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An objective time derivative transforms as a physical tensor under a time-dependent rigid change of observer. If $x^{\ast }=Q(t)x+c(t)$, with $Q$ orthogonal and $A^{\ast }=QA{Q}^T$, objectivity requiresThis means the constitutive equation makes the same physical prediction in translating and rotating frames, rather than requiring individual tensor components to be invariant.

The printed plus commutator uses the derivative-index-first velocity gradient, $G_{ij}={\partial }_i{u}_j$. This is the transpose of the component-index-first convention $L_{ij}={\partial }_j{u}_i$ often used for the velocity gradient. In this notation $\omega =G-G^T$, and the rate is the Jaumann derivativeTo check the covariance of the Jaumann derivative, let $R=\dot{Q}{Q}^T$. Direct transformation givesThe observer-rotation terms cancel in the displayed corotational rate. Equivalently, in the $L$ convention the physical spin tensor is $W=(L-L^T)/2=-\omega /2$, and the same rate is $D_{t}A-WA+AW$. One must transpose the gradient and reverse the commutator together; using $L$ in the printed plus-sign expression would not be objective.

Another example is the upper-convected derivative, written consistently in the $L$ convention asThe extra terms in $L^{\ast }=QL{Q}^T+R$ cancel those in $D_t^{\ast }{A}^{\ast }$, so this also transforms covariantly. In contrast, the uncorrected material derivative $D_{t}A$ of a second-rank tensor is not objective: its transformation contains $R{A}^{\ast }-A^{\ast }R$. For instance a constant anisotropic tensor in a stationary fluid has zero material derivative in its original frame, but its components have a nonzero commutator derivative in a rotating observer's frame. The ordinary partial time derivative is likewise not an objective tensor rate.