $\mathrm{g}_p(X_p\otimes Y_p)=\mathrm{g}_p(Y_p\otimes X_p)$,

  • $\mathrm{g}_p(X_p\otimes X_p)\geq0$, with equality if and only if $X_p=0$.

Note that many mathematicians use the following equivalent definition.

Definition 1.1b: (Riemannian Metric) Suppose $M$ is a smooth manifold. A Riemannian metric is a smooth function $\mathrm{g}:TM\times_MTM\to\mathbb{R}$, where $TM\times_MTM$ is the fiber product, such that, for each $p\in M$, all $X_p,Y_p,Z_p\in T_pM$, and all $a,b\in\mathbb{R}$,

  • $\mathrm{g}(aX_p+bY_p,Z_p)=a\mathrm{g}(X_p,Z_p)+b\mathrm{g}(Y_p,Z_p)$,
  • $\mathrm{g}(X_p,Y_p)=\mathrm{g}(Y_p,X_p)$,
  • $\mathrm{g}(X_p,X_p)\geq0$, with equality if and only if $X_p=0$.

Regardless of the particulars of the definition, a Riemannian metric is essentially a smooth choice of inner product on each tangent space. Making a choice of Riemannian metric gives us a Riemannian manifold.

Definition 1.2: (Riemannian Manifold) A Riemannian manifold is a pair $(M,\mathrm{g})$, where $M$ is a smooth manifold and $\mathrm{g}$ is a Riemannian metric.

There is a plethora of examples of Riemannian manifolds that appear all over geometry.

Example 1.3: (Euclidean Space) Let $x$ be the (global) identity chart on $\mathbb{R}^n$. A Euclidean space is a Riemannian manifold of the form $$\left(\mathbb{R}^n,\sum_{i=1}^n\mathrm{d}x^i\otimes\mathrm{d}x^i\right).$$ Usually, we identify $n$-dimensional Euclidean space with $\mathbb{R}^n$.

Example 1.4: (Hyperbolic Plane) Let $(x,y)$ be the (global) identity chart on the upper half plane. Then, the hyperbolic plane is the Riemannian manifold $$H^2=\left(\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R}_+,\frac{1}{y^2}\left(\mathrm{d}x\otimes\mathrm{d}x+\mathrm{d}y\otimes\mathrm{d}y\right)\right).$$

This tag is for questions about Riemann geometry, which is a branch of differential geometry dealing with Riemannian manifolds. Usually, Riemannian geometry focuses on the notions of distance, curvature, and shape. Consider using this tag if your question involves Riemannian manifolds or objects generally associated with them, such as Levi-Civita connections.

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Jacobian of a map between two spaces of different dimension.

I have been asking quite a few questions lately on this same topic, but I am really trying to get a grasp of a lot of the content of my Riemannian Geometry course, so I appreciate the help! on p. 14 of do Carmo's Riemannian Geometry, he starts…
Agathon
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Locally isometrics manifolds

Let $(N, h)$ and $(M, g)$ riemannian manifolds with $dim M = dim N$. We say that M is locally isometric to N if there is a smoother application $F: M\rightarrow N$ such that $$g(v,w)=h(dF_p(v), dF_p(w)),\ \forall v,w \in T_pM,\ \forall p \in M…
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Necessary of completeness assumption for Cartan Hadamard theorem

I have learnt the Cartan Hadamard theorem, Let $M$ be a complete Riemannian manifold with nonpositive sectional curvature. Then $\forall x\in M, \exp_x:T_xM\to M$ has no conjugate point. Then the notes point out completeness assumption is required…
John
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A triangle inequality for angles

Let $M$ be a complete Riemannian manifold with nonnegative curvature and $x,y,z,p$ four points on $M$. We denote by $\theta(x,y),\theta(y,z),\theta(z,x)$, respectively, the angles at $\tilde p$ of the triangles in $\mathbb R^2$ with the edge…
Summer
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What exactly are the independent components?

What are the 20 independent, non zero components of the 4D Riemann curvature tensor? (Not how many, I know there are twenty, but specifically which components are non-zero?)
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Help understanding John Lee's definition of curvature

On page 3 of his book Riemannian Manifolds, John Lee states the following If you want to continue your study of plane geometry beyond figures constructed from lines and circles, sooner or later you will have to come to terms with other curves in the…
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Finding a frame for a vector bundle in a smooth manifold with a connection

I am trying to solve the following exercise: Let $P$ be a vector bundle over a smooth manifold $M$ with a connection $\nabla$, and let $p \in M$ . Show that there is an open set $U$ of $M$ with $p \in U$ and a frame $E_1, \ldots, E_k$ of $P$ defined…
essay
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Show that a parallel field has constant length.

Show that a parallel field has constant length (Riemannian-geometry). It is true for all connections?
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Metric in normal coordinate

Using Gauss’s lemma we can write the metric in normal co-ordinate as $g(r, θ) = dr^2 + r^2h_{ij}(r, θ)dθ^i ⊗ dθ^j$ (where metric on $S^{n-1}$ is $\tilde {g}=dθ^i ⊗ dθ^i$). Now as $r \rightarrow 0$, $g$ tends to Euclidean metric. My feeling is that…
Bingo
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Why invariant geodesics of translation can't have at least two intersections?

I can't understand the red line well. Seemly, if $\tilde \gamma_1\cap \tilde \gamma_2$ has at least two points, it will contradict with the simple connectivity. I want to know why it is ? PS(2024-3-26): As the hint of Moishe Kohan, the right way is…
Enhao Lan
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curvature tensor and the metric

how does $ R_{βδ} = g^{αγ}R_{αβγδ} $ but $g^{αβ}R_{αβγδ}=0$ I am unsure of the methods used although I have seen the symmetries of the curvature tensor
wiln
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Question about curvatures of hypersurfaces

Let $M^n\subseteq {\mathbb{R}}^{n+1}$ be a hypersurface. Compute the sectional curvatures in all planes which are spanned by two eigenvectors $X_i, X_j$ of the Weingarten map. Also compute the Ricci tensor Ric($X_i, X_j$) and the scalar…
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