Mathematics Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [differential-geometry]

Differential geometry is the application of differential calculus in the setting of smooth manifolds (curves, surfaces and higher dimensional examples). Modern differential geometry focuses on "geometric structures" on such manifolds, such as bundles and connections; for questions not concerning such structures, use (differential-topology) instead. Use (symplectic-geometry), (riemannian-geometry), (complex-geometry), or (lie-groups) when more appropriate.

Differential geometry is a branch of mathematics that uses techniques in calculus and linear algebra to study geometry. It is closely related to differential topology and PDEs (geometric analysis).

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Exterior Derivative vs. Covariant Derivative vs. Lie Derivative

In differential geometry, there are several notions of differentiation, namely: Exterior Derivative, $d$ Covariant Derivative/Connection, $\nabla$ Lie Derivative, $\mathcal{L}$. I have listed them in order of appearance in my education/in…
Michael Albanese
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Teaching myself differential topology and differential geometry

I have a hazy notion of some stuff in differential geometry and a better, but still not quite rigorous understanding of basics of differential topology. I have decided to fix this lacuna once for all. Unfortunately I cannot attend a course right…
Harddaysknight
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Why can't differentiability be generalized as nicely as continuity?

The question: Can we define differentiable functions between (some class of) sets, "without $\Bbb R$"* so that it Reduces to the traditional definition when desired? Has the same use in at least some of the higher contexts where we would use the…
GPerez
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Prove the theorem on analytic geometry in the picture.

I discovered this elegant theorem in my facebook feed. Does anyone have any idea how to prove? Formulations of this theorem can be found in the answers and the comments. You are welcome to join in the discussion. Edit: Current progress: The theorem…
user122049
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Direct proof that the wedge product preserves integral cohomology classes?

Let $H^k(M,\mathbb R)$ be the De Rham cohomology of a manifold $M$. There is a canonical map $H^k(M;\mathbb Z) \to H^k(M;\mathbb R)$ from the integral cohomology to the cohomology with coefficients in $\mathbb R$, which is isomorphic to the De Rham…
Greg Graviton
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What is the solution to Nash's problem presented in "A Beautiful Mind"?

I was watching the said movie the other night, and I started thinking about the equation posed by Nash in the movie. More specifically, the one he said would take some students a lifetime to solve (obviously, an exaggeration). Nonetheless, one…
Mlagma
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Mathematicians' Tensors vs. Physicists' Tensors

It seems, at times, that physicists and mathematicians mean different things when they say the word "tensor." From my perspective, when I say tensor, I mean "an element of a tensor product of vector spaces." For instance, here is a segment about…
msm
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What's the largest possible volume of a taco, and how do I make one that big?

Let $f$ be a continuous, even function over some interval $I=[-a,a]$ such that the total arc length of $f$ over $I$ is at least $2$, $f(0)=0$, and $f$ is increasing on $(0,a)$. [You might imagine something like $f(x)=x^2$.] View the graph of…
2'5 9'2
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Lebesgue measure theory vs differential forms?

I am currently reading various differential geometry books. From what I understand differential forms allow us to generalize calculus to manifolds and thus perform integration on manifolds. I gather that it is, in general, completely distinct from…
sonicboom
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Why is a circle in a plane surrounded by 6 other circles?

When you draw a circle in a plane you can perfectly surround it with 6 other circles of the same radius. This works for any radius. What's the significance of 6? Why not some other numbers? I'm looking for an answer deeper than "there are…
John Smith
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Why is the Möbius strip not orientable?

I am trying to understand the notion of an orientable manifold. Let M be a smooth n-manifold. We say that M is orientable if and only if there exists an atlas $A = \{(U_{\alpha}, \phi_{\alpha})\}$ such that $\textrm{det}(J(\phi_{\alpha} \circ…
Richard G
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Is there any easy way to understand the definition of Gaussian Curvature?

I am new to differential geometry and I am trying to understand Gaussian curvature. The definitions found at Wikipedia and Wolfram sites are too mathematical. Is there any intuitive way to understand Gaussian curvature?
Shan
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Is there an easy way to show which spheres can be Lie groups?

I heard that using some relatively basic differential geometry, you can show that the only spheres which are Lie groups are $S^0$, $S^1$, and $S^3$. My friend who told me this thought that it involved de Rham cohomology, but I don't really know…
Aaron Mazel-Gee
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Why is a PDE a submanifold (and not just a subset)?

I struggle a bit with understanding the idea behind the definition of a PDE on a fibred manifold. Let $\pi: E \to M$ be a smooth locally trivial fibre bundle. In Gromovs words a partial differential relation of order $k$ is a subset of the $k$th…
hase_olaf
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What is a covector and what is it used for?

From what I understand, a covector is an object that takes a vector and returns a number. So given a vector $v \in V$ and a covector $\phi \in V^*$, you can act on $v$ with $\phi$ to get a real number $\phi(v)$. Is that "it" or is there more to it?…
Mike Flynn
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