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Yes, very simple, except that when physicists say "tensor", they mean tensor fields, on smooth, curved manifolds, in at least four dimensions, often with a Lore

Yes, very simple, except that when physicists say "tensor", they mean tensor fields, on smooth, curved manifolds, in at least four dimensions, often with a Lorentz metric. Things stop being simple quickly.

adrian_b 2y ago
It does not matter on what set a tensor field is defined. A tensor field is not a tensor, but the value of a tensor field at any point is a tensor, which satisfies the definition given above, exactly like the value of a vector field at any point is a vector. The "fields" are just functions. There are physics books that do not give the easier to understand definition given above, but they give an equivalent, but more obscure, definition of a tensor, by giving the transformation rules for its contravariant components and for its covariant components at a change of the reference system. The word "tensor" with the current meaning has been used for the first time by Einstein and he has not given any explanation for this word choice. The theory of tensors that Einstein has learned had not used the word "tensor". Before Einstein, the word "tensor" (coined by Hamilton) was used in physics with the meaning of "symmetrical matrix", because the geometric (affine) transformation of a body that is determined by the multiplication with a symmetric matrix extends (or compresses) the body towards certain directions (the axes that correspond to a rotation that would diagonalize the symmetric matrix). The word "tensor" in the old sense was applied only to what is called now "symmetric tensor of the second order" (which remains the most important kind of the tensors that are neither vectors nor scalars).
- prof-dr-ir 2y ago
  > The "fields" are just functions. I think this is far too simplistic, for one because the values of this putative function depend on the chosen coordinate system. So I completely agree with the comment you are replying to: when a physicist says "tensor" they really mean a "tensor field" and the definition of the latter is quite a bit more involved than just specifying a multilinear map at each point of a manifold.
  - mr_mitm 2y ago
    Plus, as if tensor fields on Lorentz manifolds weren't already complicated enough, physicists aren't happy until they can write down some differential equations. So not only are you doing calculus, you're doing it on curved manifolds, with complicated tensor objects, in the context of partial differential equations, which - in the case of general relativity - are non-linear. It's okay to admit that all of this is a bit hard. Hell, as the article points out, Einstein himself had trouble understanding them.
  - adrian_b 2y ago
    The values of the "putative function" do not depend on the chosen coordinate system. This is the essence of notions like scalar, vector, tensor, that they do not depend on the chosen coordinate system. Only their numeric representations associated with a chosen coordinate system do depend on that system. If you compute some arbitrary functions of the numeric components of a tensor in a certain coordinate system, in most cases the array of numbers that composes the result will not be a tensor, precisely because the result will really be different in any other coordinate system, while a tensor must be invariant. All physical laws are formulated only using various kinds of tensors, including vectors and scalars, precisely because they must be invariant at the choice of the coordinate system.
    - cfgauss2718 2y ago
      Here here! Functions do not depend on your choice of coordinates, only the components of tensors do! I think this is why it’s important to keep covariance and contravariance in mind. While tensor(fields) do not depend on coordinates intrinsically, the way we represent them when doing calculations most certainly does, and this is usefully characterized by co/contravariance.
      - Koshkin 2y ago
        "Here here!" is indeed topological. "Hear, hear!", on the other hand, is conversational.
- abdullahkhalids 2y ago
  > There are physics books that do not give the easier to understand definition given above, but they give an equivalent, but more obscure, definition of a tensor, by giving the transformation rules for its contravariant components and for its covariant components at a change of the reference system. The definition of a tensor as linear maps, while simple to understand, has no content that is useful for doing physics. To do any physics, or for that matter, any geometry with tensors, you need to define the notion of covariance and contravariance. Besides, the starting with the latter notions allow you to define tensors more naturally. You start with trying to understand how geometric objects transform under coordinate transformations, and you slowly but surely end up with tensors.
  - tacomonstrous 2y ago
    Covariance and contravariance are mathematical notions, and have to do with whether each multiplicative constituent or the tensor is a vector in your given vector space (covariant) or a linear functional on this space (contravariant). There is no inherent physical meaning to either concept.
  - adrian_b 2y ago
    No, the definition of a tensor as a linear map, is the only definition that is useful for doing physics. All the physical quantities that are defined to be tensors are quantities used to transform either vectors into other vectors or tensors of higher orders into other tensors of higher orders (for instance the transformation between the electric field vector and the electric polarization vector). Therefore all such physical quantities are used to describe multilinear functions, either in linear anisotropic media, or in non-linear anisotropic media, but in the latter case they are applicable only to relations between small differences, where linear approximations may be used. The multilinear function is the physical concept that is independent of the coordinate system. The concrete computations with a tensor a.k.a. multilinear function may need the computation of contravariant and/or covariant components in a particular coordinate system and the use of their transformation rules. On the other hand, the abstract formulation of the physical laws does not need such details, but only the high-level definitions using multi-linear functions, and it is independent of any choice for the coordinate system. There is a unique multilinear function a.k.a. tensor, but it can be expressed by an infinity of different arrays of numbers, corresponding to various combinations of contravariant or covariant components, in various coordinate systems. Their transformation rules can be determined by the condition that they must represent the same function. In the books that do not explain this, the rules appear to be magic and they do not allow an understanding of why the rules are these and not others.
- cfgauss2718 2y ago
  Very well, let’s just agree that in physics (r,s) tensors usually refer to sections of the tensor product of some fixed number of copies of the tangent bundle (r copies) and cotangent bundle (s copies) of a smooth manifold (almost always pseudo-Riemannian) and leave it there. Elementary!
  - Koshkin 2y ago
    This is perfect! Thanks

