Lecture 8

Metrics
Objectives:
More on the metric and how it transforms.
Reading: Hobson, 2.
8.1 Riemannian Geometry
The interval
ds
2
= g

dx

dx

,
is a quadratic function of the coordinate dierentials.
This is the denition of Riemannian geometry, or more correctly, pseudo-Riemannian
geometry to allow for ds
2
< 0.
Example 8.1 What are the coecients of the metric tensor in 3D Euclidean
space for Cartesian, cylindrical polar and spherical polar coordinates?
Answer 8.1 The interval in Euclidean geometry can be written in Carte-
sian coordinates as Introducing an
obvious notation
with x standing
for the x
coordinate index,
etc.
ds
2
= dx
2
+ dy
2
+ dz
2
.
The metric tensors coecients are therefore given by
g
xx
= g
yy
= g
zz
= 1,
with all others = 0.
In cylindrical polars:
ds
2
= dr
2
+ r
2
d
2
+ dz
2
,
30
LECTURE 8. METRICS 31
so g
rr
= 1, g

= r
2
, g
zz
= 1 and all others = 0.
Finally spherical polars:
ds
2
= dr
2
+ r
2
d
2
+ r
2
sin
2
d
2
,
gives g
rr
= 1, g

= r
2
and g

= r
2
sin
2
.
Example 8.2 Calculate the metric tensor in 3D Euclidean space for the
coordinates u = x + 2y, v = x y, w = z.
Answer 8.2 The inverse transform is easily shown to be x = (u + 2v)/3,
y = (u v)/3, z = w, so
dx =
1
3
du +
2
3
dv,
dy =
1
3
du
1
3
dv,
dz = dw,
so
ds
2
=

1
3
du +
2
3
dv

2
+

1
3
du
1
3
dv

2
+ dw
2
,
=
2
9
du
2
+
5
9
dv
2
+
2
9
dudv + dw
2
.
We can immediately write g
uu
= 2/9, g
vv
= 5/9, g
ww
= 1, and g
uv
= g
vu
=
1/9 since the metric is symmetric. This metric still describes 3D Euclidean
at geometry, although not obviously.
8.2 Metric transforms
The method of the example is often the easiest way to transform metrics,
however using tensor transformations, we can write more compactly:
g

=
x

.
This shows how the components of the metric tensor transform under coor-
dinate transformations but the underlying geometry does not change.
Example 8.3 Use the transformation of g to derive the metric components
in cylindrical polars, starting from Cartesian coordinates.
LECTURE 8. METRICS 32
Answer 8.3 We must compute terms like x/r, so we need x, y and z in
terms of r, , z:
x = r cos ,
y = r sin ,
z = z.
Find x/r = cos , y/r = sin , z/r = 0. Consider the g
rr
component:
g
rr
=
x
i
r
x
j
r
g
ij
,
where i and j represent x, y or z. Since g
ij
= 1 for i = j and 0 otherwise,
and since z/r = 0, we are left with:
g
rr
=

x
r

2
+

y
r

2
= cos
2
+ sin
2
= 1.
Similarly
g

2
+

2
= (r sin )
2
+ (r cos )
2
= r
2
,
and g
zz
= 1, as expected.
This may seem a very dicult way to deduce a familiar result, but the point is
that it transforms a problem for which one otherwise needs to apply intuition
and 3D visualisation into a mechanical procedure that is not dicult at
least in principle and can even be programmed into a computer.
8.3 First curved-space metric
We can now start to look at curved spaces. A very helpful one is the surface
of a sphere.
LECTURE 8. METRICS 33
Figure: Surface of a sphere parameterised by distance r from
a point and azimuthal angle
The sketch shows
the surface
embedded in
3D. This is a
priviledged view
that is not always
possible. You
need to try to
imagine that you
are actually stuck
in the surface
with no height
dimension.
Two coordinates are needed to label the surface. e.g. the distance from a
point along the surface, r, and the azimuthal angle , similar to Euclidean
polar coords.
The distance AP is given by Rsin , so a change d corresponds to distance
Rsin d. Thus the metric is
ds
2
= dr
2
+ R
2
sin
2
d
2
.
or since r = R,
ds
2
= dr
2
+ R
2
sin
2

r
R

d
2
.
This is the metric of a 2D space of constant curvature.
Circumference of circle in this geometry: set dr = 0, integrate over
C = 2Rsin
r
R
< 2r.
e.g. On Earth (R = 6370 km), circle with r = 10 km shorter by 2.6 cm than
if Earth was at.
Exactly the same is possible in 3D. i.e we could nd that a circle radius r
has a circumference < 2r owing to gravitationally induced curvature.
8.4 2D spaces of constant curvature
Can construct metric of the surface of a sphere as follows. First write the
equation of a sphere in Euclidean 3D
x
2
+ y
2
+ z
2
= R
2
.
LECTURE 8. METRICS 34
If we switch to polars (r, ) in the xy plane, this becomes
r
2
+ z
2
= R
2
.
In the same terms the Euclidean metric is
dl
2
= dr
2
+ r
2
d
2
+ dz
2
.
But we can use the restriction to a sphere to eliminate dz which implies
2r dr + 2z dz = 0,
and so
dl
2
= dr
2
+ r
2
d
2
+
r
2
dr
2
z
2
,
which reduces to
dl
2
=
dr
2
1 r
2
/R
2
+ r
2
d
2
.
Dening curvature k = 1/R
2
, we have
dl
2
=
dr
2
1 kr
2
+ r
2
d
2
,
the metric of a 2D space of constant curvature. k > 0 can be embedded
in 3D as the surface of a sphere; k < 0 cannot, but it is still a perfectly valid
geometry. [A saddle shape has negative curvature over a limited region.]
A very similar procedure can be used to construct the spatial part of the
metric describing the Universe.