In differential geometry, the connection form describes connection on principal bundles (or vector bundles). It can be considered as an generalization/alternative for Christoffel symbols.

Principal bundles

For a principal G-bundle , for each let T_x(E) denote the tangent space at x and V_x the vertical subspace tangent to the fiber . Then connection is an assignment of a horizontal subspace H_x of T_x(E) such that

1. T_x(E) is direct sum of V_x and H_x,
2. The distribution of H_x is invariant with respect to the G-action on E, i.e. H_ax = D_x(R_a)H_x for any and , here D_x(R_a) denotes the differential of the group action by a at x.
3. The distribution H_x depends smoothly on x.

This can be recast more elegantly using the jet bundle . The assignment of a horizontal subspace at each point is none other than a smooth section of this jet bundle.

The subspace V_x can be naturally identified with the Lie algebra g of group G, say by map . Then the connection form is a form ω on E with values in g defined by where v denotes projection at of to V_x with kernel H_x.

Given a local trivialization one can reduce ω to the horizontal vector fields (in this trivialization). It defines form say ω' on B. The form ω' defines ω completely, but it depends on the choice of trivialization. (This form is often also called connection form and denoted also by ω.)

Related definitions

Exterior covariant derivative

The exterior covariant derivative is a very useful notion which makes possible to simplify formulas in using connection. Given a tensor-valued differential k-form φ its exterior covariant derivative defined by

Dφ(X₀,X₁,...,X_k) = dφ(h(X₀),h(X₁),...,h(X_k))

where h denotes the projection to the horizontal subspace, H_x with kernel V_x and X_i are arbitrary vector fields on E.

Curvature form

The curvature form Ω, a g-valued 2-form, can be defined by

where [ * , * ] denotes the Lie bracket. This equation is also called the second structure equation.

Torsion

For the connection on a frame bundle, the curvature is not the only invariant of connection since the additional structure should be taken into account. Namely one has an extra canonical Rⁿ-valued form θ = θⁱ on E defined by identity

This equation is also called the first structure equation.

Vector bundles

The connection form for the vector bundle is the form on the total space of associated principal bundle, but it can be completely described by the following form (on the base in a NOT invariant way). This subsection can be considered as a smoother but bit wrong introduction to connection form.

A covariant derivative on a vector bundle is a way to "differentiate" bundle sections along tangent vectors, it is also sometimes called connection. Let be a vector bundle over a smooth manifold B with a n-dimensional vector space F as a fiber. Let us denote by a section of the vector bundle, the result of differentiation of the section of vector bundle v along tangent vector field u. In order to be a covariant derivative must satisfy the following identities:

(i) and (linearity)

(ii) and for any smooth function f.

The simplest example: if is the projection, i.e. ζ is a trivial vector bundle, then any section can be described by a smooth map . Therefore one can consider the trivial covariant derivative defined by partial derivatives:

If one has two connections and on the same vector bundle then the difference depends only on values of u and v at a point, ω is a 1-form on B with values in Hom(F,F); i.e. and ω can be described as an -matrix of one-forms. In particular one can choose a local trivialization of the vector bundle and take to be correspondent trivial connection, then ω gives a complete local description of .

The choice of trivialization is equivalent to choice of frames in each fiber, that explains the reason for the name Method of moving frames. Let us choose (a local smooth section of) basis frames e_i in fibers. Then the matrix of 1-forms is defined by the following identity:

If is the structure group of the vector bundle and connection respects... the group then the form ω is a 1-form with values in g, the Lie algebra of G. In particular for the tangent bundle of a Riemannian manifold we have O(n) as the structure group and for the form ω for the Levi-Civita connection is a form with values in so(n), the Lie algebra of O(n) (which can be thought of as antisymmetric matrices in an orthonormal basis).

Related definitions

Curvature

The connection form (ω) describes connection () in a non-invariant way; it depends on the choice of local trivialization. The following construction extracts invariant information out of ω.

The following 2-form with values in Hom(F,F) is called curvature form

where d stands for exterior derivative and is the wedge product. This equation also called the second structure equation.

Torsion

For the connection on tangent bundle the curvature is not the only invariant of connection since the additional structure should be taken into account. Namely one has an extra canonical Rⁿ-valued form θ = θⁱ on B defined by identity

Then the torsion, an of Rⁿ-valued 2-form can be defined by

This equation is also called the first structure equation.

References

Kobayashi, Shoshichi; Nomizu, Katsumi Foundations of differential geometry. Vol. I. Reprint of the 1963 original. Wiley Classics Library. A Wiley-Interscience Publication. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1996. xii+329 pp. ISBN 0-471-15733-3