The difference between big delta and small delta?

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aCHCa
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Could anybody explain me what's the difference between [itex]\delta\Gamma^{\rho}_{\mu\nu}[/itex] and [itex]\Delta\Gamma^{\rho}_{\mu\nu}[/itex]? Thank you
 
aCHCa said:
Could anybody explain me what's the difference between [itex]\delta\Gamma^{\rho}_{\mu\nu}[/itex] and [itex]\Delta\Gamma^{\rho}_{\mu\nu}[/itex]? Thank you

The first usually refers to a variation of the quantity, also used in linearized gravity.
The latter is just the Laplacian:

[itex]\Delta=\partial_{\mu}\partial^{\mu}[/itex].