Higher order valued reduction theorems for classical connections (Q2496107)

Let \(M\) be an \(m\)-dimensional manifold, \(TM\) the tangent vector bundle of \(M\) and \(T^*M\) the dual of \(TM\). In this text the author studies a special type of connections: A classical connection is a connection \(\Lambda: TM\to T^*M\otimes TTM\) of the vector bundle \(p: TM\to M\) which is linear and torsion-free. Let \(VM\) be a first-order natural vector bundle over \(M\) and \(R(\Lambda)\) the curvature tensor of the classical connection \(\Lambda\). Any natural bundle functor of order \(r\) is given by its standard fibre which is a left \(G^r_m\)-manifold, where \(G^r_m=\text{inv\,}J^r_0(\mathbb{R}^m, \mathbb{R}^m)_0\). The standard fibre of the functor Cla is \(Q=\mathbb{R}^M\otimes\odot^2\mathbb{R}^{m*}\). The author generalizes some reduction theorems for classical connections to operators with values in \(k\)-th order natural bundles. Theorem 1: Let \(F\) be a natural bundle functor of order \(k\geq 1\) and let \(r+ 2\geq k\). All natural differential operators \(f: C^\infty(\text{Cla\,}M)\to C^\infty(FM)\) which are of order \(r\) are of the form \(f(j^r\Lambda)= g(j^{k-2}\Lambda,\nabla^{(k-2,r-1)}R[\Lambda])\) where \(g\) is a unique natural operator \(g: J^{k-2}\text{Cla\,}M\times C^{(k-2,r-1)}M\to FM\). Here the \(k\)-th order covariant differential of section of \(VM\) with respect to classical conditions is a natural operator \(\nabla^r: J^{r-1}\text{Cla\,}M\times_M J^r VM\to V_r M\), and \(\nabla^{(k,r)}:= (\nabla^k,\dots,\nabla^r): J^{r-1}\text{Cla\,}M\times_M J^r VM\to V^{(k,r)}M\). The second \(k\)-th order valued reduction theorem is the following: Theorem 2: Let \(F\) be a natural bundle of order \(k\geq 1\) and let \(r+1\geq k\). All natural differential operators \(f: C^\infty(\text{Cla\,}M\times_M VM)\to C^\infty(FM)\) of order \(r\) with respective sections of \(VM\) are of the form \[ f(j^{n-1}\Lambda, j^n\Phi)= g(j^{k-2}\Lambda, j^{k-1}\Phi, \nabla^{(k-2,r-2)} R[\Lambda], \nabla^{(k,r)}\Phi), \] where \(g\) is a unit natural operator \(g: J^{k-2}\text{Cla\,}M\times_M J^{k-1} VM\times_M Z^{(k,r)}M\to FM\). In this paper natural operators are identified with the corresponding natural transformations. Using the second-order valued reduction theorems the author classifies all \((0,2)\)-tensor fields on the cotangent bundle of a manifold with linear (nonsymmetric) connections.