adrian_b 2y ago

It does not matter on what set a tensor field is defined. A tensor field is not a tensor, but the value of a tensor field at any point is a tensor, which satisfies the definition given above, exactly like the value of a vector field at any point is a vector. The "fields" are just functions. There are physics books that do not give the easier to understand definition given above, but they give an equivalent, but more obscure, definition of a tensor, by giving the transformation rules for its contravariant components and for its covariant components at a change of the reference system. The word "tensor" with the current meaning has been used for the first time by Einstein and he has not given any explanation for this word choice. The theory of tensors that Einstein has learned had not used the word "tensor". Before Einstein, the word "tensor" (coined by Hamilton) was used in physics with the meaning of "symmetrical matrix", because the geometric (affine) transformation of a body that is determined by the multiplication with a symmetric matrix extends (or compresses) the body towards certain directions (the axes that correspond to a rotation that would diagonalize the symmetric matrix). The word "tensor" in the old sense was applied only to what is called now "symmetric tensor of the second order" (which remains the most important kind of the tensors that are neither vectors nor scalars).

prof-dr-ir 2y ago
> The "fields" are just functions. I think this is far too simplistic, for one because the values of this putative function depend on the chosen coordinate system. So I completely agree with the comment you are replying to: when a physicist says "tensor" they really mean a "tensor field" and the definition of the latter is quite a bit more involved than just specifying a multilinear map at each point of a manifold.
- mr_mitm 2y ago
  Plus, as if tensor fields on Lorentz manifolds weren't already complicated enough, physicists aren't happy until they can write down some differential equations. So not only are you doing calculus, you're doing it on curved manifolds, with complicated tensor objects, in the context of partial differential equations, which - in the case of general relativity - are non-linear. It's okay to admit that all of this is a bit hard. Hell, as the article points out, Einstein himself had trouble understanding them.
- adrian_b 2y ago
  The values of the "putative function" do not depend on the chosen coordinate system. This is the essence of notions like scalar, vector, tensor, that they do not depend on the chosen coordinate system. Only their numeric representations associated with a chosen coordinate system do depend on that system. If you compute some arbitrary functions of the numeric components of a tensor in a certain coordinate system, in most cases the array of numbers that composes the result will not be a tensor, precisely because the result will really be different in any other coordinate system, while a tensor must be invariant. All physical laws are formulated only using various kinds of tensors, including vectors and scalars, precisely because they must be invariant at the choice of the coordinate system.
  - cfgauss2718 2y ago
    Here here! Functions do not depend on your choice of coordinates, only the components of tensors do! I think this is why it’s important to keep covariance and contravariance in mind. While tensor(fields) do not depend on coordinates intrinsically, the way we represent them when doing calculations most certainly does, and this is usefully characterized by co/contravariance.
    - Koshkin 2y ago
      "Here here!" is indeed topological. "Hear, hear!", on the other hand, is conversational.
abdullahkhalids 2y ago
> There are physics books that do not give the easier to understand definition given above, but they give an equivalent, but more obscure, definition of a tensor, by giving the transformation rules for its contravariant components and for its covariant components at a change of the reference system. The definition of a tensor as linear maps, while simple to understand, has no content that is useful for doing physics. To do any physics, or for that matter, any geometry with tensors, you need to define the notion of covariance and contravariance. Besides, the starting with the latter notions allow you to define tensors more naturally. You start with trying to understand how geometric objects transform under coordinate transformations, and you slowly but surely end up with tensors.
- tacomonstrous 2y ago
  Covariance and contravariance are mathematical notions, and have to do with whether each multiplicative constituent or the tensor is a vector in your given vector space (covariant) or a linear functional on this space (contravariant). There is no inherent physical meaning to either concept.
- adrian_b 2y ago
  No, the definition of a tensor as a linear map, is the only definition that is useful for doing physics. All the physical quantities that are defined to be tensors are quantities used to transform either vectors into other vectors or tensors of higher orders into other tensors of higher orders (for instance the transformation between the electric field vector and the electric polarization vector). Therefore all such physical quantities are used to describe multilinear functions, either in linear anisotropic media, or in non-linear anisotropic media, but in the latter case they are applicable only to relations between small differences, where linear approximations may be used. The multilinear function is the physical concept that is independent of the coordinate system. The concrete computations with a tensor a.k.a. multilinear function may need the computation of contravariant and/or covariant components in a particular coordinate system and the use of their transformation rules. On the other hand, the abstract formulation of the physical laws does not need such details, but only the high-level definitions using multi-linear functions, and it is independent of any choice for the coordinate system. There is a unique multilinear function a.k.a. tensor, but it can be expressed by an infinity of different arrays of numbers, corresponding to various combinations of contravariant or covariant components, in various coordinate systems. Their transformation rules can be determined by the condition that they must represent the same function. In the books that do not explain this, the rules appear to be magic and they do not allow an understanding of why the rules are these and not others.
cfgauss2718 2y ago
Very well, let’s just agree that in physics (r,s) tensors usually refer to sections of the tensor product of some fixed number of copies of the tangent bundle (r copies) and cotangent bundle (s copies) of a smooth manifold (almost always pseudo-Riemannian) and leave it there. Elementary!
- Koshkin 2y ago
  This is perfect! Thanks