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An affine connection on a smooth manifold is a connection on a vector bundle for its tangent bundle. It satisfies ${\nabla }_{fX}Y=f{\nabla }_{X}Y$ and ${\nabla }_X(fY)=X(f)Y+f{\nabla }_{X}Y$. Its curvature isThe Leibniz rule makes curvature tensorial in all three slots. An affine connection is also called a linear connection on the manifold; a Levi-Civita connection is the distinguished torsion-free metric-compatible example.

Relative to a nondegenerate metric tensor, any affine connection is uniquely the Levi-Civita connection plus a contorsion tensor contribution and a disformation tensor contribution. In derivative-last notation, with $T_{ab}{}^c={\Gamma }^c{}_{ab}-{\Gamma }^c{}_{ba}$ and $N_{abc}={\nabla }_c{g}_{ab}$, the lowered difference is $A_{abc}=\frac{1}{2}(T_{abc}+T_{bca}-T_{cab}+N_{abc}-N_{bca}-N_{cab})$. This follows by solving $T_{abc}=A_{abc}-A_{bac}$ and $N_{abc}=-A_{acb}-A_{bca}$. The difference of affine connections is a tensor.

Identify $T_{p}M$ with coordinate vectors using a basis and invert the affine exponential map near zero. Radial geodesics then have coordinates $sX$. Their equations imply ${\Gamma }^{\lambda }{}_{\mu \nu }(p)X^{\mu }{X}^{\nu }=0$ for every $X$, hence the displayed vanishing of the symmetric part. The antisymmetric part may survive when the torsion tensor is nonzero. For a general connection the Levi-Civita connection coefficients and first metric derivatives need not vanish in these coordinates.

Cartan's first structure equation isFor the torsion-free Levi-Civita connection, $T^a=0$.

In geodesic normal coordinates at $p$, radial geodesics have coordinates $x(t)=tv$. The geodesic equation at $t=0$ gives ${\Gamma }_{jk}^i(p)v^j{v}^k=0$ for every $v$. The Levi-Civita connection is torsion free, making these coefficients symmetric in $j,k$; the polarization identity then gives ${\Gamma }_{jk}^i(p)=0$. This does not imply vanishing curvature, which depends on derivatives of the coefficients.

For a nondegenerate metric tensor and its Levi-Civita connection, contracting the Christoffel symbol formula gives ${\Gamma }^{\rho }{}_{\rho \mu }=\frac{1}{2}{g}^{ab}{\partial }_{\mu }{g}_{ab}$. The Jacobi determinant derivative formula identifies this with ${\partial }_{\mu }\log \sqrt{|\det g|}$. The volume density, rather than the determinant without an absolute value, works in every fixed metric signature.

For a metric-compatible affine connection, its difference from the Levi-Civita connection is the contorsion tensor. It is determined by the torsion tensor. In derivative-last notation let $T_{ab}{}^c={\Gamma }^c{}_{ab}-{\Gamma }^c{}_{ba}$, the negative of geometric torsion, and lower the last slot with the metric tensor. Then $C_{abc}=\frac{1}{2}(T_{abc}+T_{bca}-T_{cab})$. This is the actual correction added to the Levi-Civita connection; a convention writing $\Gamma =S-K$ has $K=-C$.

The Christoffel trace identity converts the covariant derivative of a vector field into a coordinate divergence weighted by the metric volume density. This is valid for the Levi-Civita connection. Applied to the raised gradient of a scalar field, it gives $\square \varphi =|g{|}^{-1/2}{\partial }_{\mu }(\sqrt{|g|}{g}^{\mu \nu }{\partial }_{\nu }\varphi )$ in Lorentzian signature, the curved d'Alembert operator.

For a product affine connection, its curvature satisfiesExpand the defining derivative commutator on lifted vector fields. Opposite-factor fields commute and have zero mixed covariant derivatives, leaving exactly the two factor curvatures. Tensoriality gives the formula for arbitrary tangent vectors. Thus the product connection is flat if the two factors are flat; for a product Riemannian metric this applies to its Levi-Civita connection.

