The higher order connections and the lifts of fields of geometric objects (Q2366405)

A \(q\)-th order connection on a principal bundle \(P\to M\) is a right- invariant section \(\Gamma: P\to J^ qP\) of the \(q\)-th jet prolongation of \(P\). If \(A\) is a local algebra in the sense of A. Weil, \(J^ AM\) means the space of all \(A\)-jets (i.e. of all infinitely near points of type \(A\)) on \(M\). In the case the height of \(A\) is \(q\), the author defines the \(\Gamma\)-covariant derivative of an arbitrary field of geometric objects on \(P\) with respect to an \(A\)-jet field \(M \to J^ AM\). Then the \(q\)-th order connections on the \(r\)-th order frame bundle, which are called the connections of type \((q,r)\), are studied. An explicit formula for the covariant derivative of a Riemannian metric with respect to a connection of type \((1,r)\) is deduced. This implies: If on a Riemannian manifold \((M,g)\) there exists a torsion-free connection \(\Gamma\) of type \((1,r)\), \(r\geq 2\), such that the \(\Gamma\)-covariant derivative of \(g\) vanishes, then \((M,g)\) is locally Euclidean.