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A transformation preserving a spacetime metric tensor. For Minkowski spacetime, the affine transformations with this property form the Poincaré group. A spacetime isometry is a symmetry of particular dynamical equations only if their other fixed structures and couplings are preserved as well.

With signature $+---$ and $n^{\mu }{n}_{\mu }=1$, the spatial projection tensor is $P^{\mu }{}_{\nu }={\delta }^{\mu }{}_{\nu }-n^{\mu }{n}_{\nu }$. Projecting the spacetime metric tensor gives $q_{\mu \nu }=g_{\mu \nu }-n_{\mu }{n}_{\nu }$, which is negative definite on spatial vectors. The positive spatial induced metric is $h_{\mu \nu }=-q_{\mu \nu }$. A plus sign in $g_{\mu \nu }+n_{\mu }{n}_{\nu }$ belongs to a different normal/signature convention and is not transverse in this one. Fully projected covariant derivatives of either spatial metric vanish by metric compatibility.

For static scalar perturbations with no mixed time-space or spatial shear terms, the displayed metric tensor uses signature $(+---)$. With the reversed convention in curvature-sign convention in Killing derivative identities, its first-order Einstein tensor is $\delta G_{00}=2\Delta C$, $\delta G_{0i}=0$, and $\delta G_{ij}={\partial }_i{\partial }_j(A+C)-{\delta }_{ij}\Delta (A+C)$. These follow by substituting the metric into the first-order Christoffel symbols and Ricci tensor, discarding products of perturbations. A static source with the dust stress-energy tensor obeys $\Delta C=-4\pi G\rho$ and the decaying spatial equation makes $A=-C$. For a point mass the Newtonian potential of a point mass gives $A=-GM/r$, $C=GM/r$. The spatial potential is necessary to determine light propagation; a time potential alone is insufficient.

Declare a global frame of left-invariant vector fields parallel on a semisimple Lie group. This affine connection is flat and preserves a left-invariant metric tensor because its frame components are constant. If $[e_a,e_c]=C_a{}^b{}_c{e}_b$, its torsion tensor is $T_a{}^b{}_c=-C_a{}^b{}_c$. For fixed $c$, the matrix with entries $T_a{}^b{}_c$ is $\mathrm{ad}{e}_c$. Its trace vanishes because a semisimple Lie algebra is perfect and adjoints of brackets are commutators. The trace of the product for $c,d$ is the Killing form $K_{cd}$, proving both contractions. This flat metric connection differs from the curved torsion-free Levi-Civita connection of the Killing metric.

For a nondegenerate induced metric tensor, a totally geodesic submanifold has vanishing second fundamental form; equivalently, every ambient geodesic initially tangent to it remains in it. This extends the notion of a totally geodesic hypersurface to arbitrary codimension.

A concrete example separates a trapped surface from a failure of coordinates. Use geometrized units $G=c=1$, metric signature $(-,+,+,+)$, and the regular ingoing Eddington-Finkelstein coordinates of a Schwarzschild black hole with mass $M>0$:For a round sphere, choose future null vector normalsThe spherical null expansion in ingoing coordinates follows directly from $A=4\pi r^2$: ${\theta }_k=2k(r)/r$. At $r=3M$, $({\theta }_{+},{\theta }_{-})=(1/(9M),-2/(3M))$; at $r=3M/2$, it is $(-2/(9M),-4/(3M))$. Both future light fronts shrink in the second case. At $r=2M$, ${\theta }_{+}=0$, so this sphere is marginally outer trapped surface, not a strict trapped surface. In the spherical model this boundary is an event horizon; that identification does not extend to arbitrary geometries.

Although $k_{-}$ is affine as written, $k_{+}$ generally obeys ${\nabla }_{k_{+}}{k}_{+}=(M/r^2)k_{+}$. These are valid initial normals for the sign test; use affine rescaling of a null normal before applying the affine Null Raychaudhuri equation. Regularity of the displayed metric tensor at $r=2M$ shows why a divergence in another chart would not establish null geodesic incompleteness.

On a compact trapped surface, both null expansions have a uniform negative margin. Sufficiently small smooth perturbations controlling the relevant metric tensor and surface derivatives preserve trapping. This conditional robustness does not prove that every nonspherical gravitational collapse creates a trapped surface.^[ref]

A trapped surface is a closed spacelike codimension-two surface whose two future-directed orthogonal null congruences both have negative expansion.

