Contractions of indices of the 4-vectors

In summary, contractions of indices of 4-vectors are important mathematical operations used in physics to simplify and manipulate equations involving 4-vectors. They involve multiplying two 4-vectors together and summing over repeated indices, resulting in a scalar value. These contractions are crucial in areas such as relativity and electromagnetism, helping to reduce the complexity of equations and make them easier to solve. There is a difference between upper and lower indices in these contractions, with upper indices representing contravariant vectors and lower indices representing covariant vectors. While commonly used with 4-vectors in special relativity, contractions of indices can be applied to any type of vector. In practical applications, they are used to calculate energy and
  • #1
nikol
13
0
Hi, can someone confirm those or did I not get the meaning of the 4-vectors indices:

[itex]\partial^{\mu}x_{\mu}=4;\partial^{\mu}x^{\mu}=2;\partial^{\mu}x_{\nu}= \delta ^{\mu}_{\nu};\partial^{\mu}x^{\nu}=g^{\mu\nu}[/itex]
 
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  • #2
Those are all numerically correct, however the second one is not a valid tensor equation, because you have two raised [itex]\mu[/itex] indices. Correct tensor equations always have contractions between one upper and one lower index--if you don't do that, the resulting equation is not Lorentz-invariant.
 
  • #3
Thank you for the clarification
 

FAQ: Contractions of indices of the 4-vectors

What are contractions of indices of 4-vectors?

Contractions of indices of 4-vectors are mathematical operations used in physics to simplify and manipulate equations involving 4-vectors. It involves multiplying two 4-vectors together and summing over the repeated indices. This results in a scalar value.

Why are contractions of indices of 4-vectors important?

Contractions of indices of 4-vectors are important because they allow us to simplify and manipulate equations involving 4-vectors, which are crucial in many areas of physics such as relativity and electromagnetism. They also help in reducing the complexity of equations and making them easier to solve.

What is the difference between upper and lower indices in contractions of 4-vectors?

In contractions of indices of 4-vectors, upper indices represent contravariant vectors while lower indices represent covariant vectors. This means that upper indices transform in the opposite way to the coordinate system, while lower indices transform in the same way as the coordinate system.

Can contractions of indices of 4-vectors be applied to any type of vector?

Yes, contractions of indices of 4-vectors can be applied to any type of vector, including 3-vectors and higher dimensional vectors. However, they are most commonly used with 4-vectors in the context of special relativity.

How can contractions of indices of 4-vectors be used in practical applications?

Contractions of indices of 4-vectors are commonly used in practical applications such as calculating energy and momentum in special relativity, as well as in electromagnetism to simplify equations involving electric and magnetic fields. They are also used in general relativity to simplify calculations involving curvature tensors.

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