For the Levi-Civita connection of a Riemannian metric, the divergence of $X$ is ${\mathrm{div}}_{g}X=\mathrm{tr}(Y\mapsto {\nabla }_{Y}X)$. In coordinates it equals $(\det g{)}^{-1/2}{\partial }_i((\det g{)}^{1/2}{X}^i)$. On an oriented manifold it satisfies ${\mathcal{L}}_X{\omega }_g=({\mathrm{div}}_{g}X){\omega }_g$. The codifferential on a one-form satisfies $\delta \theta =-{\mathrm{div}}_g({\theta }^{♯})$, where $♯$ is the musical isomorphism; this follows by integration by parts or the Hodge star formula.

The Euclidean metric is the constant Riemannian metric on ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ given in Cartesian coordinates by $g={\sum }_i(d{x}^i{)}^2$. Its Levi-Civita connection has zero Christoffel symbols in those coordinates, so it is flat and its geodesics are straight lines. The Euclidean norm is the pointwise length determined by this metric.

The Koszul formula uniquely determines $g({\nabla }_{X}Y,Z)$ for all vector fields $X,Y,Z$, so nondegeneracy of the Riemannian metric determines ${\nabla }_{X}Y$. The resulting operation is $C^{\infty }$-linear in $X$, obeys the Leibniz rule in $Y$, is compatible with the metric, and is torsion-free. It is therefore the unique Levi-Civita connection.

A Riemannian metric determines a unique torsion-free connection that is a metric connection. Metric compatibility and the torsion identity imply the Koszul formula, which proves uniqueness. Conversely the right-hand side of the Koszul formula is a smooth one-form in its last vector-field argument. The musical isomorphism defines $D_{X}Y$ from it; expanding the Lie bracket of vector fields verifies the connection rules, metric compatibility and zero torsion. Thus it constructs the Levi-Civita connection intrinsically.

For a submanifold with induced Levi-Civita connection $\nabla$ and second fundamental form $A$, the ambient derivative decomposes asFor a parametrized surface this reads $X_{ij}={\Gamma }_{ij}^k{X}_k+h_{ij}N$.

A geodesic variation of a given geodesic is a smooth family $F(s,t)$ with $F(0,t)=\gamma (t)$, whose curves at fixed $s$ are affinely parametrized geodesics. Differentiating its geodesic equation and using the torsion-free Levi-Civita connection gives the Jacobi field equation $D_t^{2}J+R(J,\dot{\gamma })\dot{\gamma }=0$ for $J={\partial }_{s}F{|}_{s=0}$.

A nowhere-zero differential one-form $n$ is hypersurface orthogonal if locally $n=Fdt$ with $F\ne 0$. Its kernel consists of tangent vectors to the level hypersurfaces of $t$. Frobenius theorem makes this equivalent to $n\wedge dn=0$, where $d$ is the exterior derivative. With a torsion-free Levi-Civita connection, this is $n_{[\alpha }{\nabla }_{\beta }{n}_{\gamma ]}=0$. For a timelike unit normal, projecting the derivative on both indices gives zero antisymmetric part, which explains why hypersurface orthogonality implies symmetric extrinsic curvature.

A Killing tensor is a symmetric covariant tensor satisfying the displayed equation for the Levi-Civita connection. Its contraction with $r$ copies of a geodesic velocity is constant along every affinely parametrized geodesic. The converse follows because the resulting symmetric derivative is determined by its homogeneous polynomial on tangent vectors. Rank one recovers the Killing vector field after metric duality.

A Killing-Yano tensor is a differential form satisfying the displayed equation for the Levi-Civita connection. Its covariant derivative is totally antisymmetric. Contraction with the velocity of an affinely parametrized geodesic gives a form that is carried by parallel transport along that geodesic. This differs from a Killing tensor, which is symmetric.

The unique torsion-free metric connection satisfiesThis formula both proves uniqueness of the Levi-Civita connection and computes it from the metric and Lie bracket of vector fields.