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Let $(x^i)$ and $(y^a)$ be overlapping local coordinates at $p$. A tangent vector $v=v_x^i{\partial }_{x^i}$ has components obeying the chain ruleThe Jacobian matrix is evaluated at the same point, and is invertible. For a smooth curve $a$ with $a(0)=p$, define ${\dot{a}}_x^i(0)=\frac{d}{dt}{x}^i(a(t)){|}_{t=0}$. Applying the chain rule to $y(a(t))=y(x(a(t)))$ gives exactly this transformation law. Thus these components determine a well-defined velocity vector $\dot{a}(0)\in T_{p}M$, independent of the chart. Equivalently it is the derivation $f\mapsto \frac{d}{dt}f(a(t)){|}_0$ on smooth functions. The two curve symbols used in the printed first paragraph refer to this same curve.

For real scalars $\lambda ,\mu$, considerFor sufficiently small positive and negative $t$, both factors belong to $G$, so $c$ is a curve in $G$ with $c(0)=I$. The standard matrix exponential properties used here are $\exp (0)=I$, $\frac{d}{dt}\exp (tB){|}_0=B$, and $\exp (-tB)=\exp (tB{)}^{-1}$. The product rule gives $c^{\prime }(0)=\lambda B_1+\mu B_2$. Every such linear combination is therefore a velocity at the identity.

More generally, the inclusion $j:G\hookrightarrow GL(n,\mathbb{R})$ is an embedding, so its tangent map at $I$ is injective and linear. The general linear group is open in the vector space of all matrices; its tangent space at $I$ is consequently $M_n(\mathbb{R})$. We identifyEvery tangent vector is the velocity of a curve in a manifold chart, so this subspace is precisely the set of the corresponding matrix velocities. The product construction is consistent with its vector-space operations.

Now use the stated logarithm-chart assumption. Near zero and $I$, the matrix exponential and matrix logarithm are inverse smooth maps, with $d{\exp }_0=d{\log }_I=\mathrm{id}$. Hence for any $B\in \mathfrak{g}$, $\exp (tB)$ belongs to $G$ for small $t$: $tB$ lies in the neighborhood which is the image of the logarithm. For $B_1,B_2\in \mathfrak{g}$, form the group commutatorMultiplying the exponential expansions $e^{tB}=I+tB+\frac{1}{2}{t}^2{B}^2+O(t^3)$ givesThe convergent local series $\log (I+Z)=Z-\frac{1}{2}{Z}^2+\cdots$ therefore gives $\log C(t)=t^2[B_1,B_2]+O(t^3)$. For small nonzero $t$, the matrix $t^{-2}\log C(t)$ belongs to the linear subspace $\mathfrak{g}$. A finite-dimensional linear subspace is closed, so taking its limit provesThis is the matrix commutator from a logarithm chart argument. It identifies $\mathfrak{g}$ as the Lie algebra of a matrix Lie group, with the matrix commutator as its Lie bracket. In particular, no potentially nonsmooth square-root change of parameter is needed to turn the second-order commutator into a velocity.