Geometry of Parallelizable Manifolds in the Context of Generalized Lagrange Spaces

Abstract

In this paper, we deal with a generalization of the geometry of parallelizable manifolds, or the absolute parallelism (AP-) geometry, in the context of generalized Lagrange spaces. All geometric objects defined in this geometry are not only functions of the positional argument $x$, but also depend on the directional argument $y$. In other words, instead of dealing with geometric objects defined on the manifold $M$, as in the case of classical AP-geometry, we are dealing with geometric objects in the pullback bundle $π^{-1}(TM)$ (the pullback of the tangent bundle $TM$ by $ π: T M\longrightarrow M$). Many new geometric objects, which have no counterpart in the classical AP-geometry, emerge in this more general context. We refer to such a geometry as generalized AP-geometry (GAP-geometry). In analogy to AP-geometry, we define a $d$-connection in $π^{-1}(TM)$ having remarkable properties, which we call the canonical $d$-connection, in terms of the unique torsion-free Riemannian $d$-connection. In addition to these two $d$-connections, two more $d$-connections are defined, the dual and the symmetric $d$-connections. Our space, therefore, admits twelve curvature tensors (corresponding to the four defined $d$-connections), three of which vanish identically. Simple formulae for the nine non-vanishing curvatures tensors are obtained, in terms of the torsion tensors of the canonical $d$-connection. The different $W$-tensors admitted by the space are also calculated. All contractions of the $h$- and $v$-curvature tensors and the $W$-tensors are derived. Second rank symmetric and skew-symmetric tensors, which prove useful in physical applications, are singled out.