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holonomy
EntityQ907926· pop 10· linked from 126 articles

alt=Visualisation of parallel transport on a sphere|thumb|Parallel transport on a sphere along a piecewise smooth path. The initial vector is labelled as V, parallel transported along the curve, and the resulting vector is labelled as \mathcal{P}_{\gamma}(V). The outcome of parallel transport will be different if the path is varied.

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20 sections
Contents
  • Definitions
  • Holonomy of a connection in a vector bundle
  • Holonomy of a connection in a principal bundle
  • Holonomy bundles
  • Monodromy
  • Local and infinitesimal holonomy
  • Ambrose–Singer theorem
  • Riemannian holonomy
  • Reducible holonomy and the de Rham decomposition
  • The Berger classification
  • Special holonomy and spinors
  • Applications
  • String theory
  • Machine learning
  • Affine holonomy
  • Etymology
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • Further reading

alt=Visualisation of parallel transport on a sphere|thumb|Parallel transport on a sphere along a piecewise smooth path. The initial vector is labelled as V, parallel transported along the curve, and the resulting vector is labelled as \mathcal{P}_{\gamma}(V). The outcome of parallel transport will be different if the path is varied.

In differential geometry, the holonomy of a connection on a smooth manifold is the extent to which parallel transport around closed loops fails to preserve the geometrical data being transported. Holonomy is a general geometrical consequence of the curvature of the connection. For flat connections, the associated holonomy is a type of monodromy and is an inherently global notion. For curved connections, holonomy has nontrivial local and global features.

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