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For $F=dA$ on a five-dimensional oriented spacetime, the action $S=-\frac{1}{2}\int F\wedge \ast F+c\int A\wedge F\wedge F$ has bulk variation $\int \delta A\wedge (-d\ast F+3cF\wedge F)$. Two integrations by parts make the three variations of the Chern-Simons 5-form contribute equally. Under $A\mapsto A+d\lambda$, the extra action is $c\int d(\lambda F\wedge F)$, a boundary term by the Generalized Stokes theorem. Its bulk field equation is gauge invariant. The Chern-Simons term is metric-independent and has no bulk contribution to the stress-energy tensor when the differential-form field is held fixed in metric variation.

The equivalence principle allows Riemann normal coordinates in which the first derivatives of the metric tensor vanish at a chosen point. A purported local gravitational stress-energy tensor built from those first derivatives would vanish there in that chart and therefore, if tensorial, in all charts. Such an expression cannot encode the gravitational energy assigned by a coordinate-dependent field description. This rules out an ordinary universal local covariant gravitational energy density, not the construction of local curvature tensors or boundary and averaged notions of gravitational energy. The Riemann curvature tensor still describes invariant tidal gravity.

In a local orthonormal tetrad, anisotropic stress is the trace-free spatial part of the stress-energy tensor, conventionally denoted ${\pi }^{ij}$. Some linear cosmological perturbation theory conventions instead use ${\Pi }^{ij}=-{\pi }^{ij}$ and write $T^{ij}=P{\delta }^{ij}-{\Pi }^{ij}$. The sign must be specified before using a photon Euler equation. The photon quadrupole determines the linear photon anisotropic stress.

If $B^{\rho \mu \nu }=-B^{\mu \rho \nu }$, commuting partial derivatives gives ${\partial }_{\mu }{\partial }_{\rho }{B}^{\rho \mu \nu }=0$. Such an improvement preserves conservation of a stress-energy tensor and changes integrated charges only by a spatial boundary term. The Belinfante-Rosenfeld stress-energy tensor is obtained through this type of improvement.

In the weak-field, short-wavelength averaging regime, a transverse-traceless tensor strain $H_{ij}$ carries the displayed effective stress-energy tensor in units $c=1$. The average spans several wave periods while remaining small compared with the background curvature scale. The stress is second order in amplitude, so it is absent from a first-order vacuum Linearized Einstein equations calculation. For a plane wave, summing the two equal transverse diagonal contributions gives flux $(16\pi G{)}^{-1}⟨{\dot{H}}_{+}^2+{\dot{H}}_{\times }^2⟩$. This effective averaged stress is not an arbitrary pointwise gravitational energy tensor.

For a free massless real scalar field with wave speed set to one and metric $(+,-)$, define $\mathcal{E}=({\varphi }_t^2+{\varphi }_x^2)/2$ and $p=-{\varphi }_t{\varphi }_x$. Its symmetric stress-energy tensor is $T^{\mu \nu }=\left(\begin{array}{cc}\mathcal{E}& p\\ p& \mathcal{E}\end{array}\right)$. The Lorentz current has density $tp-x\mathcal{E}$ and flux $t\mathcal{E}-xp$. Its conserved charge is the displayed expression when boundary flux vanishes. In one spatial dimension it generates boosts, not spatial rotations; there is no independent purely spatial angular-momentum component. Its conservation says that the center of energy moves uniformly. This is a symmetry of the wave-field model and need not survive boundaries or additional material effects.

For a canonical scalar with timelike gradient, its stress-energy tensor has perfect-fluid form. In a homogeneous background, $\rho ={\dot{\varphi }}^2/2+V$ and $p={\dot{\varphi }}^2/2-V$. Potential domination gives negative pressure, while the scalar's physical rest-frame sound speed is one. A constant negative background $w$ therefore does not force its perturbations to obey the adiabatic barotropic closure $\delta p=w\delta \rho$.

