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(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.
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)
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)
kr i + r ks lt r st x l
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.