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A fixed-coordinate field variation compares two fields at the same spacetime point. If a transformation also changes coordinates by $\delta x^{\mu }$, its total variation and fixed-coordinate variation differ by $\delta x^{\mu }{\partial }_{\mu }\varphi$. Keeping these separate is essential when applying the Noether current for a spacetime symmetry.

For a square spanning $0\le x,y\le a$, with current counterclockwise as seen from positive $z$, an applied field $B_z=\alpha xy$ vanishes on two edges. Integrating $Id\mathbf{\ell }\times \mathbf{B}$ on the other two gives the displayed force. Its direction reverses with the current. The formula concerns the loop, not unspecified supply leads, and cannot be replaced by a small-loop approximation without checking the field variation.

For a uniformly permeable toroid with inner radius $a$, outer radius $b$ and axial height $h$, an ideal poloidal winding gives $H_{\varphi }=NI/(2\pi r)$. Integrating the magnetic flux density across its section gives $\Phi =\mu NIh\ln (b/a)/(2\pi )$ and hence the displayed self-inductance. It retains radial field variation when $b-a$ is not small. For two fully linked windings, replace $N^2$ by $N_1{N}_2$ to obtain their mutual inductance. Discrete turns, leakage and nonlinear core response limit the ideal formula.

Lagrangian field theory specifies an action by integrating a Lagrangian density $\mathcal{L}(\varphi ,\partial \varphi ,x)$ over spacetime. Requiring its first variation to vanish for compactly supported field variations yields the field Euler-Lagrange equations. The variational Lagrangian is the integrand, whereas this field-theoretic formalism specifies the continuum fields and their dynamics.

For $x^{\prime \mu }=x^{\mu }+\epsilon {\xi }^{\mu }$ and ${\varphi }_a^{\prime }(x^{\prime })={\varphi }_a(x)+\epsilon {\Delta }_a$, the fixed-coordinate field variation is $Q_a={\Delta }_a-{\xi }^{\nu }{\partial }_{\nu }{\varphi }_a$. Suppose action invariance is expressed as ${\delta }_0\mathcal{L}/\epsilon +{\partial }_{\mu }(\mathcal{L}{\xi }^{\mu })={\partial }_{\mu }{K}^{\mu }$. Writing ${\Pi }_a^{\mu }=\partial \mathcal{L}/\partial ({\partial }_{\mu }{\varphi }_a)$ and $E_a={\mathcal{L}}_{{\varphi }_a}-{\partial }_{\mu }{\Pi }_a^{\mu }$, the product rule gives ${\partial }_{\mu }{j}^{\mu }=-{\sum }_a{E}_a{Q}_a$. Thus $j^{\mu }$ is a conserved current on shell. A vanishing spatial boundary flux is additionally required for its Noether charge to be conserved. This formula includes internal transformations, translations and Lorentz transformations.

Take a constant infinitesimal translation with fixed-coordinate field variation $\delta \varphi ={ϵ}^{\nu }{\partial }_{\nu }\varphi$. The associated change in the Lagrangian density is $\delta \mathcal{L}={ϵ}^{\nu }{\partial }_{\nu }\mathcal{L}={\partial }_{\mu }({ϵ}^{\nu }{\delta }^{\mu }{}_{\nu }\mathcal{L})$. Substituting this total derivative into the Noether current gives $J^{\mu }={ϵ}^{\nu }{T}^{\mu }{}_{\nu }$, whereThis is the canonical stress-energy tensor. The chosen sign of the translation parameter produces precisely this sign of the Noether current; reversing the parameter reverses the current without changing its conservation law.

To check current conservation directly, differentiate the tensor. The terms containing ${\partial }_{\nu }{\partial }_{\rho }\varphi$ cancel against the derivative of the kinetic term, leavingThus ${\partial }_{\mu }{T}^{\mu }{}_{\nu }=0$ on shell. Raising the second Lorentz index gives $T^{\mu \nu }=T^{\nu \mu }$: this scalar field already has a symmetric canonical stress-energy tensor.

A zero mode of a quadratic field operator is a nonzero field variation that the operator maps to zero. Infinitesimal pure-gauge variations are zero modes of an unfixed gauge kinetic operator, preventing it from having an inverse propagator.