// Target: cosmology.bigb

For identical particles of rest mass $m$ and electric charge $q$, the four-current is $j^{\mu }=(q/m)\rho u^{\mu }$. The matter stress-energy tensor obeys ${\nabla }_{\mu }{T}_{\mathrm{m}}^{\mu \nu }=F^{\nu \alpha }{j}_{\alpha }$, with the opposite force density in the electromagnetic stress-energy tensor. Antisymmetry of the electromagnetic field tensor makes its contraction with two four-velocities vanish, so mass continuity still holds. Removing that term leaves the displayed covariant Lorentz force law. The matter tensor alone is not divergence-free when an electromagnetic force acts.

The pure Abelian Chern--Simons theory has zero metric stress. For a source written as $-c\int \star J\wedge A$, holding the covariant components of the one-forms $J,A$ fixed makes the source equal to $-c\int \sqrt{-g}{g}^{\mu \nu }{J}_{\mu }{A}_{\nu }{d}^{3}x$. Variation using $\delta \sqrt{-g}=-\sqrt{-g}{g}_{\mu \nu }\delta g^{\mu \nu }/2$ gives the displayed stress-energy tensor. If the independent source is instead the fixed two-form $\mathcal{J}=\star J$, the source action is metric-independent and its stress vanishes. The variational data must therefore be stated.

For a symmetric conserved stress-energy tensor $\Theta$ and a Conformal Killing vector field $\omega$ in dimension $d$, the displayed conformal current has divergence $(\partial \cdot \omega ){\Theta }^{\mu }{}_{\mu }/d$. This follows by contracting the Conformal Killing equation with $\Theta$. A traceless tensor therefore gives a conserved current for every conformal generator.

In natural units, conservation of the stress-energy tensor for a homogeneous perfect fluid in an FLRW metric gives the displayed equation for its energy density and pressure. It is equivalent to $d(\rho a^3)=-Pd(a^3)$. For a constant equation-of-state parameter $w=P/\rho$, separation gives $\rho \propto a^{-3(1+w)}$. If $\rho$ instead denotes mass density, the pressure term is $P/c^2$.

This is local stress-energy conservation; it does not in general define a globally conserved total energy for an expanding universe. The adiabatic work in a comoving volume makes this distinction explicit.

For a scalar field with $X=-q^2/2$, Lagrangian $F(X)$ and stress-energy tensor $T_{ab}=F\prime q_a{q}_b+F{g}_{ab}$, the inequalities $A=F\prime \ge 0$ and $Y=XF\prime -F\ge 0$ imply the dominant energy condition for any gradient type. In a local Lorentz frame, $\rho =A(q_0^2+{\sum }_i{q}_i^2)/2+Y\ge 0$ and ${\rho }^2-{\sum }_i{T}_{0i}^2=A^2{X}^2+A(q_0^2+{\sum }_i{q}_i^2)Y+Y^2\ge 0$.

With the metric and stress-energy tensor fixed and zero cosmological constant, changing the sign convention for the Riemann curvature tensor changes the signs of the Ricci tensor, scalar curvature and Einstein tensor. The same physical field equation is therefore written with the opposite coupling sign. For signature $(+---)$, the convention $R^a{}_{bcd}={\partial }_d{\Gamma }_{bc}^a-{\partial }_c{\Gamma }_{bd}^a-{\Gamma }_{ec}^a{\Gamma }_{bd}^e+{\Gamma }_{ed}^a{\Gamma }_{bc}^e$ and $R_{ab}=R^c{}_{acb}$ gives $R_{00}\simeq -\Delta \Phi$ in a static Newtonian limit. The trace-reversed equation and $\Delta \Phi =4\pi G\rho$ then require $G_{ab}=-8\pi G{T}_{ab}$.

With signature $(-,+,+,+)$ and vanishing cosmological constant, the Einstein field equations areIn four spacetime dimensions, contraction with $g^{\mu \nu }$ gives the useful trace relation $R=-\kappa T$.

