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A decomposition identity for a class of Riemannian invariants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2008

Richard Pavelle
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721

Abstract

An identity of fundamental interest in General Relativity is the breakup or ‘decomposition’ of the scalar curvature density into an ordinary divergence in addition to a term constructed solely from the metric tensor and its first derivative. It is proven that this identity is the most elementary example of an identity satisfied by all members of a particularly important class of Riemannian invariants. For a subset of these invariants, the decomposition identity undergoes a simplification that connects this material with some problems of current research interest.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge Philosophical Society 1972

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References

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