Why Does Tensor Contraction Yield Zero in This Calculation?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a tensor contraction calculation involving the metric tensor \( g \) on an n-dimensional manifold. The original poster is attempting to compute the expression \( g^{\alpha\beta}g^{\sigma\rho}(g_{\alpha\sigma}g_{\beta\rho}-g_{\alpha\rho}g_{\beta\sigma}) \) but is consistently arriving at zero, which they believe is incorrect.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster describes their approach of contracting the expression and notes that it simplifies to zero. They express uncertainty about their result. Other participants question the validity of the zero result and explore the implications of contracting different factors, leading to contrasting conclusions.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants examining different aspects of the tensor contraction. Some participants suggest that the original poster's reasoning may not be flawed, while others propose that the answer could indeed be zero. There is no explicit consensus on the correctness of the results presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating the complexities of tensor algebra and the implications of the dimensionality of the manifold. The original poster indicates a lack of clarity regarding the expected outcome based on the dimension, which may influence their calculations.

teddd
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Homework Statement


Hello guys, hope you'll help me out with this!
I'm asked to calculate [tex]g^{\alpha\beta}g^{\sigma\rho}(g_{\alpha\sigma}g_{\beta\rho}-g_{\alpha\rho}g_{\beta\sigma})[/tex]
where g is the metric tensor on a n-dimensional manifold but I can't get to the right result, i keep on getting zero! (i know that's wrong although i don't know the exact solution -sorry- but it should depend on the dimension of the manifold)


Homework Equations



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The Attempt at a Solution



Well, i contracted firs with respect to [itex]g^{\sigma\rho}[/itex] and i end up with [tex]g^{\alpha\beta}(g_{alpha\beta}+g_{alpha\beta}-g_{alpha\beta}-g_{alpha\beta})[/tex]which obviously vanish.
I must be missing something!
 
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Are you so sure it's zero? Let's look at the first factor:
[tex] g^{\alpha\beta}g^{\sigma\rho}g_{\alpha\sigma}g_{ \beta\rho}=g^{\alpha\beta}(g^{\sigma\rho}g_{\alpha\sigma})g_{\beta\rho}=g^{\alpha\beta}\delta^{\rho}_{\alpha}g_{\beta\rho}=g^{\rho\beta}g_{\beta\rho}=\delta^{\rho}_{\rho}=n[/tex]
What is the other factor?
 
Thanks for the answer hunt_mat but... I keep on getting zero!

That's becaouse contracting the second factor like you did for the first i get
[tex]-g^{\alpha\beta} g^{\sigma\rho}g_{\alpha\rho}g_{\beta\sigma}=-g^{\alpha\beta} (g^{\sigma\rho}g_{\alpha\rho})g_{\beta\sigma}=-g^{\alpha\beta} \delta^{\sigma}_{\alpha}g_{\beta\sigma}=-g^{\sigma\beta}g_{\beta\sigma}=-n[/tex]

which added to the first factor gives zero!
They seems equal to me, becaouse when i get the kronecker delta it doesent matter which index it has, it will be a mute index anyhow! (maybe the error is here?)where am i mistaking?
 
I don't think that you're making a mistake at all, I think the answer really is zero.
 

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