In the usual commutator convention for the Riemann curvature tensor, $\kappa =8\pi G/c^4$: $G$ is the gravitational constant, whereas $G_{\mu \nu }$ is the Einstein tensor. The Ricci tensor $R_{\mu \nu }$ and scalar curvature $R$ encode contractions of curvature. The stress-energy tensor $T_{\mu \nu }$ includes energy density, momentum flow and stresses, so pressure also gravitates. A cosmological constant adds $\Lambda g_{\mu \nu }$ to the left-hand side. See Tong's Einstein equations and matter coupling.

For a concrete consequence, set $T_{\mu \nu }=0$ and $\Lambda =0$. The trace gives $R=0$, and substitution gives $R_{\mu \nu }=0$. Yet the exterior Schwarzschild spacetime still has the tidal forces computed under geodesic deviation: vanishing Ricci tensor does not imply vanishing Riemann curvature tensor. Geometry carries gravitational effects through empty space. Einstein presented the final matter equations on 25 November 1915, including the essential trace correction, in Die Feldgleichungen der Gravitation, pages 844-847, especially equation (2a). His symbols and sign conventions differ from modern ones; the displayed formula uses modern notation.

Passive gravitational mass is the coefficient in $\mathbf{F}=m_{\mathrm{g}}\mathbf{g}$ for an imposed Newtonian gravitational field. Active gravitational mass instead measures a body's contribution to the source of that field in Newton's law of universal gravitation. Universality of the ratio of passive gravitational mass to inertial mass is the Newtonian content of the weak equivalence principle. In general relativity, the source is the full stress-energy tensor, rather than a single scalar gravitational mass.

The Hadamard condition requires the two-point function of a physical free-field state to have the universal local short-distance singularity prescribed by the spacetime geometry and field equation. It permits state-dependent smooth contributions and enables local renormalization of the stress-energy tensor. It does not select a unique Fock vacuum.

For a spatially homogeneous minimally coupled scalar field with zero scalar potential, the stress-energy tensor has $\rho =P={\dot{\varphi }}^2/2$. Its field equation is $\ddot{\varphi }+3H\dot{\varphi }=0$, so $a^3\dot{\varphi }$ is constant and its energy density decreases as $a^{-6}$. Thus its homogeneous stress is precisely that of a stiff fluid. Spatial gradients would introduce directional stresses, so this equivalence requires homogeneity.

For $d>1$, the displayed stress-energy tensor is symmetric and conserved on the free massless scalar field equation $\square \varphi =0$. Its improvement is identically divergence-free. Since $\square {\varphi }^2=2(\partial \varphi {)}^2$ on shell, its trace vanishes. Contracting it with a Conformal Killing vector field therefore produces a conserved conformal current. In $d=2$ the improvement coefficient is zero: the canonical tensor already has zero trace.

For a nondegenerate metric tensor, differentiating $g_{ac}{g}^{cb}={\delta }_a{}^b$ gives $\delta g_{ab}=-g_{ac}{g}_{bd}\delta g^{cd}$. Combining this with the Jacobi determinant derivative formula proves the displayed volume-density variation. It is the determinant contribution when defining a stress-energy tensor by varying the inverse metric tensor.

An isotropic photon bath with total radiation energy density $u_{\mathrm{ph}}$ exerts this drag on an electron in the Thomson scattering regime. Its stress-energy tensor has spatial diagonal entries $u_{\mathrm{ph}}/3$. A boost to the electron frame gives radiation energy flux $S_{\parallel }^{\prime }=-(4/3)c{\gamma }^2\beta u_{\mathrm{ph}}$; multiplying its radiation force ${\sigma }_T{S}_{\parallel }^{\prime }/c$ by the laboratory speed gives the electron's energy loss. This is net energy transferred, not all scattered photon energy. If only the magnetic wave-energy density is used, it is half of $u_{\mathrm{ph}}$ and the numerical coefficient doubles.