Bitensor covariant derivative commutation

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the commutation of covariant derivatives of a bitensor, specifically the expression involving the bitensor G^{\alpha}_{\beta'}(x,x'). The user attempts to apply the standard commutation law for covariant derivatives of a (r,s)-tensor but encounters issues with the definition of the Riemann tensor term R^{\delta'}_{\beta' \rho \sigma}. The consensus is to retain the first Riemann tensor term R^{\alpha}_{\delta \rho \sigma}G^{\delta}_{\beta'} and discard the second term for proper definition.

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PLuz
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Hi everyone,

I'm trying to prove a relation in which I need do commute covariant derivatives of a bitensor. The equation is quite long but I need to write something like this:

Given a bitensor G^{\alpha}_{\beta'}(x,x'), where the unprimed indexes (\alpha,\beta, etc) are assigned to the point x and the primed indexes to the point x'. If I use the usual law for commutating covariant derivatives of a (r,s)-tensor one can write:\nabla_{\rho} \nabla_{\sigma} G^{\alpha}_{\beta'}=\nabla_{\sigma}\nabla_{\rho} G^{\alpha} _{\beta'}+R^{\alpha}_{\delta \rho \sigma}G^{\delta}_{\beta'}-R^{\delta'}_{\beta' \rho \sigma}G^{\alpha}_{\delta'} ,

where R^{\alpha}_{\delta \rho \sigma} is the Riemann tensor. But this formula can't be right, at least is not well defined since I don't know what is this object: R^{\delta'}_{\beta' \rho \sigma} ...

Does anyone know how to commute covariant derivatives of a bitensor?

Thank you
 
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You're only differentiating wrt the unprimed point x, so the primed indices are effectively out of the picture. Keep the first Riemann tensor term and dscard the second.
 

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