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The condition for at space

C. Mller, 1952 November 26, 2011


A at space is dened as a space in which it is possible to introduce a system of coordinates which is geodesic at every point. If this condition is fullled we obviously have Riklm = 0 at every point, where Riklm is the curvature tensor dened by R klm
i

(1)

i i km kl = + i r i r . rm kl rl km m l x x

Conversely, we shall now show that (1) also represents a sucient condition for atness.

A vector eld ai (x) is called stationary if it satises the equation ai ;l ai + i ar = 0 lr xl (2)

at every point where i (x) is the Christoel symbol. The equations (2) lr represent a set of dierential equation for the function ai (x) which have solutions only if the integrability conditions i ar i ar 2 ai 2 ai lr mr + = m l =0 xm xl xl xm x x (3)

are satised. The conditions (3) may also be written i i kl km + + i s i s ak Ri klm ak = 0. ls mk ms lk xm xl

The integrability conditions are thus fullled if (1) holds, and in this case (2) can be integrated and the solution is uniquely determined if the vector ai (P ) at a point P is given. Since ai l dx = i ar dxl , lr xl the vectors in a stationary vector eld are obtained by parallel displacements. This is in accordance with the case of a vanishing curvature tensor that the result of a parallel displacemen of a vector is unique and independent of the path along which the displacement is performed. dai =
(i)

Let us now consider four dierent solutions ak = {ai , ai , ai , ai } (1) (2) (3) (4) of the dierential equations (2) determined by four given vectors ai (P ) (k) at the arbitrary point P. The vectors ai (P ) must be taken to be linearly (k) independentfor instance orthogonal to each other. It can then be shown that we get a transformation x i = x i (x) which leads to a system of coordinates (x i ) geodesic everywhere if we choose the transformation coecients xi (x) = ai (x). (k) k x In the rst place it is seen that the integrability conditions ki (x) ki li = x l x k (4)

(5)

are satised by the expressions (4). In fact, since the equations (2) hold for each of the vector elds ai , we have (k) ki xr ki = = i as lr = i ks lr , rs (k) rs x l xr x l (6)

which on account of the symmetry of i in the lower indices is symmetrical rs in k and l.

From the Christoel formulae


i i kl = r

kr i + r ks lt r st x l

and from (6) we now get


i i kl = r

kr i + ks lt r = r r ks lt + ks lt r = 0. st st st l x 2

Thus the Christoel symbolsand therefore also xik vanish at every point l in the system of coordinates (x i ). In this system the components of the metric tensor are thus constants, i.e. we are dealing with a at space.

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