Gauge-covariant integration by parts

ID: gauge-covariant-integration-by-parts

For Lie-algebra-valued fields and a constant invariant bilinear form on a Lie algebra, the connection terms in the displayed identity cancel. Indeed, invariance gives . Ordinary integration by parts then yields when boundary terms vanish, for example for compactly supported variations. This preserves covariance in variational calculations of Yang-Mills equations.

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