Basic Examples (5)
Define local covariant base vectors in cylindrical coordinates:
Get covariant base vectors at point {r,ϕ,z}:
Define a mapping and coordinate system:
Calculate the associated covariant and contravariant base vectors:
Get normalized covariant and contravariant base vectors:
Verify their inverse relationships:
Get the covariant metric of mapping to a cylindrical system:
Compare the result with the cataloged named system of CoordinateChartData:
Do a similar computation to get the inverse metric:
Verify their inverse relationship:
Identify the volume factor of a mapping:
Compare with CoordinateChartData:
Calculate the covariant components of the Levi-Civita tensor :
Get the contravariant components of the Levi-Civita tensor :
Find out which properties are available:
Scope (9)
Use the contravariant Levi-Civita symbol to evaluate the cross product :
Check the above result by calculating the cross product of contravariant base vectors b3=b1⨯b2:
Affine coordinate transformation (1)
Find out the properties of an affine coordinate transformation:
Polar coordinate transformation (1)
Compute properties for polar coordinates:
Surfaces embedded in 3D Euclidean space (4)
Identify some metrics on the surface of a sphere:
Get the tangent space (represented by the covariant vectors):
Find out the corresponding area factor:
Calculate the 2x2 metric tensor:
Note that these components of the covariant metric tensor correspond to the coefficients of the so-called first fundamental form. Confirm this using the resource function FirstFundamentalFormCoefficients:
Generate some metrics of a torus surface:
Get the covariant vectors (corresponding to the tangent space):
Test the orthogonality of the tangent space:
Compute the unit normal using the resource function UnitNormal and compare with the associated cross product:
Determine the covariant metric tensor:
Define a heart surface and determine some properties:
Compute the Jacobian and covariant metric tensor of a surface of revolution of a general curve r(z):
Curve embedded in 2D Euclidean space (3)
Obtain the arc length of a general 2D curve:
Compute the covariant vectors for a circle:
Visualize them using the resource function PlotVector:
Compute the circle's circumference:
Plot a Cornu spiral and compute its length:
Options (4)
The option "UnitVectors" controls whether returned basis vectors are normalized. The default value is False:
Use "UnitVectors"→True to get normalized basis vectors:
Compute the surface area and volume of a generic torus through integration:
Compare, using named properties in cataloged surfaces here:
Compute the geodesic of a toroid:
Plot the geodesic curve:
Calculate the curve's length:
Define the normal vectors of a surface of revolution:
The inverse shift tensor connects the surface space with the Euclidean ambient space:
The normal space :
Plot normals of a random surface of revolution using the resource function PlotVector3D:
Properties and Relations (3)
The Jacobian matrix can be calculated with several Wolfram Language functions:
"MappingJacobian" and the transposition of "CovariantBaseVectors" represent the same property:
"InverseMappingJacobian" and "ContravariantBaseVectors" represent the same property as long as the mapping is between spaces of the same dimensionality:
Possible Issues (2)
For mappings to a manifold embedded in higher dimensional space, the properties "MappingJacobianDeterminant" and "InverseMappingJacobian" are not well-defined:
But "ContravariantBaseVectors" exists (so that, in this case, it is not the same as "InverseMappingJacobian"):