In four-dimensional spacetime, “closed” here means compact without boundary; “spacelike” means that the induced metric tensor is positive definite. Let $k_{+},k_{-}$ be the two future null vector normals and $q_{ab}$ the induced metric tensor. Their null expansions areHere $dA$ is an infinitesimal transverse area element and ${\lambda }_{\pm }$ an affine parameter along the respective normal null geodesics. A future trapped surface has ${\theta }_{+}<0$ and ${\theta }_{-}<0$ everywhere: even the outward-directed light front initially loses area. Multiplying either future normal by a positive function multiplies its initial null expansion by that function, preserving the sign. A small inward-converging patch is insufficient: the entire closed surface must satisfy both strict inequalities.

Work in Minkowski spacetime, neglect gravity, and choose the stay-at-home clock's inertial frame. Let departure be $O=(t,x)=(0,0)$ and reunion be $R=(T,0)$. The home clock follows $x_H(t)=0$. A traveller moves outward with velocity $+v$ and returns with velocity $-v$, where $0<v<c$ and $c$ is the speed of light. The ideal world line has a sharp turnaround at $P=(T/2,vT/2)$:Each straight leg lies in an inertial frame, but no single traveller inertial frame covers both legs.

For any differentiable timelike curve in this home inertial frame, its clock accumulates proper time through the integralApply it separately to the traveller's two legs. With the Lorentz factor $\gamma =(1-v^2/c^2{)}^{-1/2}$,For $v=0.6c$ and $T=10\mathrm{yr}$, the Lorentz factor is $\gamma =1.25$. The turnaround is $3$ light-years away at home time $5\mathrm{yr}$. The traveller records $4\mathrm{yr}$ outward and $4\mathrm{yr}$ returning: the reunited clocks read $10\mathrm{yr}$ and $8\mathrm{yr}$. These are illustrative model values, not experimental measurements.

The same integral gives a short geometric explanation: $\sqrt{1-v(t{)}^2/c^2}\le 1$, so every such competing timelike curve between these fixed spacetime events has $\Delta \tau \le T$. Equality requires zero velocity throughout, apart from sets of zero duration. Thus the straight home world line maximizes proper time in this Minkowski spacetime problem. This statement concerns fixed endpoints and an inertial home clock; in a gravitational field, compare paths using the appropriate metric tensor.

The complexified tangent space of a four-dimensional Lorentzian manifold factors locally into an unprimed and a primed two-dimensional spinor representation. Their alternating forms ${ϵ}_{AB}$ and ${ϵ}_{A^{\prime }{B}^{\prime }}$ encode the metric tensor and raise or lower spinor indices. A convention must specify the order of contraction with these alternating forms. An antisymmetric spacetime tensor decomposes into symmetric unprimed and primed spinors, $F_{A{A}^{\prime }B{B}^{\prime }}={\varphi }_{AB}{ϵ}_{A^{\prime }{B}^{\prime }}+{\tilde{\varphi }}_{A^{\prime }{B}^{\prime }}{ϵ}_{AB}$. This splits the six-dimensional space of differential two-forms into the two three-dimensional eigenspaces of the complexified Hodge star operator.

Differentiating $g^{ac}{g}_{cb}={\delta }_b^a$ and multiplying by the inverse gives the displayed variation. It is the matrix inverse derivative, expressed with the covariant and contravariant components of a metric tensor.

For a nondegenerate metric tensor whose signature is fixed during the variation, the Jacobi formula gives $\delta \det g=(\det g)g^{ab}\delta g_{ab}$. Differentiating the square root of the absolute determinant proves the displayed identity. Expressed through the variation of inverse metric, the formula is $-\sqrt{|\det g|}{g}_{ab}\delta g^{ab}/2$. Absolute values accommodate either Riemannian or Lorentzian signature.

A lattice direction $[uvw]$ lies parallel to a plane $(hkl)$ exactly when $hu+kv+lw=0$. Indeed, their direct and reciprocal lattice vectors have dot product proportional to this expression. This statement holds for noncubic cells as well; angles between directions still require the direct-lattice metric tensor.

A Weyl transformation locally rescales a metric tensor, $g\mapsto e^{2\omega }g$, while retaining the same points and coordinates. Applied to a worldsheet metric, it leaves the embedding $X^{\mu }$ unchanged, and the classical Polyakov action is invariant under these Weyl transformations. Applied to a spacetime metric, a Weyl rescaling can relate different frame conventions, such as a string metric and an Einstein metric; the accompanying field normalizations must be transformed as well. It is not itself a coordinate transformation.

An einbein specifies a one-dimensional metric tensor along a worldline. In the relativistic particle phase-space action it is the Lagrange multiplier for the mass-shell condition and transforms as $\delta e=\dot{ϵ}$ under the corresponding canonical gauge transformation. After eliminating the momentum, its geometric interpretation depends on the normalization of the particle action.