Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/iii/paper-309/2/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 309 2 ii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let . Differentiating the Killing equation gives . For a covector, the Ricci identity isCall this difference . The differentiated Killing equation then givesTaking the first minus the second plus the third yieldsThe pair symmetries of the Riemann curvature tensor and the first Bianchi identity reduce the coefficient to . Therefore the second covariant derivative of a Killing vector is
For an affine parameter on a geodesic, its tangent obeys . ThusThe second term vanishes by the geodesic equation; the first contracts a symmetric product with the antisymmetric derivative from the Killing equation. This establishes the geodesic conserved quantity from a Killing vector:
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